|
Part 1 of 2 parts
There are many kinds of
addiction, not just drugs and alcohol. Some of us are addicted to
food. We overeat and cannot seem to control ourselves when it comes
to food.
Others are addicted to shopping.
They shop for the sake of shopping. They buy things they don’t
need. They have such a compulsion to shop that they are out of
control. Shopping causes them to forget their problems.
Gambling, as you already know, is
an addiction that can devastate families. So many gambling addicts
have driven their families into poverty.
These addictions are not usually
considered such. Persons who are heavily into these addictions do
not consider themselves addicts even if their behavior causes them
and their love ones lots of pain.
So let’s talk about drugs and
alcohol addiction. Alcohol kills far more people than illegal drugs
do even if it is not outlawed. Many illnesses are complicated and
even brought on by alcoholism.
What makes an addict? What is
addiction?
There are five characteristics
that are the hallmarks of true addiction. (1) tolerance (2)
withdrawal symptoms, (3) self-deception, (4) loss of will power and
(5) distortion of attention.
You know you have built up a
tolerance to drug or alcohol when you want and need more of the drug
or drink in order to feel satisfied.
Like the shabu user who takes his
drugs once or twice a week in the beginning. Later, he is using two,
three or four times a day, in order to feel satisfied. He needs more
and more drugs to get the same high. It’s like having to eat more
and more to get the feeling of being full.
There are those who can get dizzy
with a couple of hard drinks, while the alcoholic is hardly affected
by the same amount of liquor. That’s tolerance.
The second characteristic of
addiction is the presence of withdrawal symptoms. The first symptom
is a stress reaction. When the body is deprived of a chemical it has
become accustomed to, it begins to crave for it. The body doesn’t
think, it merely craves for more.
When that does not happen; when
the addict suddenly stop using shabu, there is a physical reaction
in the body as it craves for the substance it got used to. This
craving is an automatic response of the body. Stress reaction to
shabu withdrawal can range from irritability, tremors,
aggressiveness, panic and deep depression.
A second type of withdrawal is
more emotional than anything else. The addict who is suddenly
deprived of his shabu not only craves for the drug, but also for the
rituals, the lifestyle and the culture that surround the drug taking
habits of the addict. Addicts don’t just crave for their drugs,
they also long for the whole package, the lifestyle. We see this all
the time in our Nazareth rehab center. Our residents have been
drug-free for months, but they still crave for the lifestyle of the
addict if not the chemical itself. 
If you have problems about
drugs, alcohol and behavior/attitude call my office at 820-6107 or
825-1771 or e-mail me at gvcbuenca@vasia.com or write me at P.O. Box
2099 MCPO, Makati City
|
