If you have ever sought out treatment for your addiction, or even read alcoholism or substance abuse guides on the subject you might have heard of the addiction cycle. This addiction cycle applies to every type of addiction, not just alcoholism or drug abuse, and breaking this cycle – or understanding how to break the cycle once you get into it – can be the key to overcoming your addiction for good. We will explore exactly how the addiction cycle works and what you can do to break it as well as how to customize a general addiction cycle to fit your own particular problem and help you overcome it.
Why the Addiction Cycle Is so Insidious
So, why is the addiction cycle so difficult to break? The answer is both extremely complex and very simple. The reason that the addiction cycle is so unmanageable is that it self-perpetuates. What that means is, the end of the cycle gets the beginning of the cycle going again – and this can go over and over and over until a huge outside force comes in and breaks it. In substance abuse and alcoholism treatment they call this “hitting the bottom” or “getting sick and tired of being sick and tired.” Let’s go over the addiction cycle step-by-step.
The Emotional Trigger
The addiction cycle starts when you have that emotional trigger that makes you want to drink or smoke or shoot up or even, go shopping or gambling. It is that emotional problem discussed in the last chapter that starts the cycle.
The Craving
The next stage in the cycle is the craving. When you have your emotional moment it triggers the craving. For example, if a person experiences a problem in their life, they will use that addictive substance to cope with the problem. In fact, an addict will use their addictive substance both to cope with tragedy and to celebrate happy circumstances.
The Ritual
From there, a person will fall right back into their same addictive pattern – they will begin their old behaviors and associate with their old friends and fall right back into the cycle.
Reinforcing the Behavior
When they begin using once again, they will be reinforcing that behavior. Each time they go around the cycle it is going to reinforce their addiction a little bit more and eventually, they will begin to feel guilty and go on to the next stage of the cycle.
The Guilt
When someone feels guilty about their behavior, and about the fact that they are using once again, the solution to coping with that guilt seems to be to continue using, which puts them right back into that addictive cycle from which it is so difficult to escape.
Why the Addiction Cycle Is so Insidious
So, why is the addiction cycle so difficult to break? The answer is both extremely complex and very simple. The reason that the addiction cycle is so unmanageable is that it self-perpetuates. What that means is, the end of the cycle gets the beginning of the cycle going again – and this can go over and over and over until a huge outside force comes in and breaks it. In substance abuse and alcoholism treatment they call this “hitting the bottom” or “getting sick and tired of being sick and tired.” Let’s go over the addiction cycle step-by-step.
The Emotional Trigger
The addiction cycle starts when you have that emotional trigger that makes you want to drink or smoke or shoot up or even, go shopping or gambling. It is that emotional problem discussed in the last chapter that starts the cycle.
The Craving
The next stage in the cycle is the craving. When you have your emotional moment it triggers the craving. For example, if a person experiences a problem in their life, they will use that addictive substance to cope with the problem. In fact, an addict will use their addictive substance both to cope with tragedy and to celebrate happy circumstances.
The Ritual
From there, a person will fall right back into their same addictive pattern – they will begin their old behaviors and associate with their old friends and fall right back into the cycle.
Reinforcing the Behavior
When they begin using once again, they will be reinforcing that behavior. Each time they go around the cycle it is going to reinforce their addiction a little bit more and eventually, they will begin to feel guilty and go on to the next stage of the cycle.
The Guilt
When someone feels guilty about their behavior, and about the fact that they are using once again, the solution to coping with that guilt seems to be to continue using, which puts them right back into that addictive cycle from which it is so difficult to escape.
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