In this series of columns I describe a universal and secular
self-help program for recovery from addiction. It is universal because
it includes all addictive behaviors in a single program. It is secular
because it avoids controversial references to religious themes while
preserving and developing the philosophy of the original Twelve Steps
written by William Wilson for Alcoholics Anonymous.
I think there is only one disorder that underlies all the different addictions, a disorder I call the Addictive Response Pattern.
After treating different addictions in specialized programs and
attending many self-help groups as a guest, I decided that
specialization is a disservice because such specialized programs,
whether they are offered by professionals or by self-help
organizations, ignore a fundamental problem. By focusing one only one
addiction at a time they increase the risk of substitute addictions,
ignore other addictions and delay necessary personal growth.
With
regard to religion, the inclusion of prayer and references to God has
led the courts to identify Alcoholics Anonymous as a religious
organization. This presents legal and social problems that I will
explain in later columns. Also, many new members find references to
religion distracting. There is no research to suggest that religion is
necessary for a spiritual recovery program. Religion and spirituality
are not the same. A moral, safe and comfortable philosophy of living
need not depend on religion. Religion is controversial and divisive in
a program where unity of purpose is essential. I do not oppose or
denigrate religion, but religion is a personal choice, not something
that should be mandated or enforced in programs for addiction.
Discussions of religion, like politics and business affairs, simply do
not belong in a program devoted to personal growth and change.
Stripped
of references to God and to mystical higher powers, the famous Twelve
Step philosophy is a wonderful prescription of a better life. It is a
model for living that any of us can profit from whether we have
addictions or not.
I
try to keep my writing simple, but addictions are complicated human
problems. I am told by recovering people that my ideas and opinions are
best suited to those addicts with some amount of clean and sober time,
those who are past the first stages of withdrawal and resigned to the
long struggle for quality abstinence and normal living. I tend to
agree. If you are just starting out in a personal recovery, you may
want to save this material for later study or perhaps take it in small
doses at first.
I
support and encourage long-term membership in self-help groups for
addiction although, inevitably, some members of Twelve Step groups may
not agree with my interpretation of these programs and with my
elimination of God from the language. Recovering addicts have many
choices among programs and should be encouraged to make their own
decisions and to explore all the different ways of dealing with
addiction. If one thing doesn’t work after giving it an honest effort,
they should try something else.
There
is no one best path to normal living for every addict. Some people have
only one addiction while others have many. Some people will be able to
quit with only a simple pledge or resolution; most others will need
stronger measures and more time. Some will put their faith in self-help
groups. Some will become involved in religion. Some will try the newer
drugs that offer help with cravings. Although I usually don’t recommend
it, some will be able to moderate an addiction so that it no longer
damages their lives. Each individual must find his or her own way out
of addiction in their own good time, but they must never give up and
never stop trying.
Who am I to talk about addictions? Other
than an early devotion to tobacco, work and foods I shouldn’t eat, I
have been fortunate in life to escape any long-term, life-shortening
addiction to activities and substances. I stopped smoking long ago at
the age of thirty-one, and am still tobacco-free over thirty-five years
later. I quit working for money, glory and power over ten years ago,
and in retirement I can work or not as I choose. Many days find me
doing nothing productive and just having fun. I’ve learned that I don’t
have to be what I was, that I can enjoy change. The important thing is
not to act and think like someone addicted to work, and I don’t think I
do that any longer. Food? Well, there’s been some moderate success
there in the sense of not being what I used to be or being quite what
I’d like to be yet. Proper eating is a daily struggle for many of us, a
struggle in which total food abstinence is impossible. Yes, there is at
least one addiction for which moderation and control are necessary.
Learning to eat a healthy diet, of course, is always possible and
demands constant attention. If we all waited to be perfect before contributing what we can, we wouldn’t have much to share.
[BB]
My
qualifications for writing on addictions are mostly a Ph.D. in
psychology and years of clinical work along with years of research on
problem behavior in general and addictions in particular.
It
has been my good fortune to watch and help others striving to overcome
addiction, people who were determined to build rewarding lives for
themselves and their families. I believe that recovery is not only
possible, but inevitable when the person learns new ways of thinking
and acting.
I
know that many people who come to treatment and to self-help groups are
intellectually, culturally and emotionally not able to follow a long
text, no matter how basic it is. That’s one of the reasons why meetings
and fellowship are so important. I implore those who do find this or
other writing of value to use the old pattern of each one teach one, so
that important ideas can be communicated in whatever time or language
it takes. Read or explain what you think are important parts of a
recovery program to others, but never shove it down their throats. In
helping others, you help yourself through your service. In giving
others real choices, you remove your own ego from the game and learn to
do what is best for others.
The
reader should remember that what I write is not literature approved by
the national service office of any Twelve Step group. The person new to
a recovery program should read all of their home organization’s
approved literature before attempting material like this.
My title, Addictions Anonymous,
does not imply the existence of any formal organization, group or
society. It does imply, however, that we may all be facing a much
larger set of problems than we imagined when we first began to think
about getting rid of a particular addiction. Hopefully, in taking a
wider view of a task, we may find it easier to accomplish.
The
author holds copyrights to this material. It can be distributed for any
educational purpose but is not to be sold or used for personal profit.
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