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The Causes of Addiction
Dr Beck has assessed and treated many thousands of Drug and Alcohol Patients in the last 14 years. These Patients were of all ages and from all socioeconomic groups and ways of life. Their addictions included all of the common addictive chemicals. He found that nearly all addictions started when a person self medicated Mental Health Distresses and Malfunctions with Addictive Street Drugs. There were just a few who became addicts because of severe pain from physical disease or injury, or because of a close bond and living in the same home with an addict partner.
In Summary it nearly always takes 3 things to give rise to an Addiction:
1) Moderate to severe Mental Health Distresses/Malfunctions which cause a person to seek relief.
2) Then Self Medicate with Street Drugs or Alcohol.
3) Street Drugs and Alcohol are chemicals for which the Human Brain develops a Tolerance. As their Brain gets used to whatever Chemical they are taking and develops a Tolerance to that Chemical there is less relief, so they take more and more of the drug to regain the relief, and gradually become addicted.
So what are 1) The Original Factors that cause 2) The Brain Disturbances that lead to 3) The Mental Health Disorders that cause 4) The Addictions, and how does it all happen?
1) The ORIGINAL FACTORS
From all of the consultations that Dr Beck had with those thousands of Patients, he found 2 Major and 1 Minor ORIGINAL FACTORS. They were:
a) GENETICALLY DETERMINED FACTORS that run in some Families from generation to generation through the genes.
b) MENTAL TRAUMAS/STRESSES (Brain Shocks) from seriously traumatic and/or near death experiences.
c) PHYSICAL BRAIN DAMAGE from physical trauma and diseases e.g. Motor Vehicle Accidents and Strokes.
2) The BRAIN DISTURBANCES
The Original Factors distort Brain Chemistry and Brain Electricity. Our brain is made up of billions of cells and every cell produces micro flows of chemicals and electricity. These micro flows join up into larger flows that go to all of the different parts of our Brain and our Body to turn on and turn off and control all of our different functions.
The Disturbed Brain Chemistry and Electricity cause
a) Mental Distresses including such feelings as General Anxiety, Panic Attacks, Social Phobia, Irritability, Anger, Depression, Abnormal Fatigue, a Feeling of Separation of Body from Mind, a feeling of Being Spied on etc and
b) Mental Malfunctions including the Inability to Relax, to be Calm, to Switch Off, to Sleep Well, to Focus, to Concentrate, to be Organized, to Get Things Done and Finished; abnormally Strong Swings in Mood, Energy and Pace, with "Racing Thoughts" that keep people awake.; not being able to stop Remembering and being Distressed by things most other people would have long forgotten; being Distressed by things that don't exist or will almost certainly never happen; Hearing Voices when No One is Speaking; Believing there are People in the roof or the walls or under the floor when there is no one there, etc.
3) The MENTAL HEALTH DISORDERS
The Brain Chemistry and Electricity Disturbances, Mental Distresses and Malfunctions result in 7 main types of Mental Health Disorder.
These "Big 7" Mental Health Disorders make up over 90% of the commonly seen Mental Illnesses and Injuries which are:
i. The Sleep Disorders (difficulty going to sleep, waking too frequently during the night, waking far too early in the mornings)
ii. The Anxiety Disorders (General Anxiety, Panic Attacks, Social Anxiety or Phobia, Agoraphobia, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, OCD)
iii. "Straight" (Major) Depression - Lows without Highs
iv. "Mood Swings" (Bipolar) Manic Depressive Disorder - Highs as well as Lows
v. The Attention Deficit Disorders (ADD, ADHD, ADAD etc)
vi. The "Brain Shock" Disorders (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Acute Stress Disorder, Adjustment Disorder, Low Self Confidence/Self Esteem, Amnesia, Dissociation, Split or Multiple Personality Disorders etc.)
vii. The Paranoia/Hallucinations/Delusions Disorders
4) The ADDICTIONS
Addictions are nearly always caused by people Self Medicating "Big 7" Mental Health Disorders with Addictive Street Drugs. Their Brain gets used to (develops a Tolerance for) those drugs. The drugs then give less relief and the person then takes more and more of those drugs to regain the relief. Their Brain then gets so adapted to the drugs that they suffer withdrawal distress if the drugs are stopped. The Street Drugs are all addictive because the Dealers and Manufacturers can extract so much more money out of desperate addicts than they can get out of non addicts.
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Every day say to yourself, sometimes in a whisper and sometimes out aloud:
“I want to be clear what the feelings/thoughts are that I have which I need to change to have a better life. I want to be clear what the things are that I can’t do that I need to learn to do to have a better life.”
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