Posted by Rosa on October 20, 2001, at 19:09:31
In reply to Re: addiction and recovery, posted by MB on October 20, 2001, at 14:21:35
I think that your questions could just as easily apply to drug addicts as alcoholics.
I believe many of us are in denial about self-medicating, not just alcoholics and addicts but also the elderly. How many bottles of pills do your parents have on the shelf?
Our natural tendency to be "irritable, restless, and discontent" may be the cause rather than the result of alcohol/drug abuse. This makes it psychological or emotional in nature.
It may also be the result of growing up in an alcoholic or dysfunctional home. The word dysfunctional includes emotional illness. Our attitudes are shaped by our surroundings.
Acceptance and approval is a significant factor in our attitude. Perfection and helplessness are only two of the masks we hide behind. How many of us experienced "unconditional love" when we were children?
^^^^^
Here are a few questions for everybody...just to stimulate conversation. These are tough questions, and I don't really expect hard and fast answers to them, but they are questions that, as an alcoholic in recovery, I have often asked myself.
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> OK, presupposing that we agree to separate *addiction* from *dependence*, and that we define addiction as "a psychological obsession with (and a compulsive use of) a drug," while defining dependence as "the developement of tolorance to a drug accompanied by withdrawal symptoms upon cessation of that drug"...and presupposing that we agree that dependence often accompanies addiction, while addiction does not necessarily accompany dependence, how would you answer these questions? (OK, that's a lot of presupposing. If anyone takes exception with the above definitions, by all means, please share your opinions). Anyway...
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poster:Rosa
thread:12188
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20011015/msgs/12762.html