Addressing Underlying Issues

[Roberta Jewell]

Addressing Underlying Issues

Excellent thread

And here's a homework assignment you may enjoy.

This New York Times article by Benoit Denizet-Lewis is one of the best I've read regarding the connection between environment and genetics as it relates to addiction. Take note of the "Rat Park" experiment and associated findings.

Also, I think many of you may find the chapter exercises in Louse Hay's book, You Can Heal Your Life, very helpful in addressing some of the underlying reasons we drink.

Best,

RJ

[hippie37]

Addressing Underlying Issues

Roberta Jewell;225129 wrote: And here's a homework assignment you may enjoy.

This New York Times article by Benoit Denizet-Lewis is one of the best I've read regarding the connection between environment and genetics as it relates to addiction. Take note of the "Rat Park" experiment and associated findings.

Also, I think many of you may find the chapter exercises in Louse Hay's book, You Can Heal Your Life, very helpful in addressing some of the underlying reasons we drink.

Best,

RJ

Thanks RJ for that link it was very interesting to read, particularly the last bit from the addicts point of view.

An Addict's Perspective

What do addicts think about all this focus on their brains? William C. Moyers, a recovery advocate (and the son of the journalist Bill Moyers) who for 12 years has been free of crack and alcohol, was invited to speak at the M.I.T. conference. In a room full of scientists and addiction researchers obsessed with the intricacies of the human brain, Moyers read a lecture that reminded them that treating addiction might be even more complicated than they thought.

"I have an illness with origins in the brain. . .but I also suffered with the other component of this illness," he told the gathered researchers and scientists, some of whom dutifully took notes. "I was born with what I like to call a hole in my soul.. . .A pain that came from the reality that I just wasn't good enough. That I wasn't deserving enough. That you weren't paying attention to me all the time. That maybe you didn't like me enough."

The conference room was as quiet as it had been all day. "For us addicts," he continued, "recovery is more than just taking a pill or maybe getting a shot.. . .Recovery is also about the spirit, about dealing with that hole in the soul."

Something I thing rings totally true for a lot of us on here.

Love and Happiness
Hippie
xx

[hippie37]

Addressing Underlying Issues

free bird and Lorelei !!

I'll join you in the 'over analyzing' club!! I've always been a searcher looking for answers and a lot of the time there simply are no answers. I think as well I search for meaning in things that don't have meaning. It's almost like I'm on a quest to find the 'meaning of life' most of the time and even though I know damn well I'm not going to find the answers I still have to keep trying. [Although many years back I did think I had found all the answers. Unfortunately I was under the influence of some pretty heavy psychedelics at the time and I couldn't quite decipher the experience!!]

Love and Happiness
Hippie
xx

[wonderworld]

Addressing Underlying Issues

Lorelei;225109 wrote: It might be that I still have a problem with the alcohol after I get my ducks in a row, maybe not...time will tell.

exactly Lorelei - it's something we all have to figure out for ourselves. That's why I like MWO so much - it's a safe and supportive place to sort through things, with room for everyone!
wonder xx

[chefette]

Addressing Underlying Issues

i think we all have "underlying issues" we all think alcohol will help us understand them but it just makes them blurry. then we think they are gone. sober we realise they are still there. so we have that after work drink to release the stresses of the day and then these issues are buried again. my issues are why did my dad leave me just when i needed him most. it was,nt his fault. cancer is a terrible thing. he fought for 4 years. but i still have these feelings of abandonment. why i have a partner who loves me, a child who loves me, and a mother who judges me on everything. i have a brother who probably drinks more than i do but everybody thinks that is normal including my mum. my familly have always drank we used to be allowed a glass of wine mixed with lemonade when we went on holiday as children. just like the french kids my parents used to say. i have to say that i love my partner deeply. he has seen me through some deep times and to my daughter thank you for not judging me. i do try to be the best mum possible. and hopefully more sober

[free bird]

Addressing Underlying Issues

Gee, Roberta, Thanks, (i think). I am printing my assignment and taking it on a plane to read and contemplate (and keep my mind off the ground).
You're the best.
GO

[mikediesel]

Addressing Underlying Issues

Ok I'll Make this quick i have been pretty much alcohol free since topa found its way in to my life 6 months ago. That shut shut down a speed locomotove of a drunk for say 10 years but my "thinking problem" stems back to family issues with my step father who i haven't talked to in 2 years. but this was always the worse part of the year for me and drinking do they make an anti depressant that yoyu can take short term to get you through the holidays

[nancy]

Addressing Underlying Issues

Well, no doubt, underlying issues play a huge role in fueling addiction.

But it seems that the effect of substances will make it very difficult if not impossible to get to the bottom of them. The physical effects are bad, depleting serotonin and making you more depressed. When you are depressed you are not in a position to analyze things from a healthy perspective. Yes you can over-analyze, but you are more likely to get into negative spiraling type of thinking and that can't be helpful in solving underlying issues.

Then there are the relationship problems and crises caused by booze. How can you find yourself in a good light and make positive decisions when everything is so bad and seems to perpetuate low self-esteem?

Ideally, you would tackle both at the same time, be abstinent and go into therapy to get at the root of the troubles.

Interestingly, I saw a Dr Phil episode on eating disorders and a guest with bulimia really reminded me of the problems people bring to this website regarding booze. This woman was going out and buying loads of food and wolfing it down, then purging and feeling depressed. Dr. Phil said that the bingeing was an attempt to relieve anxiety but this was only temporary then the anxiety got much worse. Sound familiar?

So i looked up treatment for builimia and so much of it revolves around cognitive behavioral therapy, getting to the root of the behavior (improving self-esteem and relationships). It's really interesting that this approach is taken. the approach with alcohol is 12-step based.

[trixietrack]

Addressing Underlying Issues

I agree that underlying issues can make one more susceptible to addiction. Addiction and substance abuse are connected with what can be labeled " self destructive spirit".
It would be interesting if everyone here took a good hard look at themselves, not just the body and mind but the soul or spirit as well.
I'll be the first to to describe it in simple words.

when I look/feel myself, some part of me is not quite connected to rest of me.
when I look/feel that part is somehow fighting to join the rest of me, but it struggles.
which in turns makes me feel sorrow and anger

I don't know what it is, or where it comes from, but I've known it my whole life.
by the way I don't feel like this all the time.
but I know this is what makes me want to drink. I now know better.
Trix

[karma7171]

Addressing Underlying Issues

There are always underlying issues. Look into the "Alcoholism and Addiction Cure"...it was the only book that ever addressed it.

[trixietrack]

Addressing Underlying Issues

It is easier to blame the substance, than to step outside of yourself and find the underlying issues.
For some it's trauma, others just have restless souls.

[trixietrack]

Addressing Underlying Issues

it's always easier to blame the substance and not delve in the the issues.
It's very difficult to step back and look at ones flaws