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Substance Use & Addiction http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-s5wPO-QcVw
Substance Use & Addiction
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-s5wPO-QcVw
Why do we use?
I fall from elegance with a dull thud- then apologize for my awkward silence.
I sometimes believe I don’t belong around people, that I belong to all the leap days that didn't happen.
The way light and darkness mix under my skin has become a storm- You don’t see the lightning, but you hear the echoes.
To Start Feeling Somethingor to Stop Feeling Something
Addiction "any negative emotion that's not
fully faced and seen for what it is in the moment it arises does not
completely dissolve. It leaves behind a remnant
of pain." Tolle
What do you want to know?
The Dream of using…
On the biochemical level the purpose of all addictions is to create an altered state of consciousness
Biological chemical neurologicalpsychological medical emotional social politicaleconomic
ADDICTION On a
Continuum
Brokenness becomes the norm-I would NEVER do hard drugs…
The Wheel of Life: The Realm of Hungry Ghosts
Craving That Can Never Be SatisfiedHungry Ghosts have huge, empty stomachs, but their thin necks don't allow nourishment to pass. Food turns to fire and ash in their mouths.
Misconception: The Drug itself will cause addiction
Does a deck of cards cause compulsive gambling?
“Compulsive drug taking is caused as much by the characteristics of the user as the characteristics of the drug being used.”
drugs are only illegal because we made them illegal- don’t villainies the drug i.e.
Addiction ALWAYS originates in pain
Drugs are emotional anesthetics- I use because I want to stop feeling what's hurting me
Heroin and coke- pain killers. They work for emotional pain too.
Brain scans show the same area of the brain light up whether it is physical or emotional pain
Trauma- pain- desire to repress memory- desire to repress feelings- drugs erase all feeling- new desire to “feel” alive- drug offers that too
TRAUMA
I said: what about my passion?God said: Keep it burning.
I said: what about my heart?God said: Tell me what you hold inside it?
I said: pain and sorrowHe said: ..stay with it.
The wound is the place where the Light enters you.• Epigenetics
• Family tradition
• It’s always the environment
Alcoholism is a symptom- explore the roots
RAT PARK
I'm so confused- what do you mean you didn’t feel loved???
Attunement i.e.. I love you if…
Like nutrients, a mothers emotions are passed down to and felt by the fetus
More on RATS…
When the Brady Bunch starts doing blow…
“children swim in their parents unconscious like fish swim in the sea”- parents may think they have their shit on lockdown but it comes out
Shame vs guilt
Hypervigelance Intrusion (over feel) Constriction (not feel
enough) Polarization
HURT PEOPLE HURT PEOPLE
“I wonder if you know yet that you’ll leave me…
You think I’ll understand your sadness because I live inside my own. But I will show up at your
door at 2 am, wild-eyed and sleepless. and try and find some
semblance of peace in your breastbone. and you will not let
me in. You will tell me to go home.”
Emotional ExtremesLack of trust of
othersExcessive need for
controlEverything is perfect
one minute and horrible the next
Important things are ignored, and things that don’t matter are blown out of proportion
Common Experiences of ACOA
“We Don’t Talk About That…”
Many traumatized people expose themselves, seemingly compulsively, to situations reminiscent of the original trauma.
Freud thought that the aim of repetition was to gain mastery, but clinical experience has shown that this rarely happens; instead, repetition causes further suffering for the victims or for people in their surroundings.
Harm to OthersRe-enactment of victimization is a major cause of violence. Criminals have often been physically or sexually abused as children
Self-destructiveness (harm to self)Self-destructive acts are common in abused children. Addiction, cutting etc.
"repetition compulsion"
“Ill Make you Feel How I Feel”
The Addict/ScapegoatThe MascotThe HeroThe EnablerThe lost child
Wake up
Mental illness runs ramped in this country…We are all a little crazy- drinking brings me one step closer to crazy
Get up and wake up- this isn't living… you are missing it
Don’t focus on the fall- the miracle is in the decision to get back up, clear off the debris and fight to live and I mean really freaking live
This is recovery- fight for what was stolen… laugh, cry, love, fail, succeed, get hurt, get up and do it all over again
Identifying “parts”internal family systems
Exiles, managers, protectors, firefighters
Mapping- how do you feel toward your parts
Quotes
the way they bore their suffering was a genuine inner achievement. It is this spiritual freedom — which cannot be taken away — that makes life meaningful and purposeful.
everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms — to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way
If you want to get sober- find meaning and purpose
Alcohol… fun facts
Sons of alcoholic men experience more of the pleasurable effects of alcohol and less of the negative (ie don’t get hangovers as easy)
Birth control pills slow the rate alcohol is removed from the body
The divorce rate is higher for alcoholic women than it is alcoholic men (ie. Madonna Complex)
Up to 90% of male chronic drinkers report problems with ED (whisky dick), lower sperm count and decreased sex drive
Alcohol continued
Long term use= shrinking brain tissue due to loss of brain cells
Frontal lobes are most damaged- solve complex problem and create action plans, judgment
If a person stops drinking, new brain cells do not appear, but the remaining cell will grow
70% of individuals seeking treatment for alcohol abuse report problems with “new” memories, abstract thinking, problem solving, attention/concentration, perception of emotion ( cant interpret others emotion based on tone, inflection etc.)
Alcohol and the “young” brain
Early 20’s= brain significantly impacted by alcohol and learning ability is compromised
The younger you start the more likely you will get addicted
Chemicals don’t think they need to work any longer
University study
“Imagine trying to live without air.Now imagine something worse.” ― Amy Reed, Clean
