29. Addiction related to human condition

By Tom O'Connell

"We're all addicted, to something or other, at one time or another." Is this true? Well, let me say it another way: "To be human is to be subject to addiction." In other words, life has a way of making us uncomfortable from time to time. And to cope with this discomfort we turn to behaviors designed to make us feel better. Unfortunately, each behavior we turn to can easily become an addiction.

The problem is that we tend to think of only the most seriously addicted people as addicts. We're likely to forget the times we've been addicted ourselves, or we may even deny that we've been excessively dependent on various people, places, and things. 

After all, the word "addicted" simply means "devoted to" in the original Latin. And when we're devoted to something to the point where it impairs our relationships and damages our lives, we've got an addiction problem.

Addiction is about "love objects" that we become "devoted to" as we try to cope with life. And there are many available love objects. Food. Gambling. Alcohol and other drugs. Sex. Excitement. Speed. Power. Work. If anything makes us feel better for a while we can turn to it repeatedly and become addicted to it.

I met a Canadian talk show host who confessed that he had been so addicted to current events that his marriage almost fell apart. He spent every spare minute devouring news because he wanted to be the most informed person in Canada. He was so "devoted" to his quest for knowledge that he was damaging his relationships to self, others, and God. And that's what addiction does to us.   

The talk show host's behavior fits in with Dr. Stanley Gitlow's definition: "Addiction is a disease in which any technique for adapting to life is used other than interpersonal relating." When addiction is our primary relationship, all other relationships suffer and we become unbalanced. If we become seriously unbalanced, we are no longer emotionally healthy. And this also affects us physically, mentally, socially and spiritually. 

Consider the obsession that haunts your mind, and the compulsion that drives you to perform actions that eventually harm you, and you'll understand what you're addicted to. It's about the use of our energy. It matters little whether we channel our energy toward food, gambling, alcohol and other drugs, sex, television, the Internet, fitness, excitement, speed, entertainment, social status, shopping, ambition, power, or work. The question is this: "Am I using my energy in a healthy way?"

The addictive substances and behaviors are not the causes of addiction. They're only symptoms of the underlying problem. And I believe the underlying problem is the human condition itself. The human condition is amazingly complex, subject to imperfection, and influenced by great fluctuations in moods and sensations. So it's a condition of frequent discomfort, and we'll turn to almost anything for relief. 

In summary, it's because we're human that we're addicted to something or other, at one time or another. And we need to have compassion for those who have become more seriously impaired than we have. After all, addiction is an equal opportunity condition.

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