Out of the darkness and into the healing light

Chances are high that you or someone near to you has been impacted by the adverse effects of alcohol or drug addiction.  Addiction is the single-most destructive disease facing humanity right now.  And this nondiscriminatory affliction is passed down from generation to generation.

In 1966 the American Medical Association classified addiction as a disease which takes place in the brain and can be detected using DNA testing.  Even considering the aforementioned medical conclusion, why is it that we still attach so much shame to this affliction?  Addiction thrives in the darkness, hidden from friends and families, neighbors and colleagues.  Why do we keep it hidden in the shadows, away from those who could offer assistance in arresting the disease?

We do not attach this level of shame to cancer, diabetes, heart disease, and other deadly diseases.  Could this be an area of attention that the world is overlooking, an obstacle that, if overcome, could propel us into a more advanced and compassionate society?  What are we being called to do here?  Who are we being called to be?

How do we overcome the intense denial that permeates entire families, a denial often driven by the stigma so commonly attached to the label of “addiction”?  Family members of the addicted wish for the person struggling with the stranglehold of this disease to “come around” or “see the light” through their insistent prodding; however, more often than not, the family becomes an extension of the illness.  Everyone can see that the addict is in distress; his or her behavior is obvious.  But what is not so easily seen is that the family, too, is nonetheless addicted.  They are addicted to the drama, the confusion, the control, all of which produce naturally occurring chemicals that stimulate the same receptors in the brain as the addict who is actively introducing drugs or alcohol into their body.

When an addict has reached the end of their rope, they reach out and ask for help.  It has been written time and time again that there is power in numbers. The Bible states, “For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.”

Is there someone in your life who is living in the darkness of addiction?  Have you been overlooking or possibly even avoiding an opportunity to help someone rediscover who they really are?   Could this be the wake-up call in your life that invites you yourself to step out of the darkness and into the healing light and say, “I could use a hand?”

You are not alone.  Not now.  Not ever.

Comments

13 responses to “Out of the darkness and into the healing light”

  1. Stuart Avatar
    Stuart

    Thanks for the great post.

  2. Ian Daugherty Avatar
    Ian Daugherty

    I am a grateful recovering addict. In January of 2006 I hit my bottom. Addiction is a disease that affects every area of my and many of my friends lives. Every act is touched by the disease because it has less to do with drugs and alcohol and more to do with painful and negative selfishness. I was blessed to find a12 step program that I call home and without their help I would be living on borrowed time.

    Dont be mistaken, the message that you can live a better clean life is out there and it’s strong. We recovering addicts are all across the world. Places you wouldn’t believe. Iran, China, Israel, Cuba, Antarctica, and many prisons, too. We are a wide and diverse fellowship. Spreading the word that no matter what, you never have to use again.

  3. Lori Avatar
    Lori

    It does, indeed, take a family to form an addict, and continue an addiction of any kind-not just chemical. Gabor Mate’s, In The Realm Of Hungry Ghosts, explains this very well. Most of us are addicted to something. Without proper understanding of our spiritual nature we attempt to fill in the gaps of our dis-ease.

  4. Pat Avatar
    Pat

    The only way to fix this problem is to make drugs a medical issue rather than a legal issue. The current two-party system in America has no interest in this as there are too many with a vested interest in keeping things as they are, so progress will remain slow.

    Vote for Gary Johnson, Libertarian if you want to make drugs a medical issue instead of a criminal one. (sorry for the plug)

  5. Laura Jean Pringle Avatar
    Laura Jean Pringle

    I deeply love someone who has struggled with addiction. It is indeed very frustrating as the addict turns from reality and escapes into nothingness, leaving behind those who care, while they are trying to hold everything together as the addict spends too much and endangers their safety. The addict is trying to escape reality. Why? Possibly it’s due to the fact that our current reality is a misshapen mess of what ultimate reality is, and the addict knows this. All I know is that, I do NOT crave the feeling of having my world turned upside-down, and caring is what keeps me in a situation where it could possibly happen again, not co-dependency.

  6. Mia Avatar
    Mia

    I am an addict, and like Ian I am so happy and grateful to be in recovery, thanks to a simple spiritual – not religious – 12 step program… Indeed, we are all over the world, probably because it actually works.. Addiction is a disease that affects all parts of the addicts and her/his familys life, and the only solution is of a spiritual nature.. CWG was my first glimpse of hope for another life, even though I was still high when I first read it about ten years ago, it woke something inside of me, and I am so grateful for that too… Now, working the 12 step program, my relationship with God is strenghtened day by day, and the disease of addiction no longer rules my world.

  7. mewabe Avatar
    mewabe

    It has been said that addiction is a spiritual illness…

    Most addicts carry an open wound…they are the walking wounded. Their behavior may appear selfish, self-indulgent, but it is only because what some have called “the inner child” in them cannot cope, they lack the proper psychological defense system to adequately deal with their own pain (or anger, trauma, fear, etc), and most often they lack the hope, the desire to live.

    When a person has no hope, nothing matters, so this is a very deep issue that gets to the core of everything, of our very humanity.

    But contrary to what society tells us the healthiest among us are not necessarily those who function well in this world…it is perhaps those who stumble and fall, and appear to be easily overcome…because our world is presently insane, and I suspect that to be well adapted to an insane world is to be or have become at least partly insane.

  8. Amritha Avatar
    Amritha

    Great article. Great newspaper!

  9. mewabe Avatar
    mewabe

    I realize that what I wrote in my previous post could be interpreted negatively…

    When mentioning a “lack of proper psychological defenses” I meant to say that sometimes a person’s pain (or trauma etc) are so deep and intense that such person cannot cope. It was not saying in any way that such person is lacking anything intrinsically, rather my poor choice of words was meant to express that sh/e is overwhelmed by too much.

  10. Jaz Avatar
    Jaz

    Mr Kevin, and All, I love all your articles, being and doing here, and creating a place to have a deeper discussion. I am grateful and I send you love. Thank you. 🙂

  11. Jaz Avatar
    Jaz

    Although, I think, question should not be about addictions but why the pains? And, are you happy when you don’t have any food?

  12. Stephen Avatar
    Stephen

    I have had issues with drug addiction in my life. I was doing Meth and am grateful that the Police arrested me and Social Services took my children at that time in my life. I was on a path to self destruction and Death. I was unable to care for my children as they deserve. Those things happening to me took me to the place that made me take a look at my life and seek the help that I needed. Today I spend Quality time with my children and believe myself to be a good Dad. I am always trying to improve and try to teach that to my children. Their is always ways to improve upon ourselves and sometimes we have to have something bad happen to us in order to make necessary changes.

    You say you had to have something “bad” happen to help make necessary changes. Couldn’t you look back now and say that you had to have something “simply happen” to awaken you? How would life look to you if the terms “Good” and “Bad” were removed? A simple shift in perspective can be made when we channel the soul perception by removing judgment. Not only was my DUI for the better; it was divine.
    Kevin

  13. Glenys Avatar
    Glenys

    We do not attach this level of shame to cancer, diabetes, heart disease, is rather an interesing statement. I have difficulty processing that addiction is a disease like the above. At one level, yes you can be self healed from them with, what I consider, a lot of effort, however, addiction is part of the brain chemicals. I wasn’t aware that cancer or diabetes or heart disease were diseases of the chemical brain. A more & better explanation needs to be provided here. Thanks

    Disease, as defined by Webster’s Dictionary: “A condition of the living animal or plant body or of one of its parts that impairs normal functioning and is typically manifested by distinguishing signs and symptoms.”

    Disease, as defined by the American Heritage Dictionary: “A pathological condition of a part, organ, or system of an organism resulting from various causes, such as infection, genetic defect, or environmental stress, and characterized by an identifiable group of signs or symptoms.”

    Target organ is the brain. Genetic Defect in place. Follows a predictable path of symptoms.
    Kevin

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