What Is Alcohol Or Drug Addiction? And now for the 12 Step View:
The original 12 step program was that of Alcoholics Anonymous. This program was developed in the mid to late 1930′s. In this era treatment for alcoholism or drug addiction was essentially commitment to asylum, jail, or death.
The fundamental and then, at the time radical, view was that alcoholism could be viewed as an allergy. The use of alcohol by chronic alcoholics is a
“manifestation of an allergy; that the phenomenon of craving is limited to this class and never occurs in the average temperature drinker. These allergic types can never safely use alcohol in any form at all; and once having formed the habit and found they cannot break it, once having lost their self confidence, their reliance upon things human, their problems pile up on them and be, astonishingly difficult to solve.”
AA Big Book pp. xxvi, The Doctor’s opinion
I must admit that the first time I heard alcoholism referred to as an ‘allergy’, I was a bit taken aback. To me, an allergy was something more like sneezing from ragweed in the springtime. However, much was explained when I looked up the definition of the word allergy. It essentially means, ‘an uncommon reaction to a common substance.
An example often utilized that helped me was to think of an allergy to strawberries or shellfish. They are common substances, but for those with an allergy to them their uncommon reaction to them might be wheezing, difficulty breathing, and perhaps a rash.
For an alcoholic, the common substance is alcohol. The uncommon reactions spoken of are obsession and compulsion. These only affect people with the ‘allergy’ to alcohol’
The foundation statement of the 12 steps , Step One states:
We admitted we’re powerless over alcohol (our addiction), and that our lives had become unmanageable.
Step one simply a statement of the problem, and that is we have developed a lack of control over our addiction and that bad consequences have occurred.
The problem is a primary illness, not caused by lack of moral judgment, nor lack of values or knowledge. The problem is described as in Allergy of the Body and an Obsession of the Mind.
“The physical aspect of our disease is the compulsive use of drugs: is the inability stop using once restarted. The mental aspect of our disease is the obsession, or overpowering desire to use, even when we are trying our lives. The spiritual part of our disease is our total self-centeredness” Narcotics Anonymous.pg.20
The dilemma that occurs is that if we cannot use because of our body, and we can’t quit because of our mental obsession then we’re truly powerless over chemicals.
The Narcotics Anonymous text states:
“We have a disease: progressive, incurable, and fatal. One way or another we went out and bought our destruction on the time of payment plan! all of us, from the junky snatching purses to this weak little lady hitting two or three doctors for legal prescriptions, have one thing in common: we seek our destruction a bag at a time, a few pills at a time, or a bottle at time until we die.
This is at least part of the insanity of addiction. The price may seem higher for the addict who prostitutes for a fix then it is for the addict who merely applies to a doctor. Ultimately both pay for their disease with their lives. Insanity is repeating the same mistakes and expecting different results”
The NA text page 23
This brief section on the 12 step view is in no way intended to be a course of instruction on Step one nor the 12 steps. I provided this to show a slightly different view of addiction and alcoholism from the Medical View.
There are some definite commonalities between the two views such as loss of control over the substance. Continued use despite negative consequences, and the fact that untreated the disease is both chronic and progressive.
Editor Note: Please realize this post is an opinion of the author, there is no way I am claiming to have a ‘correct’ or the ‘only’ point of view on the interpretation given.
Click here for Part 1 – What Is Alcohol Or Drug Addiction – The Medical View
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