Drug and Alcohol Addiction and Recovery

Over the course of my career as a psychotherapist, I have facilitated the growth of many clients struggling with drug and alcohol addiction. As the clinical supervisor of several drug and alcohol treatment programs, I’ve witnessed the suffering and pain that these addictions bring to the user and their family and friends. Drug and alcohol addictions are characterized by the compulsive need for immediate gratification while simultaneously denying or minimizing the destructive effects.

Addiction viewed through an existential-humanistic lens

I view addiction, and the road to recovery, through an existential-humanistic lens. This includes the following:

1. On a physical level, you have a biochemical imbalance. Often, there is a genetic predisposition to addiction. The predisposition can be recognized if you have biological family members who have a drug and alcohol addiction, whether they are active or recovering. Having a predisposition doesn’t mean you will become addicted to drugs or alcohol. It just means there is a higher chance you will.

   If you abuse drugs or alcohol for an extended period, your body chemistry can be changed, and addiction is the result. However, if you have a biochemical imbalance, it is a given of your existence. In existential terms, it is important to deal with your limits and not deny them. For long-lasting sobriety to occur, you can never drink or use again. What you do have control over is the mental, emotional, and transpersonal issues you are dealing with. Examining them, and working through your issues, can support a quality and long-lasting sobriety to happen.

2. On the mental and emotional level, there is an emptiness in your life; a void. There is a lack of meaningful purpose. You feel helpless in the face of a world where there is so much pain and suffering. The altered state experienced through drugs and alcohol can be used to fill up the void and experience a false sense of meaning. You experience a lack of authentic connection to yourself, to others, and to the world.

   One possibility is that you have a feeling of worthlessness and inadequacy. You feel a lack of agency to change your self-perception. A critical voice is present too much of the time, which blocks the discovery of and connection with your gifts, talents, and sense of worth. Using drugs and alcohol quiets your critical voice long enough to create a false sense of connection to your gifts, talents, and sense of worth.

   Another possibility is that your false sense of connection stems from misplaced anger at the world. You develop a victim mindset, believing that life is a raw deal, isn’t fair, and nothing can be done about it. While there can be validity to your anger and your circumstances, you experience a lack of agency and are unable to take constructive action. You place too much focus on what others are doing to you and you deal with your anger by using drugs and alcohol.

3. On a transpersonal level, there is a lack of connection to something beyond ourselves. On an existential level, we acknowledge that life includes mystery, and we are always in the process of discovery. As humans, we have an innate desire to seek and connect with something beyond ourselves. In spiritual terms, it could be called a Higher Self, a Higher Power, or God, however you define God. You use alcohol and drugs as a substitute for this search. In a workshop I attended, Thomas Patrick Lavin, Ph.D., a Jungian analyst, said, "they don’t call alcohol 'spirits' for nothing."

Addiction recovery from an existential-humanistic perspective

From an existential-humanistic perspective, how do you move from drug and alcohol addiction to a healthy recovery and a fulfilled life? Here are some possibilities:

1. To address the physical level, acknowledge that your addiction includes a biochemical, physiological reality. It is a given of your existence. You need to be clean and sober to recover. If you aren’t sure if you have a biochemical imbalance, one possibility is to use the harm reduction model. This includes having the intention to act responsibly and be in control of your usage.

   The first step is to define what responsible usage is for you. If you can use responsibly, then it is a matter of abuse, not addiction. However, be aware of the power of denial. Are you fooling yourself with your definition of responsible usage? Are you making excuses when you go beyond what you intended to use? It is important to be honest with yourself and to get feedback from others as to your actual usage and behavior. Then you will be able to determine if you do have a lack of control. If so, in order to recover, you need to not use at all.

2. To address the mental and emotional level, the following questions need to be explored: How do you discover and develop a meaningful purpose in your life? How do you make sense of what it means to be human and live in the world? Are you willing to face the void and emptiness that is a part of the human experience, rather than drown it through drugs and alcohol? Are you willing to explore your lack of positive connection with yourself? Are you willing to examine the roots of the critical voice that emerges and in doing so, be more compassionate towards yourself? Can you find a path to taking personal responsibility for your life and the circumstances that face you? Can you find a path to forgiving yourself and others, in order to heal your anger? Can you discover more healthy responses to the above rather than drugs or alcohol?
3. To address the transpersonal level, one key is surrender. You surrender to the unknown and the mystery of life. This process can be spiritual, but it doesn’t have to be. By surrendering, you discover what aspects of life you genuinely have control over and where you do not. By surrendering, you are acknowledging that you do not have control over everything. There is something else that goes beyond you, to which you can intuitively connect and trust. You can recognize that you have a lack of control over your drug and alcohol addiction and that surrender to this reality is needed.

   By integrating the experience of what you can control and what you need to surrender to, you increase your agency. However, be aware of the difference between surrender and resignation. Surrender implies hope and optimism. You take responsibility where it fits and let the rest take care of itself. Resignation implies a defeatist attitude—as in, this is as good as it gets, and it’s not so good. With resignation, it is easier to let go of your sense of responsibility and to relapse. Even if you don’t relapse, it doesn’t lead to a fulfilled and actualized life. In alcoholism parlance, this can be termed as a "dry drunk."

   Embodying the Serenity Prayer can help in the surrendering process. The Serenity Prayer suggests we learn to accept the things we cannot change, to have the courage to change the things we can, and the wisdom to know the difference.

Recovery from addiction is a challenging and rewarding journey. I believe it is well worth the effort it will take. It is a difficult course to walk alone. Some options I recommend, are to connect with support groups, like the 12-Step programs, enter a chemical dependency treatment program, and to seek out individual, couples, family, or group therapy.

I hope this post provides a helpful framework for viewing addiction and recovery.