PROCESSES TO EMPLOY:
Brutal Honesty, I Over E, Present/Understand/Fix, Slowing Down Life’s Pace, Internal Focus, Fact-Finding

There are many forms of addiction. For some people, they are addicted to alcohol and other drugs. For others, it might be gambling, sex, or food that takes control of their lives. Addiction, as I am defining it, is a chronic, relapsing disorder characterized by obsessive thinking and compulsive behaviors with little regard for the potential adverse consequences. It is considered a brain disorder because it involves functional changes to brain circuits involved in reward, stress, and control. Satisfying the addiction provides immediate gratification, though the physical and neurological changes may last long after a person has entered into recovery.

Addiction is not unlike other diseases, such as cancer or heart disease. It can disrupt the normal, healthy functioning of all the body's systems and organs and seriously harm a person's mind and emotions. If left untreated, it can last a lifetime and may lead to unrelenting pain and suffering and, for some, premature death. Though addiction is often thought of as a brain disorder, one cannot discount the powerful influence addiction has over the body. Consequently, addiction diagnosis and treatment must take into account the physical aspects of the problem. In treating addiction, it is important to treat the whole person. This will become apparent as we proceed.

Hand-Me-Downs
For decades, research has indicated a genetic predisposition to addiction. These studies have primarily focused on alcohol and other drugs. I define genetic predisposition as the increased likelihood of developing a particular physical/neurological condition based on the presence of one or more genetic variants and/or a family history. Today, we are more knowledgeable about the way addiction works. Instead of simply focusing on substance abuse-related addictions, the focus is on a more global approach to genetic predisposition. This means that being predisposed can apply to a broader variety of addictions, as you will see as we proceed.

An example of a predisposition to an addiction might be someone who comes from an alcoholic background, where at least one biological parent was an alcoholic. The likelihood of their children being predisposed to alcohol increases when one parent carries that genetic variant. It increases significantly if both parents carry the variant. Another example might be a parent who is a workaholic. Their children could also be workaholics because genetic predisposition comes from the genetic variant predisposing the brain to demonstrate compulsive behaviors that can find their way into the work environment.

Predisposition does not necessarily mean that a child will have the same “drug of choice” as their parents. By drug of choice, I am referring to the object of obsessive-compulsive behaviors. This means that one or both parents may be substance abusers, but their children may become addicted to another substance or another behavior. So a person who is an alcoholic may have children who are also predisposed to addiction, but the focus of their addiction is some other substance, object, or behavior. The behavior could be gambling or sex, or it might find its way into another substance like prescription or street drugs.

There are times when I have treated people who are addicted, but I can find no family history of addiction. So, genetic anomalies coming from parents do not always mean that it will transfer to the children, Although, more often than not, a family history of addiction does increase the likelihood of some addiction in future generations.

Treatment plans should always be formulated with an understanding of one's family history, assuming that it is available. As research has progressed, it has generated the use of genetic testing that can provide valuable insights into the correlation between one's family history and the possibility of addiction being a part of one's life. Also, the type of addiction that one's parents had can have some relevance regarding specific elements in the treatment plan.

Another important factor is the person's mental health. Once again, there are genetic markers that can predispose someone to mental health conditions. Conditions like depression, anxiety, ADD, and bipolar disease can increase the possibility of involvement in addictive thoughts and behaviors that can lead to or exacerbate existing addictions. There is also a circular relationship between mental health and addiction. Sometimes it is the mental health that causes involvement in addictive behaviors or makes them worse. At other times, it is the addiction that instigates mental health issues.

Environmentally Speaking
Genetics can play a significant role in whether or not someone is predisposed to addiction. However, one’s environment can also impact the onset of addiction, and how severe it can become. The Harvard Twin Study of Substance Abuse (24) demonstrated the correlation between genetic coding and the environment on the potential for substance abuse. From the study: Our research has demonstrated significant influences by genetic, shared environmental, and unique environmental factors on the abuse of illicit substances. Multivariate analyses have indicated that the co-occurrence of abuse of various types of illicit drugs reflects a common vulnerability, influenced by both genetic and environmental factors, that cuts across all categories of illicit drugs.

Though someone can be predisposed genetically to become addicted, this does not necessarily mean that they will become an addict. There are many instances of one or more parents who are addicted but have children who are not. Likewise, some parents are not addicted, but they may have one or more children who are. In these cases, their environment likely had a bit more to do with their addiction issues, that genetics did not play a prominent role in the addictive cycle, or that parents can be carriers of the addiction without having it themselves.

When a person is the product of genetic predisposition, and their environment supports the addictive cycle, the chances of them becoming addicted significantly increase. More often than not, when a person displays addictive tendencies, there are both genetic and environmental markers involved in the development of the addiction. Usually, a genetically predisposed person will have a propensity to become addicted, and their environment becomes a supportive device, one that enables and nurtures the addiction. The roles of nature and nurture, that is, how genetics and or the environment may influence addiction, is precisely the reason why family and medical histories are so essential in the diagnosis and treatment of addiction. The more information we have about a person's familial and medical history and environmental influences, the more efficient the treatment plan can be.

Brain In The Game
In each book in the Fix Yourself Empowerment Series, I have discussed how powerful the human brain is, how it works to keep you happy, and how conniving it can be. As you will see as we proceed, the addicted brain becomes highly skilled in the art of manipulation when addiction becomes part of your life. Whether or not you are predisposed to addiction, when your brain understands the euphoria, control, diversionary behaviors, and other quasi-benefits from involving yourself in your particular drug or behavior, it will tenaciously guard the addiction and help you keep it active.

The human brain does everything it can to keep us in an eudaemonic state while at the same time doing its best to avoid its infelicific counterpart. Eudaemonic is defined as “producing happiness,” and infelicific is defined as “producing unhappiness”. The addicted mind is in a continuous state of pleasure-seeking and does its best to avoid any form of conflict or discomfort. It lives according to the pleasure principle and will do its best to give its owner as much euphoria as possible.

Addicts can become master manipulators. Think of addiction as though it is a full-time job and that you are obsessed with every aspect of the work. This is the way the human mind processes addiction. The addiction is always in control, and the strategies of the mind are both to keep it active and to hide it from the rest of the world. It maximizes its defenses, goes on the offense when necessary, and has a single-minded approach to keep you happy and euphoric, as it does its best to put distance between you and the discomfort that comes from withdrawal when the drug or behavior is not accessible.

As magnificent as the brain is, it doesn't take long for an addiction to overpower its sense of reasoning and healthy living. When dependence on the drug or behavior develops, your brain can quickly lose focus on your physical, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual health. The majority of its resources are now being applied to maintaining the heightened state of euphoria along with the significantly reduced pain response that the addiction provides. Now, at all costs, and often without consideration of the damage to yourself or others, the addiction takes control of your brain and, subsequently, your life.

As we proceed, Chapters 3 through 18 will give you an in-depth analysis of the various types of addiction. You will notice that each addiction has its specific features but that they all have the same type of effect on your brain. In each case, your neurology changes, your body adjusts to both the euphoric state and the “rush” the addiction provides, and you are compelled to repeat the behaviors. The following gives you an idea of the addictions I will be covering. I have dedicated a chapter to each of them, and the information about the particular addiction and how to treat it will be provided there.