Addiction 101
Being A Human Being First
by
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I have found that a majority of the programs that are designed to help the individuals with their addiction challenges only had hidden underlying psychological philosophies.These hidden underlying psychological philosophies consist of two major fronts. The first is: "we want fix you" and the second is: "you'll never be a whole human being again because you are an addict." I personally find these hidden underlying philosophical ideas very detrimental to the individual human being who must live and challenge their addicted behavior. Let us begin working on the first hidden underlying philosophy of "we want to fix you." A majority of the program counselors or therapists come from this mindset. In my entire life, I have never seen a "fixed" individual. I heard of an addicted person getting a fix, in shooting heroin or cocaine with a needle. My question then is how are you going to "fix" another human being. Iam quite sure you have been witness to individuals being "mended" when suffering from broken bones, operated on and things of that sort. Even then, the individual is not "fixed", they are altered in some way or fashion,and they are not the same individual anymore. So,how can you "fix" human beings'addictive behavior? Whatever the trauma,it changes that individual from that moment on. No one can move time back to "fix" that individual and make them whole. Despite all the advances in science or psychology, they have changed! Now let us apply the underlying philosophical ideas to the recovery program model used today. "We are going to fix you so you can function as an addict and not as a human being because you have a problem." (Well, maybe not in those exact words, but you get the idea.) That problem that I am referring to is: You as a human being are not strong enough to be a human being with control over your addictive behavior, ever. For the rest of your life you will never have any real control of your thoughs, words or actions. Due to your lack of control you must comply to the set of arbitrary rules of behavior of an addict. Why is the word ‘problem’such a major factor of influence when working with individuals with an addictive behavior? Are we so conditioned that we, as individuals, can only comprehend or conceptualize this area in that context?
The definition of problem is “a question or situation that presents uncertainty; perplexity, or difficulty-a source of trouble or annoyance.” Based on this one definition, you can see that the individual who has an addictive behavior is already behind the so-called "eight ball". When operating with such a disadvantage, based on a "problem”, you don’t need to wonder why we have so many individuals in rehabilitation centers.
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About the Book
This book gives you an opportunity to learn and understand human nature regarding both an individual with an addiction challenge and self.
The dialogue format gives you insight as to how human beings view a variety of emotional stages in our lives and how these emotions have a direct relationship with how those emotions dictate the individuals response affecting their decisions.
About the Author
S. ALEXANDER RILEY grew up in Racine/Kenosha Wisconsin area where his family still resides. He started his career in Criminal Justice as a Criminal Defense Investigator for the Milwaukee Public Defenders office after attending the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. He received his Masters in Child and Adolescent Psychology from Western American University with a minor in Alcohol and Drugs and continued his doctorial studies at San Diego University of Integral Studies. He was employed as a Dual Diagnosis Counselor for Mental Health Systems in San Diego and as a Alcohol and Drug Treatment Coordinator for Paradise Valley Hospital –Bay view Behavioral Health in Chula Vista California. He currently lives in San Diego, California where he is working for the San Diego City Schools as a Special Education Technician, and a Professor at Medical Career College of Fremont, California teaching Substance Abuse Rehabilitation Counseling. He is a former Adjunct Professor at National University/West Med College. He is a member of the California Association for Alcohol/Drug Educators.