Empathy for Addiction

Addiction carries a negative connotation in our community. Addiction is labeled as selfish. Inadequate motivation to quit. Constantly pleasure seeking. An addict is thought to lack self-discipline or morals. These statements are not only ignorant but could not be further from the truth.

The truth is that addiction typically spawns from modeled behavior or trauma, and often both. In many cases, previous modeled behavior of substance use during childhood or adolescence acts as a primer for future use. When the people you are around during your formative years engage in specific behaviors, those behaviors are viewed as normal and acceptable as one becomes older. These behaviors can turn into coping mechanisms. A coping mechanism is an adaptation to environmental stress. This means that substance use is a way of coping with stress. Trauma, on the other hand, challenges the brain and releases toxic stress chemicals over time. The experience can motivate trauma survivors to self-medicate the better manage the side effects of their trauma. Side effects of trauma may be physical or emotional, but substances are used to dull or manage the pain and escape. Again, a coping mechanism.

Addiction does not happen overnight. No one wakes up and chooses to be an addict. Addiction is a disease. It is the result of repetitive intake of substances over a period of time. As your brain and body adjust to the repetitive intake of substances, your brain and body acclimate to the presence of said substances. The presence of the substance becomes part of the brain and body’s way of functioning. Therefore, absence of said substance in the brain and body throws off the brain and body’s ability to function as ‘normal’.

The person that you label as an ‘addict’ is another human being just like you. They did not choose what family they were born into or the socioeconomic state of the family they were born into. They did not choose what behaviors were modeled for them as ways of coping. They did not have a choice in the trauma that they experienced. They came into this world just like you and they did the best that they could with the tools they had available.

Addiction is a disease. It is a disease of our society. It is not due to the lack of motivation on the addict’s part. It has nothing to do with policing or drug education programs. Addiction stems from pain. Addiction stems from suffering. It is not a moral deficit in one’s character. It is the brain and body’s response to substances introduced over time as one’s attempt to adapt to the stress that one has experienced or is experiencing. Have empathy for other human beings’ inability to adapt to the stress they have endured in a healthy or acceptable way. We are all human beings. We are constantly asked to adapt to life’s stressors. Have empathy for those with an addiction.

If you would like to speak to a professional counselor or psychologist about this and are in the Chicago area, please feel free to contact Olive Branch Counseling Associates, Inc. at 708-633-8000. We are located at 6819 West 167^th Street in Tinley Park, Illinois 60477.

Written By: Hillary R., Masters Level Intern 2023

Sources

Maté, G. (2021). In the realm of hungry ghosts: Close encounters with addiction. Vintage Canada.