Chapter 12

According to studies in clinical neurobiology (and various recognizable criteria in the Diagnostic and Statistic Manual of Mental Disorders, or DSM-IV), addiction is classified as a disease. There are a great many misunderstandings, false impressions, and misapplications of this theory. Partly why I don’t think the entire focus of treatment should be centered around disease concept of addiction - as it is commonly understood - is this: While the recreational use of drugs will certainly cause a disease state of various tissues and organs in the body (including the brain); it is also VERY much a disease of the will (willpower to achieve what is right, healthy, and decent), of character (acknowledging the hurtful shock you’re putting on others and not letting it persist), and of courage (sustaining yourself through the difficult part of beating a habit – which could realistically take years).

If you truly desire to change and have a life of meaning, value, and goodness, then you must respect this delicate, temporary entity you call your life. You must have a higher purpose for existence and being. You must have a “why” to even care at all. There is a way, through God, that self-will can be directed through faith into a glorious existence of fulfillment with benefits lasting an eternity. (More on this later…) What is so enticing about the old way of living? We addicts tend to have selective amnesia. This is sometimes called “euphoric recall” – an unusual and harmful characteristic addicts share in common, which prohibits the recollection of the dreadful aftermath of chemical abuse, while remembering only the ephemeral good “high.” To all of this I say - you have to vigorously want something better for yourself.

The ultimate truth of your freedom is this: no matter what the stimulus is (fear, lust, need, historical hurts), your response to a temptation is never predetermined; you ultimately choose. Nobody should continually offset blame on “a generational curse,” or being “genetically pre-determined”, or “having a disease” as excuses not to change. You can choose to act like a one-celled amoeba, rigorously determined to avoid all discomfort and find pleasure at any cost. Or, you can choose to act like a human being, with the ability to make choices, acknowledging that the absence of hurt and discomfort is insufficient to give your life meaning or purpose. Everyone must face challenges, hurts, disappointments, and the like; not just addicts.