"Everything
should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler."
Albert Einstein
To
understand addiction is to delve into one of the great
mysteries of our time. Throughout history there have been
many theories, explanations and definitions of addiction put
forward, yet we live in a time where a clear universal
understanding of addiction remains illusive. This conceptual
chaos has resulted in conflicting ideas about who should get
treatment, whether activities like gambling and sex can
become addictions, and how to diagnose and study the
prevalence of addictive behavior in society. Despite these
problems, the study of addiction has evolved - particularly
in the last decade - and we know enough about addiction to
successfully treat and manage it.
Although
understanding addiction is not a requirement for successful
behavior change, for many people knowing something about the
problem helps answer important questions like "why can't I
stop myself?" and "what are the most effective methods for
changing my behavior?" Unfortunately, there are no simple
answers to these questions, but there are answers - and they
come from multiple sources that all contribute valuable
insights into the nature of addiction. Anyone who has sought
help, including family and friends of addicts, has likely
encountered a wide range of opinions about addiction and
treatment. At some point a fair question to ask is "who do I
believe?" There appear to be four groups of people that we
should consider: (1) researchers who have spent their
careers investigating various aspects of addiction (2)
clinicians who are trained to treat people with addictions
and are in a position to evaluate methods of change (3)
those who have learned to successfully manage their
addictions - with or without treatment, and (4) those who
continue to struggle with addiction. You may be wondering
why the final group made the list, but they are equally
important to a comprehensive understanding of addiction for
the very reason that if we knew all the answers they would
not still be struggling. All four groups collectively
provide us the most realistic and accurate understanding of
addiction. To best understand addiction then, is to look
at it from multiple perspectives, recognizing the
strengths and limitations of each perspective.
More to come...
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