Dysfunctional Pleasures - So what is Addiction?

There has been much research into the various constituents of what addiction is and how to treat this somewhat at times soul destroying affliction. This paper is separated into 4 sections: -

1. What is addiction?
2. A neuro-linguistic model
3. A psychotherapeutic approach
4. Modelling of addictive behaviour

This neuro-linguistic approach to addiction is like reverse engineering.

My uncle Bobby used to work as an engineer on the oil rigs in Saudi Arabia and whilst he was forever assembling parts, he also used to take apart complete mechanisms to help identify where exactly a problem was and how it started.

What we need to accept up front is that addiction is a learnt behaviour, a process developed and repeated many times at first as an effective panacea to overcoming some kind of unwanted negative emotion developed on a majority of occasions during childhood.

The type of addiction that we hear about in the media such as drugs, sex, gambling etc are basically sub addictions to the innate drive to conform within society and adhere to authority, nurturing dependency whilst at the same time minimising self actualisation.

Nominalisation - Addiction v Addicting

The constructivist approach to psychotherapy believes many of our responses and reactions developed through life are learned behaviours. As addiction is not a status or static in its existence, it is essential at this stage to emphasise that a person who has an addiction is not an addict; they do addiction, they are not the addiction.

Every human being develops unique neural connections in their brain so therefore unique patterns of behaviour. Within the pillars of the latest neuro-physiological research it is becoming accepted that the mind and the body are one and works in unison for essential human function.

As leading researcher Dr Candace B. Pert explains in her book Molecules of Emotion:

"... the point I am making is that your brain is extremely well integrated with the rest of your body at a molecular level, so much so that the term mobile brain is an apt description of the psychosomatic network through which intelligent information travels from one system to another. Every one of the zones, or systems, of the network - the neural, the hormonal, the gastrointestinal, and the immune - is set up to communicate with one another, via peptides and messenger-specific peptide receptors. Every second, a massive information exchange is occurring in your body." (1)

The brain (mind) receives information through the senses (body) and cannot not communicate some kind of response. If we receive the same kind of stimulus repeatedly we therefore repeat the same kind of response, until a pattern or habit of behaviour is determined. These patterns can be orientated towards moving away from pain or moving towards pleasure.

A person labelled as an addict is not the addiction; they have addictive traits or more accurately do addicting behaviour. As I will describe later in this paper addicting behaviour is destructive behaviour and the secondary gain is a repetitive act of moving away from pain.

The first engagement into an addictive pattern is with the intention of relieving pain although once the pattern becomes a possession of the self the effect is to invariably cause further pain. This conflicting behaviour is a corruption of self in its mildest sense and can be debilitating for the sufferer and all those around them.

The bumble bee effect - Intention, Behaviour and Outcome

There is a vast amount of research based upon what exactly are the causes of addictive behaviour. Those suffering from addiction are not born that way. There has been coined the phrase €additive personality' or APD and with some addictions the brain is said to contain a certain chemistry that leads to possession of the existence of self. (2)

Any activity of addiction initially is interpreted as a panacea; a relief or distraction of an underlying conscious or unconscious discomfort of some kind predetermined in childhood. The discomfort is the symptom of a trauma that is yet to be resolved at an unconscious level.

I realised through deep self analysis that I used to have an addiction to attending self development programmes and wanting to help people. Eventually I realised that this related to my subjective experience of being abandoned by my mother. This terrifying feeling of not existing although still being alive can be identified as the underlying state of any type of addiction.

Any true addict will be consciously aware or through extensive therapy will recognise that addiction is a condition worse than death. The annihilation of self whilst still being alive and the loss of choice is the driver behind addiction. These symptoms form the foundation for other overwhelming sensations such as powerlessness, weakness and insignificance.

A common dexterity that is developed of most addicts is their ability to fabricate the most convincing of stories to create a world of isolation that only a true addict craves so they can be undisturbed during their contradictory and indulgent behaviour.

The search for a positive experience is a desperate response to the feelings of isolation that can dominate the human condition. Compulsive sex is drive for self acceptance; early abandonment may develop into people pleasing and the quest for power can lead to alcoholism or the control of others.

Addiction is unique for everyone; one gambler is not the same as another gambler however they will share the same traits and characteristics. The neuropathological patterns that emerge are idiosyncratic although a particular nuance that does stand out in my experience is the boredom for mundane everyday life. Or is this just a conscious interpretation of the unease an addict feels of lost identity and self existence?

Addicting patterns of behaviour initially are successful in the short term, however there is such a high level of anticipation that the individual does not evaluate the long term consequences once they have gained their relief.

Familiarity - How unwanted behaviours can change into addiction

The following example will give most people reading this paper an understanding of what addiction is in its simplest form. Within the cyclical communication loop with my clients I evoke constant reference to their representation and its familiarity so they can affirm its association with the negative emotional imprints and also to pay closer attention to the submodalities within the representation. The intention of the former is to raise the awareness of the most obvious causes to their conscious or unconscious effects.

We all contain the fundamental traits of addiction - habits of behaviour. All negative behaviours with the physical act of addicting are damaging to a varying degree, however the mental strain that each person experiences are very much the same.

Think of a time in your autobiography when you, despite your better judgment were attached or compulsive to some kind of activity that you found difficult to control.

Recall scratching yourself nervously when confronted by your girlfriend, which originally started when you were confronted by your mother aged 5. Remember the dependence to that bar of chocolate, long deep inhalation of a cigarette when stressed or the urge every week to place a winning bet. How about one of those lone rituals in your every day life where it included polishing cutlery whilst watching the 10 o'clock news?

If you take a moment to delve into your autobiography you should be able to recognise that any one of these behaviours correlates to something in your early life. Were you bullied at school or did you come from a broken home? Perhaps you lost your lunch box one day or got left out of the netball team.

Remember the negative sensations or feelings associated with these