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  • TDS Moderators: AlphaMethylPhenyl | paranoid android

"Active" Addiction?

It's NA-Language, or part of the wider 'addiction as a disease' philosophy.

Basically it's the line of thought that addiction is a chronic disease from which there is no known cure, but can be arrested (more NA-speak), or put into remission where you aren't actively seeking out and using drugs.
 
As others have said, it's related to the disease model of addiction which is only one model of addiction. In the disease model of addiction "once an addict, always an addict" and "active addiction" refers to the times when you're not abstinent from your DOC.
 
I am still not 100 percent sure that addiction is a disease. Though I know that it appears that I have conditioned myself to the point that I cannot use anything without eventually starting to self medicate.
 
active addiction is when someone is going back to the old behavior, whether compulsively using drugs, sex, food, etc. its more of a mindset thing.
 
Thanks... I understand... I think. The 'once an addict always an addict' seems pretty bizarre to me, I met someone who has been sober for 30 years and he still regards himself as 'an addict'. I don't think I will ever understand that, it seems like yuo are constantly undermining yourself or something....
 
I consider addiction to be permanent just from my interactions with people in recovery and people who have relapsed with significant clean time. they always say it was way worse and was not like being naive again. which implies some kind of progression in severity regardless of how long a break this person had from using. those with the most clean time before relapsing seemed to cause a lot more havoc as if making up for lost time. most clean time I've had before relapsing was around 6 months and the fiendish behavior for me was a lot worse than at the beginning which implies my addiction still progressed on a sense.
 
phactor said:
I am still not 100 percent sure that addiction is a disease. Though I know that it appears that I have conditioned myself to the point that I cannot use anything without eventually starting to self medicate.
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Some addiction models approach addiction from the standpoint you just mentioned - that it's a conditioned behaviour. Not sure about elsewhere, but there's been a massive shift away from the disease model of addiction here in Australia over the last decade.

My psychologist also happens to be an addiction specialist who's received over $5 million in grants to research addiction. It's kind of interesting reading the actual research in the field, especially as it relates to why there's such a low success rate in treating addiction. Treatment models might not have totally caught up with the research yet, but there's definitely reason for people who struggle with addiction on a long term basis to be hopeful.
 
personally from a non professional standpoint, I feel the afflicted person should see addiction in whichever way helps them deal with it the best. hell if one wants to believe that they can no longer eat raisins because they will return to using, and they stay clean props to them. whatever road it takes for success, I say take it. for me the disease concept works for and I've met others who used smart recovery and did well. its different roads to the same place in my eyes.
 
Serotonin101 said:
personally from a non professional standpoint, I feel the afflicted person should see addiction in whichever way helps them deal with it the best. hell if one wants to believe that they can no longer eat raisins because they will return to using, and they stay clean props to them. whatever road it takes for success, I say take it. for me the disease concept works for and I've met others who used smart recovery and did well. its different roads to the same place in my eyes.
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I absolutely agree. If someone wants to take the life-long abstinence route them no-one should discourage them from doing so. The value in recognising that there's more than one model for addiction comes into play when a given treatment protocol isn't working for someone or when people are coerced into treatment. What's accessible also matters.
 
Serotonin101 said:
I consider addiction to be permanent just from my interactions with people in recovery and people who have relapsed with significant clean time. they always say it was way worse and was not like being naive again. which implies some kind of progression in severity regardless of how long a break this person had from using. those with the most clean time before relapsing seemed to cause a lot more havoc as if making up for lost time. most clean time I've had before relapsing was around 6 months and the fiendish behavior for me was a lot worse than at the beginning which implies my addiction still progressed on a sense.
Click to expand...

What I have found is that every relapse is worse than the one before. You hit rock bottom faster than ever & every rock bottom has a trapdoor to fall through. It is also worse when you have sobriety time because you know the end result before you even start as well as knowing you are betraying yourself. The mental side is the hardest to recover from after a damaging run I have found.

I subscribe to "addiction is a lifetime deal" scenario. I will always be an addict until the day I die regardless of how long I have sober & I accept that. Addiction is a choice no two ways about it.

I have two choices in life,

Abstinence: Making a conscious choice to not engage in activity that is detrimental to me.
Activity: Making a conscious choice to pick up

Once the choice to go active is made there is no off switch for me. Therefore my only choice is to be inactive of active as once active I am powerless over what will happen due to my addict mindset. With me it is as quick as turning a light switch that is how fast I slip from abstinence to activity.

A good friend described it as "your addiction is doing pushups & getting fit as fuck so that when you slip it is ready to do catastrophic damage in a short timeframe". I could not agree more as the addiction is there waiting for you to allow it to re enter your life & it only needs the slightest fingertip hold to break the recovery door wide open.

Thoughts of picking up turn to obsession. Obsession leads to action & action leads to prison, insanity or death. I am not a regular 12 stepper these days but the basic principals are applied in my daily life. The most important thing is to use what works for you & in early recovery you have two ears & one mouth so use that in proportion. Learn & listen to those who walked the path previously, take what works for you & use it to your advantage.
 
Crampz said:
Thanks... I understand... I think. The 'once an addict always an addict' seems pretty bizarre to me, I met someone who has been sober for 30 years and he still regards himself as 'an addict'. I don't think I will ever understand that, it seems like yuo are constantly undermining yourself or something....
Click to expand...

Doesn't necessarily have to be looked at as a bad thing. If I had 30 years clean, I would be pretty damn proud to claim that I was a recovered addict. Obviously, the person has had enough personal experience to convince himself that he still had addictive tendencies at the very least.

When people recover from drugs, addictive tendencies can manifest themselves in many other ways. Gambling, Sex, Food etc etc etc. I know last time I was sober, I started gambling more then I usually do. Not excessive or anything, but I was doing it to give me a rush that is for sure (I gamble on sports).

Also, while writing this I just realized I dreamt about gambling.
 
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