Content Warning / Educational Disclaimer: This article post contains sensitive topics and reflects Open College UK Limited’s opinions for informational purposes only.

Why are drug and alcohol addiction issues so difficult to overcome and the simple answer to that is because all addiction effects both your body and mind. Addiction creates, both seen and unseen conditions, that are very hard, and at times impossible to break, especially without awareness, support, education and ongoing therapy or related help/input over a long period of time.

Do you need help?

If you need urgent help or if your life is in danger. Please contact the below Narcotics Anonymous helpline.

UKNA HELPLINE 

Call: 0300 999 1212

They are open seven days a week from 10am to Midnight.

This UK Narcotics Anonymous helpline offers support for you, family members and anyone close to you affected by drugs or alcohol. They offer a confidential service and you can be assured of strict confidentiality at all times. You can speak to someone who is experienced in giving advice and has gone through addiction and recovery themselves.

Why do people take drugs or drink alcohol excessively?

The main reason people drink alcohol and take drugs is usually for one main reason and that is to change how you are feeling or thinking right now.

The bottom line is if you take drink or drugs and you think it’s just to relax you, you may be wrong. There is much more going on beneath the surface and substances can help you with stress related feelings. Strong, powerful, intrusive negative thoughts can lead to needing a change and make you want to be more confident or just to fit in with the crowd or to alleviate stress, anxiety or worries.

Many people who are confident, good looking, outgoing, successful are often hiding strong feelings of vulnerability, insecurity, self-doubts, wanting to be accepted, living with supple feelings of rejection or abandonment. Alcohol and drug addiction is never without these things. These issues go hand in hand and not often seen, because these feelings are pushed away or buried deep out of sight of others. Because they are too painful and can judgements on you.

Alcohol and drugs can also give you that needed buzz, a lift, take you into other areas of good vibes, heightened senses of enjoyment and pleasure or provide you with the ‘feels’ as they say and dull discomfort or even reduce body pain and it is this cycle or pattern that the user descends into which becomes dangerous, to say the least.

Specifically, what makes it dangerous is how fast this descent or move can be and most people don’t even notice that they are crossing a line or even care.

In one moment, its social drinking, then occasional drinking and then it’s controlled drinking and then it becomes something essentially relied upon, often called self-medication. And that self-medication is becoming needed daily. The brain starts to expect that altered state, that self-medicated state, more and more and this is where that repeated drinking or repeated dosing need comes into play and depression and flatness will start to show itself without that fix.

And what began as a simple, controlled, selected decision or choice, whatever you want to call it, becomes a repetition and then a hobby and then something deeper and deeper. And that is the dodgy trap, which is very obvious but slow gradual building in the background.

And without realising it, the user or the addict has now rewired their mind, let alone rewired their brain pathways until it becomes piercingly ingrained and almost everyone says the same thing which is - how they didn’t see this coming. One minute they were fine and the next minute I’m like this.

Alcohol or drug use excessively consumed over time. Becomes directly linked to feelings of relief. Comfort and escape and the mind starts to associate it with coping, even when it’s clearly causing harm and destruction, damage and turmoil for those who have to watch this and this cycle becomes almost impossible to break.

Without any proper intervention, support or therapy, this stage can become overwhelming and then more use of substances is required, till it becomes hopeless and daily cravings and withdrawal symptoms go around in in a loop.

Daily life becomes a revolving door around using, obtaining and or recovering from the substance of use.

Other areas of the user’s life become affected and start to decline fast. Relationships become tense, volatile or worse and the user starts to decline in their work role and work relationships. Friends are lost and personal wellbeing all suffer which all reinforce the cycle and the descent even further.

Apart from a very few, most people cannot recover on their own. Even just visiting AA or Narcotics Anonymous can be the first steps in recovery, meeting others and hearing stories which are similar to your own and seeing the success and the reality of taking one day at a time, listening to other people’s feedback, advice and guidance all help and knowing they’re still suffering.

This sort of advice lands well because it’s coming from people who actually know what this deep, dark place is feeling like. As opposed to sitting in front of a qualified therapist who has never had that suffering or pain or other things that can’t be mentioned.

Upon meeting others like you, for the first time. The overarching sense is that a change is possible because you start to see others have done it and done it well and they’re talking from it and it’s a mixture of, yeah, it’s simple to fix and very hard at the same time. It’s contradictory, it’s conflicted. It’s never going to be a straight road to heal. But the sense that change is more than possible and people who are talking about being alcoholics or drug addicts for 20 or 30 years have now just stopped, just like that. They couldn’t take it no more. There is a saying in drug use and alcohol use to excess and that is, sometimes people have to get worse to get better. And what I mean by that is, people tend to stop using at the end of their tether, when it’s almost impossible to go on like this.

I say that because a lot of people become defensive when they hear that sentence, that you have to get worse to get better. You actually do. But that only makes sense afterwards, not before you recover. People start to realise they did have to become bad, very bad, to say enough is enough.

Another strong area for understanding the underlying causes or reasons behind addictions. Many will say it is stress, psychological trauma, emotional pain and others disagree. But I say nearly in all cases, someone who’s descended into long term alcohol abuse, reliance and dependency or drug addiction was moving away from some form of pain, suffering or conflict, insecurity, self-doubt, inadequacy, fear and so on.

There is as many people moving away from feelings, thoughts, emotions, conscious and subconsciously as there is as many people drinking. It’s anything and everything to do with the underlying causes that is running the addiction show. There is an issue in every addict and I would say to some extent there is a trauma, a starting point where someone felt lost, conflicted, in pain or just feeling small or low down in themselves.

Recovery is slow and long and you will be met with setbacks almost daily. The best way forward if you can afford it, is therapy mind intervention of some kind and this would be a good starting point. Saying you need patience and fingers crossed or have faith may work for some people and for others it will not. And in my opinion one of the most beneficial and helpful areas is education as to WHY YOU DO THIS, WHY YOU FEEL THIS OR WHY YOU THINK THIS.

Understanding why you drink, looking deep into yourself, looking at that point before you started drinking or took drugs, what was it, what was the disturbance in you? What was the trouble in you? You may say, well, I was just knocking about with some friends and someone said have a spliff smoke or have a drink and that’s all it was, but for others it’s a little feeling. it’s a little offset, something’s not right. And for others it’s clear outright denial or avoidance, aversion and escape from strong, powerful feelings and emotions. It’s just a little thing of some, a little thing here, a little thing there and big thing here and so on. It’s always something.

For most people who take that first step to stop and enter into a recovery programme of sorts or a therapy intervention scenario or even self-healing of one kind or another, the first stages are a preparation for a complete rebuild of the self. Walking away from the people you used to hang about with, the change in your social situations and circumstances. The dropping of old people, old friends or enemies. And that includes walking away from your old lifestyle and most of what was in it as well.

In all addiction you have to treat, or work with the underlying root causes and that always starts with the subconscious or inner work.

Disclaimer
The content on this website, including all articles, posts, and comments, is provided by Open College UK Limited for educational and informational purposes only. It reflects the views, experiences, and opinions of Open College UK Limited at the time of writing. Nothing on this site constitutes professional advice—medical, psychological, legal, or otherwise.

Always consult a licensed professional (such as a GP, medical doctor, psychologist, or therapist) before making any decisions that could affect your health, well-being, or legal obligations.

The views expressed here are those of Open College UK Limited and are opinion-based. They are not intended to accuse, defame, or target any individual, group, business, organisation, or entity. Any resemblance to real persons, organisations, or events is purely coincidental.

Use of this website and any reliance on its content is entirely at your own risk. Open College UK Limited does not accept responsibility or liability for any consequences, direct or indirect, resulting from actions taken based on this content.

This website may discuss sensitive, controversial, or challenging topics intended to inform, provoke thought, and raise awareness, not to incite or offend. Readers are responsible for interpreting and applying the content responsibly and legally in their own context.

Accuracy and completeness: All information in this article, post, or any other content on this website may not be accurate, complete, or up to date at the time of reading. Readers must undertake their own research and exercise independent judgment before acting upon any information contained herein.

Copyright: All content on this website is owned by Open College UK Limited. Reproduction, distribution, or use without prior written consent is prohibited.

Please feel free to link to this post.