Addiction, from the outside, looks simple enough. The addict chooses to indulge in drugs or alcohol and soon finds they are no longer completely in control of their cravings. But to someone who has not dealt with addiction, the solution seems simple enough: they should simply stop using drugs or alcohol.
But the problem is not so simple and knowing why requires the addict to work on understanding the threefold nature of addiction.
So why, if the addict realizes their addiction has become a destructive habit, do they simply not quite cold turkey? Well, there are three aspects of addiction that make it difficult to shake addiction, what is called the threefold nature of addiction: the biological, the mental and the spiritual aspects, or to put it more simply, the body, mind and spirit.
Addiction preys on all three aspects of the addict, making it a struggle to shed substance abuse on multiple fronts. While any of the three parts of threefold addiction would make ending addiction difficult, the combination of all three together makes it that much harder for the addict to find a way out of their substance abuse problem.
It starts with the body. Drugs and alcohol can create chemical dependency in the addict, leaving them with the literal craving for more of whatever addictive substance they are abusing. This creates a cycle of addiction in which the addict desires more of their poison of choice, acquires and uses it, which further reinforces their dependency and makes it even harder to stop using.
If the bodily aspect of addiction presents a problem, the mental side is no less troubling for the addict. Substance abuse is not only physically addicting, but psychologically addicting as well. Drugs and alcohol, despite their drawbacks and dangers, produce enjoyable feelings in users or they would never be used in the first place. Every time the addict downs a drink or takes a hit of an addictive substance, they produce that good feeling once more and indulge in it for as long as it lasts. This also creates a dangerous feedback loop of addiction, where the addict continues to seek out and abuse drugs or alcohol to recreate the positive experience that lured them into addiction originally.
Finally, there is the spiritual addiction, in which the addict pursues substance abuse to mask spiritual malaise or some lack they feel in their soul. Unable to find fulfillment in their daily life or rejected by other options, they turn to substance abuse to self-medicate a spiritual ailment and this creates only further spiritual anguish, which they continue to try and hide from through their addiction.
But there is hope. With a good treatment program such as Good Landing Recovery, addicts can work to shed the threefold nature of addiction. A residential program with detox can help curtail the chemical dependency that preys on the body. Treatment can help equip the patient with the tools to break the hold addiction has on the mind. And, as a Chrisitan, faith-based program, Good Landing can help the patient find a spiritual path forward that rejects addiction and finds peace in God.
The threefold nature of addiction is a dangerous effect that can make substance abuse a deadly affair for a person. It can be even harder to break away from addiction due to its awful grip on an addict.
