The Life Cycle and Mechanics of Addiction

The Narconon® Program of Drug Rehabilitation and Education

The Dwindling Spiral

No one wants to be a drug addict or alcoholic, but this doesn't stop people from getting addicted. The most commonly asked question is simply - how?
How could my son, daughter, father, sister, or brother become a liar, a thief, someone who cannot be trusted? How could this happen? And why won't they stop?

The first thing you must understand about addiction is that alcohol and addictive drugs are basically painkillers. They chemically kill physical or emotional pain and alter the mind's perception of reality.They make people numb.

For drugs to be attractive to a person there must first be some underlying unhappiness, sense of hopelessness, or physical pain.

What is a drug?

In medical terms, a drug is any substance that when taken into a living organism may modify one or more of its functions. Drugs can provide temporary relief from unhealthy symptoms and/or permanently supply the body with a necessary substance the body can no longer make. Some drugs produce unwanted side affects. Some drugs lead to an unhealthy dependency that has both physiological and behavioral roots.

Drug Addiction Follows a Cycle Like This:

The life cycle of addiction begins with a problem, discomfort or some form of emotional or physical pain a person is experiencing. They find this very difficult to deal with.
We start off with an individual who, like most people in our society, is basically good. This person encounters a problem or discomfort that they do not know how to resolve or cannot confront. This could include problems such as difficulty "fitting in" as a child or teenager, anxiety due to peer pressure or work expectations, identity problems or divorce as an adult. It can also include physical discomfort, such as an injury or chronic pain.

The person experiencing the discomfort has a real problem. He feels his present situation is unendurable, yet sees no good solution to the problem.
Everyone has experienced this in his or her life to a greater or lesser degree. The difference between an addict and the non-addict is that the addict chooses drugs or alcohol as a solution to the unwanted problem or discomfort.

Drugs and problems

This person tries drugs or alcohol. The drugs APPEAR to solve his problem. He feels better. Because he now SEEMS better able to deal with life, the drugs become valuable to him. The person looks on drugs or alcohol as a cure for unwanted feelings. The painkilling effects of drugs or alcohol become a solution to their discomfort.

Inadvertently the drug or alcohol now becomes valuable because it helped them feel better. This release is the main reason a person uses drugs or drinks a second or third time. It is just a matter of time before he becomes fully drug addicted, then, results from excessive or continued use of physiologically habit-forming drugs in an attempt to resolve the underlying symptoms of discomfort or unhappiness.

The addiction progresses

Analogous to an adolescent child in his first love affair, the use of drugs or alcohol becomes obsessive. The addicted person is trapped. Whatever problem he was initially trying to solve by using drugs or alcohol fades from memory. At this point, all he can think about is getting and using drugs. He loses the ability to control his usage and disregards the horrible consequences of his actions.

The Cycle of Quitting, Withdrawal, Craving and Relapse

hen the addict initially tries to quit, cells in the brain that have become used to large amounts of these metabolites are now forced to deal with much decreased amounts. Even as the withdrawal symptoms subside, the brain "demands" that the addict give it more of the drug. This is called drug craving. Craving is an extremely powerful urge and can cause a person to create all kinds of "reasons" they should begin using drugs or drinking again. He is now trapped in an endless cycle of trying to quit, craving, relapse and fear of withdrawal.

Eventually, the brain cells will again become used to having lowered drug metabolites. But, because deposits of drug or alcohol metabolites release back into the bloodstream from fatty tissues for years, craving and relapse remain a cause for concern. Left unhandled, the presence of metabolites even in microscopic amounts cause the brain to react as if the addict had again actually taken the drug and can set up craving and relapse even after years of sobriety.

Addicts Cannot Stop Using Drugs for Two Reasons.

1. Mental and physical cravings caused by drug residues
which remain in the body.

2. The Biochemical Personality that drugs cause and the means the person takes to acquire more drugs.

The Narconon® program, first established in 1966, is unique. It is a proven get off and stay off drugs program. The key to the successes of the Narconon® program is the Drug Rehabilitation Technology developed by author and humanitarian L. Ron Hubbard. This methodology has been used successfully by hundreds of thousands of people around the world to rid themselves of the need for drugs and regain control of their lives.

The Narconon® program, unlike more traditional treatment, deals with both the physical and mental problems brought about by drug use. We restore the addict, both mentally and physically, to the person he was before he began using drugs or alcohol. The end result is a success rate that is 3 to 4 times that of other programs. None of these solutions involves the use of any drug.

Back to top