Alcohol and other specific substances slow the brain functioning down so life’s intensity’s start to dull, which feels absolutely fantastic for the people whom find themselves continually stressed, unfulfilled with life or in an ongoing cycle of emotional unease from trauma.
However, due to the feeling of intense release they will unavoidably continue to drink for a greater sense of relief and eventually enter into a complete state of unconscious existence (thinking), and have no filter or control management system over their emotions exasperating their state of being. Therefore, whatever is the dominant underpinning state of mind/emotion will be openly expressed and the person will completely immerse themselves in an uncontrollable wave of related emotions, pain and discomfort that will inevitably arise.
This in itself can be very destructive to the ‘self’ (ego), as a sense or a perceived guilt and shame is nearly always attached to it. This can be devasting to the individual, as they are possibly two of the most problematic and difficult emotions to dissolve. They can destroy the person’s self-esteem and confidence in their ability to cope and survive, disconnecting them from their apparent or deluded reality, detaching them from life and their true nature.
Any external substance that gives you such a release of your own created mental torture and which drops you below normal thought processing will create a temporary but incredible feeling for the heighten user, which by its nature becomes highly addictive. I mentioned self-created as it is an important realisation because trauma is not the actual event or circumstance itself, but your reaction to the said event that has taken place, this distinction is vital for understanding and healing to take place.
It is not the activity or substance that is the issue, so there is categorically no point in trying to control or suppress it as this is inexorably destined to fail. The issue is their self-induced and usually repetitive torturous rotations of thought and attached conditioned feelings to those thoughts, which is the trauma they are trying to escape from. For the vast majority of addictions, if there is going to be any progress then the direct reaction to the said event(s) or trauma has to be first seen, accepted (felt), understood, forgiven (on both sides, others and themselves) and then released. To do this a certain amount of mental clarity is needed, not a dullness of thinking or a detached numbness void of feeling. Alongside this approach we need to fashion a safe, supportive, empathic, non-judgmental environment.
Falling below normal thinking is not the answer, just a temporary dressing barely covering the wound. Understanding your mind and remaining in presence is a more productive solution to their inner demons which are, if not dealt with lurking in a state of eager anticipation.
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