Oftentimes substance abuse and over-drinking are improperly diagnosed as an addiction. The proper diagnoses should be a craving caused by an unhealthy habit. The thin line between the two diagnoses is easy to draw: If the person's life becomes unmanageable because of the unhealthy habit, they are considered an addict. While addiction is greatly misunderstood it's a very simple concept and is easiest to cure when you break the misconceptions.
I stumbled upon this video yesterday that helps shatter one of the biggest misconceptions, addiction is not an illness. While this video illustrates an important distinction between illness and addiction and offers encouragement to the addict to overcome their unhealthy habit, it lacks another important ingredient in recovery; empathy.
The video is correct, addiction is a choice. However, evidence shows that many people become addicted because of terrible trauma and abuses that often happened as a child. Whether this trauma turns into an addiction depends heavily on one’s resources and resilience. This does not mean the person is weak but it means they are hurt and critically disconnected from others.
Author and Ted Talks speaker, Johann Harri, is correct in his theory that the real root of addiction is the lack of a genuine connection to family, community and self. Harri explains painful experiences, traumas, and abuse cause these disconnections. When these vital bonds are broken, the person will bond to other stuff like drugs, alcohol, gambling, shopping, working, food, etc.
Many addiction specialists and experts agree with Harri's statement, "The opposite of addiction is connection." The good news is addiction is not a disease and it does not have to be fatal. Addiction is a temporary brain disorder that is curable.
There are many fascinating reports of Ayahuasca and Ibogaine healing the addiction brain disorder where other treatments have failed. In fact, the evidence shows either of these two plant medicines wins the gold medal in terms of treating addictions and other tormenting and pesky disorders.
In this video, I set the record straight so you can understand addiction and its cure in only five minutes:
Ayahuasca and Ibogaine are powerful tools that can help reset those that suffer from addiction. Utilizing this plant medicine while also reconnecting with and loving our addicts is the best path to healing them. Before you go, take a look at the new science explaining how connection is the opposite of addiction in this beautiful video.
Let me know your thoughts about addiction and how to cure it in the comments below and show some love with an upvote if this article spoke to you.
Keep the peace rolling,
Barry