When you are highly dependent on something, you are addicted to this something.
You can be addicted to chemical substances like Alcohol, Nicotine and Drugs but it is also possible to Addict to the feeling of Power, a Concept (Dialogues, Cycles), an Activity (Work (Burn-Out), Gambling, Sex, Games), an Emotion (Extacy, Power, Sadness), a Person (Being in Love) or a Group (A Sect).
This Blog shows you what an Addiction really is about and how you can get rid of an Addiction.
In 2000 I became involved in all kinds of projects to Prevent People from Addiction (including Work-addiction, Burn-Out). To prevent addiction you have to start when people are young.
Young people are very dependent on (addicted to) others. When they are very young their parents are dominant but later and certainly when puberty starts young people are heavily influenced by their peers (peer pressure).
To help Young Adults to resist Peer Pressure we developed a Story Based Game that Simulated Real Life Situations. The Real Life Situations were found by interviewing (Depth Interview) Young and Old People that were able to stop their Addictive behavior.
The Whole Idea about this project called, Virtual Enjoyment, was that people Learn from their Mistakes. They share these experiences with others (Friends, Family) by Story-Telling.
The project was aimed at sharing these failures (and their solutions) with everybody. A very good example of this approach is the AA (Alcoholics Anonymous). The main feature of the System we developed was an Automated Story-Teller (A Simulator).
Later the same approach was used to help people that were Out-of-Work because of Work-Addiction (Burn-Out).
Children are for 50% determinated by their genes. The genes contain many factors that influence the ability to addict to something. A huge percentage of the human race is unable to use alcohol so they will never get addicted to this chemical substance. The other 50% is related to the Social Context they live in.
According to Judith Harris the Emotions contain three different modules for collecting and responding to information from the Social Environment, the Socialisation System, the Status System and the Relationship System.
The Socialisation system Adapts the child to his or her Culture. This involves acquiring the local language and accent, the appropriate behaviours and customs, and the prevailing attitudes and Belief-Systems.
Peer Group
The purpose of the Status system is to enable children to Compete successfully with their Peers.
The Relationship System motivates us to form new relationships, to maintain existing ones if they’re going well, and to find out as much as we can about new people we meet. It contains the Relationship Patterns of the Parents.
The majority of young adults want to be part of a group (a Tribe). They do almost everything that is necessary to make this happen. Some of these tribes are dominated by a small group, the bullies.
The leaders use all kinds of rituals to make sure that their dominant position is not at stake. When you want to become and to stay part of the tribe you have to show that you are not an asshole.
One of the ways to show is the intake of an excessive amount of alcohol and/or other drugs (Binge drinking).
Binge Drinking is the Nordic Way of taking alcohol and is controlled by Peer Pressure. To become and stay part of the group you have to prove you are capable of exceeding the limits.
It is very clear that one of the effective ways to avoid addiction is to help young people to resist Dominant Peer Pressure.
To make this happen they have to Learn to Accept Themselves As They Really Are.
The Personal Power to Resist Peer Pressure is highly related to the way parents Raise their Children. Humans are Copiers and one of the most important periods of copying is early childhood. In this period children copy the Relationship-Patterns of the Parents.
When the relation of the parents is a Dominant Relationship (Master/Slave) young adults are easily manipulated by others or manipulate others. A Dominant Relationship-pattern is sadly enough propagated from the Parents to the Children. Dominant Fathers breed Dominant Suns who Marry Dependent Females.
Addictions are highly Cultural Dependent. When you live in a state dominated by Muslim Culture, drinking alcohol is strictly forbidden. Binge Drinking is a normal activity in the Northern Countries (Sweden, Norway).
Moderate drinking of alcohol (mostly Wine) occurs in the Southern Countries of Europe (France, Spain, Italy,). In this case the drinking of alcohol is part of a Social Activity.
In the Italian Culture Alcohol is related to Food and excessive intake is prohibited by the Social System
When you are Addicted you are Repeating a Harmful Pattern. This pattern was started somewhere in your life. It was copied from your Parents or copied when you were part of a Peer Group (A Status Group).
When a Pattern is not Accepted in a Culture it is very difficult to Start the Pattern.
When a Pattern is a Cultural Accepted Habit (a Status) it is very difficult to get rid of this pattern.
When the Body produces Negative Physical Sensations (Withdrawal) it is very difficult to stop a pattern.
What is Happening?
In the Beginning the Universe was just a Rotating Void. Suddenly the Void was Penetrated by the Force of Creativity, The Spirit. The Explosion of Creativity started a phase of Expansion and Desire came into existence.
Soon Desire was compensated by Control (Contraction) to makes sure that the Expansion would stop at a certain moment. That is why Control and Desire are Opponents.
In the last step of the first step of Creation Control (the Father) and Desire (the Mother) were Merged and the Emotions (The Child) were created.
In the First Step of Creation a Stable Pattern, the Trinity, came into existence. The Trinity is the Enfolding of Spirit and contains Desire, Control and the Emotions (Soul). The Trinity is the basic Fractal Pattern of the Universe. With the Help of the Trinity-Fractal, Spirit has enfolded itself into many levels.
The Force of Creativity wants to find out about everything. Especially young adults are therefore highly interested in drugs because they are forbidden and the forbidden has a huge attraction to young people. They want and have to find the Limits in Life.
Control stimulates Desire and Desire stimulates Control. When Others try to Control Desire, Desire is stimulated to the Extreme. Desire and Control can only be balanced by the Emotions. The Emotions, the Child, are looking for Shelter and Love.
When Love (Communion) is not happening or impossible because people are unable to connect, Control and Desire are in Control and and start their Eternal Fight to avoid the Void. When this happens the Contact with Spirit is Lost.
When you are no longer in Control of Desire, and when your Happiness depends on something Outside yourself, you are Addicted. When Desire takes over Control you are caught in a Rotating Addiction Pattern, The Cycle of Destruction.
The Highly Positive Emotions of Desire (Pleasure) are Voided by the Highly Negative Emotions of Control (Pain, Fear). To stop these Negative Emotions you need the Next Shot to Experience the Positive Emotions of Desire. This is called the Opponent Process Theory of Solomon.
The Emotions, are the Balancer of the Body. They always Take Care of the Body and will find a new Equilibrium. They start to compensate the negative effects. In this case the Body becomes Tolerant to the drug and needs more to get the same effect. The Downward Spiral of Addiction is on the Move. This is called the Allostatic Model of Koob.
What to Do?
When you are Addicted to Alcohol, Work or Power you have to find an e-Motivation (an Impuls from the Emotions, the CareTaker) to Stop the Pattern.
You could ask Spirit to help You.
When you Stop it will take a long time before you are Back to Normal. In this time the Downward Spiral is moving Up but the Negative Emotions will come back.The Negative Emotions, the Pain-Body, are the Negative Emotions of Control.
Control Fears the Future and has a very Nice Story to tell. It wants to convince you that the Drug is the Best Solution to Avoid the Pain. Just take a little bit and You will be Happy Again.
At a certain moment the contact with Spirit is established again. When this happens You will feel the Penetrating Power of the Creative Force. You will start to Explore the World and New Opportunities will show themselves every day.
The Emotion of Spirit, The Joy of Life, you Missed so long is back.
Enjoy.
LINKS
About the Project Virtual Enjoyment
Een Boek over het project Virtueel Genieten (in Dutch)
Het Projectplan Virtueel Genieten Fase 3 (in Dutch)
About the National Council on Seniors Drug & Alcohol Rehab
About the Master/Slave-relationship
About the Human Social Context, Judith Harris
How to Manipulate Adults by Peer Pressure
Why Peer Groups are very important in the Development of Children, by Judith Harris
About Dominant (Strict) Parents
About the Opponent Process Theory of Addiction of Solomon
About the Allostatic Model of Koob
About the
