If I Understand Why I'm an Addict, Maybe It Will Go Away...

Addicts new to recovery typically enter treatment motivated by their current crisis and a desire to escape their actual and potential consequences (rather than a desire to change their behaviors and live differently moving forward). And instead of being focused on the day-to-day solutions that might help them stay sober, they are often more interested in the causes of their addiction. Sometimes they think that if they understand their problem's etiology, it will go away. Other times, they just want someone other than themselves to blame. Either way, addicts nearly always want to know: "How and why did I get this way?" Whenever I am asked this question, I first state that knowing why you are addicted will not control your addiction. And then I answer the query as best I can, understanding that some folks either can't or won't move forward into healing without some type of practical response. For the most part, addictions (of any type) arise thanks to a combination of risk factors -- some genetic, others environmental. It is possible for an addict's risk factors to be entirely hereditary or entirely situational, of course, but usually it's a combination of nature and nurture coming together and forming a witch's brew of risk. Thanks to modern science, genetic risk factors are relatively easy to identify. Consequently, we now know that certain genetic deviations can influence the ways in which addictive substances are processed in the body and brain, thereby raising or low...
Source: Healthy Living - The Huffington Post - Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news