Portraits

• Rachel was very active in the church, along with her family. Although she was not always reliable, she was eager to help. She attended church regularly—even the evening services. One Sunday evening Rachel came in late and loudly. She was obviously drunk. Her children were in tow, but very embarrassed.

• Tim never seemed to have money for all his bills. He also seemed to be sick a lot with a constantly stuffy nose. Then a congregation member saw him on a street corner in the city playing the cello and begging for money.
  
  
• Dawn loved the Bingo games. No one thought much about it until a neighborindeed. discovered her young children home alone one night while Dawn was playing the cards at the Bingo parlor.
  
  
• Reggie had always been famous for how many beers he could drink without feeling any effects. But something had changed. He’d been drunk several times recently, according to friends. You’re called in when he’s arrested for a DUI.

Definitions and Key Thoughts

• An addiction is a dependence on a substance (alcohol, prescription medicine, marijuana, or street drugs) or activity (gambling, shopping).
  
  
• An addiction is a physical (as in alcohol or most other drugs) or psychological (as in gambling or shopping) compulsion to use a substance or activity in order to cope with everyday life. For example, without alcohol, the alcoholic does not feel “normal” and cannot function well.
  
  
• Addiction is a behavior that is habitual and difficult or seemingly impossible to control. It leads to activity that is designed solely to obtain the substance or cover up its use—the housewife hiding bottles all over the house, the drug addict shoplifting to support the habit, the gambler embezzling to pay off debts.
  
  
• Characterized by the defense mechanism of denial, the addict blames his or her problems on someone else—the boss is too difficult, the spouse isn’t affectionate enough, the kids are disobedient, or the friends are too persuasive. The addict refuses to take responsibility.
  
  
• Drug addiction is the biochemical dependence on a substance—the body over time needs the substance in ever-increasing amounts to stave off the  symptoms of withdrawal.

• Non-drug addictions include compulsive overeating, gambling, sexual addiction such as that to pornography (see the section on Pornography), compulsive spending, and smoking.

Key Characteristics

• A pattern of out of control substance usage or behavior for a year or more.
  
  
• Mood swings are often present.
  
  
• Increasing usage or pattern of behavior over time.
  
  
• Feeling of shame or selfworthlessness.                                       
                                             
• Strong need to be liked or for approval from others                                   
  
  
• Impulse control problems – especially with food, sex, drugs or money
  
  
• Use of substance or behavior to reduce anxiety       
                                  
• Obsessing about substance or behavior
                                                                                                      
  
• Unmanageability
  
  
• Guilt and Shame
  
  
• l Failed efforts to control                                                          
  
  
• l Negative consequences to self and others  

                                     
Causes of Addiction

• Emotional: Addicts are emotionally wounded. One study of sex addicts found 81% to be sexually abused, 74% physically abused, and 97% emotionally abused. 2
  
  
• Relational: Addictive behaviors are positively related to troublesome early life relationships. For adults, addiction causes stress in interpersonal relationships and supremely happy in and leads to social difficulties. 3                                                
  
  
• Physical: Addicts become physically dependent on their substances of abuse, experiencing withdrawal without them.
  
  
• Cognitive and Behavioral: Addicts often have illogical or irrational thoughts that cause them to forget their identity as children of God. Unrealistic expectations about themselves and others are also common.
  
  
• Spiritual: Addiction at its core is rebellion against God. In addition, whether it is drugs, alcohol, or sex, the addiction becomes a false idol to the addict.                                                                              

Character of Addiction

• Unmanageability: For addicts, their dependency on the addiction is out of their control.
  
  
• Neuro-chemical Tolerance: God designed our bodies to adapt to what is presented. Therefore, addicts experience tolerance—their bodies need increasing amounts of a chemical to procure the same effect.
  
  
• Progression: Many addicts begin by simply experimenting—trying out a drug, going to a casino, taking a puff on a cigarette. However, because more of a chemical is needed to achieve an effect, the addict will increase addictive actions in strength or frequency.
  
  
• Feeling Avoidance: The addiction is used to improve the addict’s emotional or psychological state—it is a way of avoiding feelings of loneliness, anxiety, anger, sorrow, etc.
  
  
• Consequences: Estrangement from God, the manifestation of habitual sin, health issues, and social and interpersonal problems are all consequences common to addiction.