by Savanna Carlsen

Created on: June 16, 2008

The un-addicted society is very uneducated on what addiction is. They believe that if you have a problem, or an addiction that you can or should just stop it cold turkey. This is impossible to do without help. Addiction is a disease. If stopping something cold turkey were that easy, nobody would have any of these problems to contend with in the first place.

Addiction comes from ones genetics and having a predisposition to the disease. One addict described it to me as being born a cucumber. Once a cucumber is made into a pickle, it can never become a cucumber again. The chemical dopamine plays a big part in addiction. It releases neurotransmitters that activate pleasure sensors in the brain which can lead to dependency and addiction. This is activated when the user abuses drugs or alcohol.

Addiction is an illness that requires treatment, education and understanding. Unfortunately, an addict cannot be forced to quit or seek help. Only they can make that decision for themselves. This can be very hard on the ones close to the addict, and they will try desperately to get the person help. The only option they have, if the addict can't or won't seek help, is to get a hold of an interventionist. An intervention is done with an addiction counselor or specialist. All friends and family members who care about the addict and want them to get help are encouraged to be there. They will form a surprise meeting with the addict and each tell them how their addiction has affected them in a negative way and ask the addict if they will go get help.

When and if the addict decides to get help, all family and friends involved should seek treatment themselves, as this disease effects them too. They are encouraged to go to Al-Anon meetings where they can talk with others who have been affected by a loved ones disease. There they will learn the three C's of addiction. They didn't Cause it, they can't Control it and they can't Cure it. Al-Anon teaches about co-dependency and the right and wrong things to say when someone is using. It helps them try not to focus their life on what or how the addict is doing and to learn to let go.

There is nothing easy about being around someone who struggles with addiction. The best thing anyone can do is to read everything they can get their hands on. Educating oneself on the disease of addiction is the key to understanding it, dealing with it, living with it, and helping those who are having trouble helping themselves. The most important thing to know, is the addict cannot do it alone, they have to seek help, and fight it the rest of their life, or it will get the best of them. If society can have more of an understanding of addiction, maybe those who suffer from it can get more help and compassion in working through their disease.

Learn more about this author, Savanna Carlsen.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.