My take on the dynamics of alcoholism/addiction

Hi! I just wrote what follows in a letter to a friend of mine. To save time, I typed in all lower caps.

This represents 20 years of my meditation on alcoholism/addiction. This letter reflects my thoughts. Others will agree and disagree. Take what you like and leave the rest. :^)


alcoholism is a scientifically established disease. i will try to explain a few of its features:

* when an alcoholic has alcohol in his body, he loses all connections to everyone else. to the practicing alcoholic, their number one priority is getting drunk, and once that drunk is over, getting loaded again and again. once the alcohol is in the alcoholic, he withdraws, and disconnects from others and non-drinking experiences. his primary purpose is to become intoxicated; everything and everyone else revolve around his need to drink and his ability to do so, uninterrupted.

* it's essential to know, however: the behaviors of an alcoholic have their basis in the neurological "hardwiring" of the alcoholic's brain.

* the biological dynamics of alcoholism can be understood through science's discoveries of the evolutionary development of the brain -- or the brain's roots, if you will.

* the most primitive parts of the brain go back so far in evolution as to be pre-cognitive. they are practically reptilian. this ancient, pre-civilized part of the brain emerged first; later the cognitive lobes evolved into being.

* the first developed parts of the human brain have more power over the brain as a whole, than the parts that developed later. this is true in every human brain.

* the most evolutionary primitive parts of the brain are also recognized as the brain's "pleasure centers." they control the production and regulation of "pleasurable" biochemicals such as dopamine and serotonin. it is here that all human emotions first emerge.

* the neurology of the alcoholic/addict is hyper-sensitive: even to the brain's simplest neurochemical functioning. this is one of the features that differentiate the biology of the alcoholic from that of a non-alcoholic. the alcoholic's neurochemical stability is always in a state of potential imbalance. often, the alcoholic's body -- i.e., his primitive brain/pleasure centers -- do not produce enough neurotransmitters, or do not sufficiently regulate them. a common result is that the alcoholic does not feel mentally stable enough to live without some sort of quick external intervention.

* in the beginning, the body's pleasure centers equate the presence of alcohol in the body with physiological pleasure and give feedback to the body that it is experiencing pleasure. the alcoholic therefore drinks and enjoys the experience. he may not consciously realize that he "self-medicating" with liquor in order to feel mentally, emotionally and dispositionally even.

* this neurochemically-imbalanced, conditioned stimulus and response creates an overexcited mind-behavior feedback loop that propels the alcoholic's future drinking. this feedback loops reinforces the alcoholic's drinking even when toxic symptoms of the drinking begin to appear, such as hangovers, changes of personality and "blackouts."

* the primitive regions of the brain, driven by a neurologic disharmony due to the alcoholic brain's functioning, fixate this destructive behavior in the alcoholic. because the primitive brain overrules the cognitive components of the brain that developed after it, it is at this point that the alcoholic may have "crossed over the line" that requires his drinking without his conscious consent.

* these primitive parts of the brain are pre-cognitive. they determine the alcoholic's behavior without needing to route the decision-making through the brain's cognitive functions. the conscious mind of the alcoholic does not decide whether the alcoholic will drink. under the active influence of alcohol, the alcohol does not have the choice but to drink.

* this pre-cognitive mechanism in the neuro-dysfunctional brain of an actively-drinking alcoholic illustrates why alcoholics get drunk even when they are rationally trying to consciously control their drinking. this is why appeals to the alcoholic's reasoning, emotions or values do not make any dent in the alcoholic's inebriation.

* most alcoholics are depressives; that is, they suffer from depression of a medical nature. try as he may, the alcoholic cannot bring himself out of depression with alcohol or the other drugs that the alcoholic abuses. nevertheless, the alcoholic will try to quash his depression with sedatives (e.g., alcohol), or a combination of sedatives and stimulants.

* the alcoholic may try a variety of different stimulants in combination with alcohol to strike the "right (artificial) balance." these stimulants can be any of the following: cocaine, speed, crack, methamphetamine, and so on. the alcoholic may try to elevate his depression with the use of stimulating behaviors, such as: negative excitement, anger, codependent "drama," compulsive or obsessive sex with a partner, anonymous or casual sex, gambling, argumentation, and so on. the active alcoholic, caught in the grips of neurochemical havoc, will go to any (ultimately self-defeating) lengths to try to restore a semblance of peace to his insane thinking.

* try as he might, eventually the destructive behaviors the alcoholic lavishes upon himself and others catch up to him in the shape of almost every possible negative thing that could happen to a person. this compounds the neurological imperative to seek what has now become oblivion through drink.

* science is also discovering evidence that alcoholism and other addictions have specific genetic roots. scientists are very close to locating the genes that will lead to alcoholism in an individual. not surprisingly, the combination of these particular "alcoholic" genes are similar to the combination of genes that lead to depression.

* it's not clear why some people with the alcoholic gene will drink alcoholically (or act out addictedly), while some people with the same genes won't. the differences are probably based on psychological and sociological factors that bring out the particular expressions of each alcoholic. some alcoholics do not drink alcoholically until they are in the right environment, such as high school, college or work. some alcoholics, such as myself, are born with such a severe neurochemical imbalance that we gravitate to, even actively search out "fixes" such as alcohol from a young age. [i was a blackout drinker from the beginning of my drinking. i was 13.]

* the time-tested programs of Alcoholics Anonymous (meant for the alcoholic) and Al-Anon (meant for people close to an alcoholic) stand by their experience: no one can diagnose whether a person is actually alcoholic except that person. in my opinion, the alcoholic must come to an innermost realization within himself that he has no power whatsoever over his drinking. ultimately, in order to recover from alcoholism, the alcoholic must make his own diagnosis, and then determine if he wants treatment for his disease. i/we/you/they may be sure that a person is an alcoholic, but it's likely that my/your/our/their opinions will not change the alcoholic's distorted perceptions of himself.


the impact of alcoholism on the lives of others

* alcoholism, in addition to being a biological/neurological disease, is also a mental disease.

* when alcohol is in the body of an alcoholic, he is completely under the control of an imbalance that has set off a craving/neurochemical imperative in his body. over this craving, he has absolutely no physical or mental control. the presence of alcohol in the body of an alcoholic also sets off an obsession in his mind, bringing him back to thinking over and over about drinking and getting loaded. this obsession preempts all of the alcoholic's perceptions.

* alcoholism is a disease of perception and denial. over all evidence to the contrary, the alcoholic will rearrange all his perceptions of reality in order so that he can drink as he is compelled to drink. this includes denial of his alcoholism. this includes trying to manipulate and control everyone around the alcoholic so that he is successfully able to blame his drinking on his perceived problems of others. alcoholics are great at creating drama in order to try to distract others from mirroring to him that he is an alcoholic.

* the compelling power of an alcoholic -- doing all that he can to also distort the thinking of others, so that they will be confused as to the fact of his alcoholism -- inevitably harms the perceptions, thinking and feeling of those closest to him.

* the alcoholic can make everyone around him feel like they are crazy and that he is the only sane one among them. one day he admits to his friends or family that he is somehow responsible for his "bad luck." the next day he categorically denies any responsibility for his problems and denounces his friends as traitors for implying he has a problem with drugs or alcohol.

* i can only describe the power of the pathology that the alcoholic inflicts upon others as malevolent. at the same time, the alcoholic is in the grip of a disease that is beyond his reason to control, muchless "manage," as try he might. so what can be done?

* no one, including the loved ones of an alcoholic, can work out his addiction for him. i/we/you/them cannot love him enough, guilt him enough, clean up after him enough, beg him enough, threaten him enough in order to get him to stop drinking. this is never my/your/our/their fault.

* no practicing alcoholic will ever take responsibility for his drinking, unless he is placed in physical, mental, emotional and spiritual circumstances that are completely beyond his ability to control. [and that is just the beginning of recovery.]

* the alcoholic must be made to reckon with the consequences of his drinking, with or without the helpful hand of others. often, the alcoholic will lean on the support of others, while in actuality never taking the meaningful steps forward to his sobriety. that is why the friends of an alcoholic must learn to detach from him -- spiritually, mentally, emotionally and even physically -- for his good. BUT MORE IMPORTANT, FOR THEIR OWN GOOD!