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Years of research in the area of addiction has yielded some interesting information on what is actually happening in the mind and body of an addict. We often think of addictions with regard to "hard core" problems such as alcohol and other addictive substances. But what many of us do not understand is that habits (attachments and dependency) are formed in the physiological structure (mind-body) of everyone. And the longer these habits have been in place, the harder it is to break them.  We human beings are definitely habit-forming creatures and many of our difficulties in life result when we are met with hindrances to our attachments. The following are some examples of fairly typical "addictions" that people bring to a therapist's office, other than drugs and alcohol:

• Addiction to a relationship, which often shows up as an almost complete loss of one's own sense of self in the context of a relationship, and a disconnect in one's relationship with God. The other person has literally, then, become the addicted person's  god. I know that is tough for many people to grasp, since the attachment seems so much like "love". The nature of the dependency does not often reveal itself until there is some kind of perceived threat to the security of the relationship. I cannot begin to say how many clients I have encountered in therapy who are in the midst of literal withdrawals from an addiction to another person. Their behavior and the depth of their pain presents exactly the same as that of a person who is physically withdrawing from drugs or alcohol. Their healing comes first and foremost in recognizing the nature of the dependency, the loss of a sense of a separate personal self, and a gradual "prodigal son" kind of return to a primary spiritual connection.
• Addiction to a particular way of thinking.
  Much of who we are today was learned from our parents. There simply is no other way around that.  All of those suggestions, the clear and hidden family rules,  the general mood around the household, the kinds of attention we got based on certain behaviors - all of those memories are stored in the cellular structure of our mind and body. Therefore, many of our patterned ways of thinking about ourselves and the world in which we live are deeply imprinted,  like data on a computer. I am convinced, and research studies strongly suggest, that chronic depression is often the result of habitually negative patterns of thinking.  Clinical Depression has been called a "contagious social disease" and I fully believe it.  It is literally passed around within families. As strange as it may seem, some of us would rather cling to our familiar melancholy than take the bold step to make some radical internal changes.  My own sense, from a Christian perspective, is that making these kinds of radical internal changes is what "putting on the mind of Christ" is really all about.

If you would like to learn more about habits and participate in some of your own internal journey work, you many consider making an appointment with Anne Milligan. If you would like to do so, you many call 502-423-0220 in Louisville, KY or send an e-mail by CLICKING HERE .


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