What is it about the word addiction?

I need to preface this blog post with the fact that I have a firm foundational belief in libertarianism. Now before you go all crazy and ask me about drug legalization or economic issues let me explain. I am bias towards a libertarian point of view in that I support your right to do whatever you want provided you doing it does not infringe on the rights of others – including me – regardless of what “it” is. Now, you might ask, “how is this related to process addictions?” Let me explain.

As I have previously posted I have been dealing with chemically dependent populations for a while. It has been my experience that people seek treatment when the consequences of their behaviors are no longer tolerable or put another way the pain of changing is less than the pain of maintaining.  Addicts do not seek treatment simply because they have reached their limit of heroin or alcohol.  Unfortunately some never reach treatment because the pain of changing is too great.  Addicts seek treatment when their behaviors have infringed on others or themselves enough so that they or others seek treatment or punishment.  As an illustration of this please consider that society is willing to give a person methadone in lieu of another opiate – heroin – as the associated heroin behaviors are not normally present with methadone. Hence, once the behaviors are gone society is no longer as concerned, if concerned at all, with the drug use.

This logic can be applied to Mike and Carol. Mike’s behaviors might not reach the point of requiring change if Carol enjoyed the same sorts of sexual activity – their relationship goals were aligned. This is not to say that I believe Mike’s behaviors to be healthy, I simply avoid bias by focusing on the associated problematic behaviors and misalignment of goals. My view of process addictions is the same as my view of substance addictions. It is not for me to judge a client’s behavior but rather to treat the client with respect and dignity assisting him in finding more adaptive ways of achieving his goals. This line of thinking allows me to avoid biases in treatment, maintain positive regard, and provide the best treatment modality available to assist my clients.