mindfulness

The Use of Labels: Alcoholic and Addict

Bryan Vasquez, CATC III, Certified Addiction CounselorLeave a comment

Labels can have powerful effects on our conscious and subconscious beliefs about ourselves and the future actions we engage in. This can be seen well in the world of sports when we think about transcendent athletes such as Michael Jackson, or Tiger Woods. Their belief and self-talk that they are the best to do it was a major factor in the various moments they found themselves in when being neck and neck with an opponent. Labels can often have a self-fulling nature, and can work for us, or against us.

I am often asked about the use of common labels in recovery such as alcoholic and drug addict. It is my belief that anyone can use whichever labels they find helpful for themselves, while I do not personally use either of those labels when referring to myself (as someone who had an opiate addiction) or others. In the 12-Step approach, identifying as an alcoholic or addict is actively encouraged with the intent of pushing people through their denial of the problem and as an indelible reminder of where their addiction took them. This identification can be helpful for some, and for others it can feel disheartening and triggering.

Chemical addiction is a spectrum disorder, with distinctions between mild, moderate and severe. There are associations of the stereotypical “addict/alcoholic” living on the streets, with no family, job, resources or self-care that come to mind for many of my clients which discourage the use of these labels on themselves. All one needs to do is attend a 12-Step meeting and they will be given plenty of examples of others similar to themselves, yet there is still an adverse response when using this label on themselves or when loved ones use it on them or encourage them to accept that is what they are. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fifth edition (APA, 2013), is the clinical book used by mental health professionals to diagnose mental health disorders. Addict and alcoholic are not words used to describe substance disorders, instead, they are called alcohol use disorder, opiate use disorder, stimulant use disorder etc.

While someone may have a dependence on alcohol, they are not an alcoholic. They are struggling with an alcohol use disorder, and if they are no longer meeting that criteria after a full year, then they are in sustained remission (APA, 2013). Labels are powerful, and when taking a self-empowering approach, which I am a proponent of, it can be helpful to ditch the use of labels and instead acknowledge that there has been a dependency on a substance and lifestyle that is no longer working. When asked if I am an addict, I tell people that in the past I struggled with problematic substance use, and today I do not. I encourage clients to use whatever verbiage works for them, as I have worked with many clients in a 12-step program who chose to identify with the words addict/alcoholic. If you find power in those labels, who am I to tell you to not use them! On the other hand, if you feel repulsed or put off by them, know that you do not have to use them, and there is plenty of evidence that their use can be detrimental to progress for many. Afterall, what does an addict/alcoholic do? They drink and use, relapse, hurt those around them, fail to live up to their commitments, and struggle to succeed in life. Those labels can often run through one’s mind right before a relapse, with the mind saying, “well you are an alcoholic so you might as well take that drink, after all, that is what you do.”

Working in a self-empowering program, people are taught to focus on their strengths and the goals in which they want to achieve. Instead of focusing on not drinking today, we strive to focus on the things we want to achieve for the day and aligning our behaviors with our identified values. These are skills and philosophies that we teach at Realize Recovery, both to individuals and to loved ones who may only know the mainstream 12-step alcohol/addict philosophy. Please keep in mind, this is not a demonizing of the 12-step program, as it worked and continues to work for many people, it is simply an alternative perspective to be used in conjunction with the 12-steps, or as an alternative.

What is Cross Addiction?

Bryan Vasquez, CATC III, Certified Addiction CounselorLeave a comment

The nature of addiction can be pernicious. Once we have overcome one problematic behavior, another can seemingly sprout up and take its place. In the addiction field, this is often referred to as cross addiction. It has often been stated in various programs and literature that just about everyone has some form of addiction that if not obliged causes irritability, unease and crankiness, to a host of more intense withdrawal symptoms.

Cross addiction is something that is helpful to be aware of early in recovery, as well as for those who have years of experience with recovery. It can often develop very subtly and outside of our conscious awareness, until we realize we have fallen prey to another form of problematic addiction. One of the main reasons cross addiction can be very subtle and innocent in the beginning is because when someone is overcoming an addiction to alcohol, opiates, gambling, or sex addiction, other “lesser” addictions are easily minimized in their capacity to cause harm and disaster. We may be so close to the consequences of our recent addiction that it is hard to imagine anything else causing such pain, especially if there have never been problems with the behavior.

Common cross addictions for people early in recovery are nicotine, pornography, sweets and processed foods, shopping, and sex. While cross addiction can come in many seemingly bad forms, it can also cloak itself in good behaviors, which can turn problematic. Exercise is often encouraged and since it is viewed as healthy some can use exercise in a problematic way early in recovery in an attempt to re-write the wrongs of our past substance use. Exercise addiction can cause physical harm through overuse of muscles, reproductive harm in females through intense exercise and dieting which can halt or interfere with menstruation and exacerbate other mental health disorders such as body image and restrictive dieting.

Mindfulness and awareness of what we are replacing our addictions with is key to notice if and when cross addiction is happening. All of us will at times develop some habits and behaviors which are compulsive and create discomfort when they are not engaged in, and for most, these are not life changing, nor require professional help. If you feel you have conquered one addiction, just to be pulled into the vortex by another behavior, give Realize Recovery a call and one of our addiction professionals will be able to provide guidance and insight on what might be helpful.

Practicing Mindfulness

Bryan Vasquez, CATC III, Certified Addiction CounselorLeave a comment

If you or someone you know is struggling with problematic drinking or using behaviors, chances are you feel a great deal of stress, anxiety, fear, and depressive thoughts surrounding this behavior. Managing thoughts about cravings, regrets of the past, and fears of the future can feel so overwhelming that engaging in mind-altering chemicals seems like a rational idea. Practicing mindfulness helps avoid the fears of the future and the resentments and regrets of the past by bringing one’s attention to the present moment and a more solutions-focused attitude.  

As I discussed in the previous post about how beneficial mindfulness can be, it begs the question of how does one practice mindfulness when the mind is constantly jumping from one thought to the other? Simple answer: with patience and persistent practice. When we begin to notice our habitual mode of thinking it can be easy to get discouraged because our habitual thinking may be very pessimistic and negative.  That is a good sign you are on the track to changing!  Through mindful awareness of our thoughts we give ourselves the opportunity to choose a different, more helpful thought process. 

Integrating mindfulness into your daily life may not be as hard as it first appears because we are already practicing some mindfulness each day.  Anytime your mind is fully in the present moment and not focused on the past or future, you are practicing mindfulness.  Setting an intention to practice mindfulness can be a helpful first step to push you to make an action plan on how you can be proactive in establishing your new cognitive habit.  Here are some easy and quick ways you begin using mindfulness in your daily life.  

-Showering:  This is an excellent time to put your attention on all the bodily sensations that are felt from washing your hair, scrubbing your body and feeling the relaxing water flow over your skin.  When a thought comes to the mind, calmly and patiently bring your attention back to the flow of the water coursing over your skin.

-Driving: While driving alone focus on the surrounding sights and be fully present absorbing all the visual scenes and sounds around you.  The goal is to observe objectively, without labeling and judging what is happening on the roads.  Simply observe and notice without engaging in judgmental thoughts.  

Eating:  With each bite put your full attention on the taste, texture, temperature, and smell.  You can use this technique with a meal or a dessert item you can really savor slowly.  

Sitting still:  Sit upright in a chair with eyes closed and simply put your attention on your breath.  Watch each inhalation and exhalation with deepest attention.  Challenge yourself to be mindful for three consecutive breaths.  If, and when, a thought comes into your mind, acknowledge the attention has wandered, then calmly and patiently bring it back to the awareness of your breath.  Practice for 3-5 minutes 2-3 times a day.  

Practicing mindfulness changes the structure of our brain, and over time will change the way we think.  Having more conscious control over our thinking and not being dragged aimlessly from thought to thought, we are better able to engage in daily activities with calmness and poise.  You can learn how to consciously choose which thoughts to entertain and which thoughts to simply observe, and then let go.  

Mindfulness – Where is your mind?

Bryan Vasquez, CATC III, Certified Addiction CounselorLeave a comment
Mindfulness: By thinking differently, we develop new neural connections and diminishing the use of old connections, changing the landscape of our brain.

Many of us have heard of the term mindfulness and may feel like we have a general understanding of what mindfulness is about.   Common answers I hear when asking clients what mindfulness means to them are being aware, present, not focusing on negativity, and being in the here and now.  What commonly follows their definition is that mindfulness is very difficult to do regularly, doesn’t help them much, or it is a struggle to practice with so many distractions vying for their attention.  Being someone who has been practicing mindfulness daily for over a decade, I can agree that it is a challenge and a battle.  Just like any other learned behavior or habit change, it takes patience, consistency and determination to establish the habit of mindfulness on a regular basis. 

Why is mindfulness helpful?  Numerous studies strongly suggest that by practicing mindfulness one can lower anxiety and depression, cope with life stressors more effectively, improve life satisfaction and increase one’s sense of self-esteem and many other synergistic health benefits.  While all that sounds good, from a practical standpoint I find mindfulness helps me enjoy each day more fully, the time spent with others and activities I engage in.  The older we get the faster time seems to move. By practicing mindfulness, I find I can retain more information and fully experience each moment.  My attention isn’t concerned about the past (which is associated with regret or depression) or worried about the future (associated with anxiety and fear).  

Mindfulness can be so impactful because it is literally regrooving our brains.  By the simple act of thinking differently, we are developing new neural connections and diminishing the use of old connections, thus changing the landscape of our brain.  This is a subtle change and something that does not happen overnight.  An analogy: look at a picture of yourself 10 years ago, do your notice that you have changed physically?  Most of us would notice specific changes in our appearance when referencing a photo but we did not notice these changes happening daily, in the moment.  The same thing occurs with cognitive changes because they are so subtle, but when we look back a year or more we may notice we are completely different people.   

I’ve trained myself to get in the habit of thinking, where is my mind?  By being in the present moment, focused on the task or activity at hand fully and completely, I can plan for the future, handle stress, interact with others authentically, and live a life with no regrets because I am here now, experiencing the moment and nothing else.  This mindset helps me reflect on the past and what I have learned as well as plan for the future consciously and objectively, if those are things I need to think about.  I am no longer at the mercy of my intrusive thoughts aimlessly dragging me through the mud of regret, resentment, sadness, anxiety and fear.   

Next post we will jump into techniques and strategies for integrating mindfulness into our daily life and how to overcome common roadblocks which continue to pull us into fear, anxiety and depression.