Alcohol and drug addiction counselling is widely used for treating drug and alcohol addiction. Popular belief views a drug addict in an extremely negative light. The terms 'drug addict' and 'alcoholic' conjure up images of a hopeless junkie who steals to support their habit, or a middle aged alcoholic who starts drinking at six in the morning to stop their limbs from shaking.

However, now that more is known about the nature of substance abuse and other addictions, many people are diagnosed as being drug addicts who would previously never have believed they had a problem. When does drug and alcohol use become distinguishable as addiction?

Drug and alcohol abuse is the term used to describe the behavior of individuals who take drugs and drink too much alcohol. If one considers their own past, or the habits of those around them, many people fall into this category of over indulgence. Most students spend their weekends drinking too much, often consuming drugs as well. However, is this merely a phase or a sign that there is a problem?

What is addiction?

Addictive behaviours are based on an obsessive and compulsive need to consume mind altering substances. The using may have begun as a 'bit of fun' or experimentation, but the problem becomes clear when the person in question carries on using these substances when their peers have stopped. The difference between these individuals is something known as the disease of addiction. An individual with the disease of addiction will require alcohol addiction and drug addiction counselling to help arrest the problem.

The disease of addiction

The disease of addiction is not a proven fact, but nevertheless it is widely considered as an explanation for the reason people become drug addicts and alcoholics. Many believe that addicts are born addicts and are thus born with the disease. Many addicts and alcoholics describe feeling like an outsider from a very young age, as well as other feelings of unease and hatred of reality.

 The disease of addiction is defined as being an allergic reaction to any type of mind or mood altering substance. This reaction causes the individual in question to lose all control over their drinking and using. From the first sip or hit, a person with the disease becomes "powerless".

It is common knowledge that it is the first drink or drug that the alcoholic or addict consumes that leads them to their downfall - once they have the first taste, even after being abstinent for a time, they cannot control their using. There is a common saying to which recovering addicts and alcoholics refer - "one is too many and a thousand is never enough" which summarises perfectly this lack of control and constant need for more, no matter what the cost of these actions is.

Abuse or addiction?

The disease concept creates a noticeable distinction between abuse and addiction. Many professional counsellors and therapists will not diagnose a client as being an addict until they are over 20 years old as many teenagers experiment with drugs and alcohol. Puberty accompanied by peer pressure, finding one's place in society and experiencing intense situations and feelings for the first time make adolescents ripe candidates for drug and alcohol abuse.

There are situations where parents find their teenager using drugs and send them to rehab immediately for alcohol addiction and drug addiction counselling when the adolescent does not have the disease of addiction - they are experimenting. Sending a person to rehab who is not an addict but merely an abuser can be extremely harmful.

Even habitual use of drugs does not necessarily mean that the person in question has a problem. Often when extreme emotions such as grief, stress or jubilation are experienced, many people turn to drugs and alcohol to numb painful emotions or celebrate good emotions. Those with the disease of addiction will begin their addiction as everyone else does - experimentation and having fun with friends. As the disease of addiction is a progressive and incurable illness, the drug use may not be particularly worrisome at first. However, as the disease progresses, so will the use of drugs and alcohol.

The disease is all encompassing; other compulsive behaviours such as sex addiction, eating disorders, gambling addiction, cutting and co-dependence are frequently acted out by the sufferer. The disease pushes the addict to escape their feelings and surroundings, and they will find themselves swapping different forms of addictive behaviours, interspersed with their drug and alcohol abuse.

It must be made clear that an addict is not a ‘bad’ person or someone with a moral failing – they have an illness, however this illness is their responsibility to manage.

A Twelve Step Programme

A Twelve Step Programme is a successful way of arresting the disease of addiction. The Twelve Steps can be seen as the 'medicine', helping an addict stay clean one day at a time through providing a support system and tools for coping with life in a normal state, instead of the altered states which addiction prefers.

Abuse and addiction are two very different types of behaviour. Abuse defines drug and alcohol use on a social level and even though addiction often begins as such, the disease takes hold of the addict and progresses them to a level where they cannot stop using drugs and alcohol, even if they want to and stand to lose everything. An abuser will not engage in this type of behavior and when faced with great personal loss will be able to stop unlike an addict who will progress to a stage where alcohol addiction and drug addiction counselling is needed.

About the Author

Oasis Counselling Centre is a rehabilitation centre providing alcohol addiction and drug addiction counselling in Plettenberg Bay, South Africa, as well as using a Twelve Step Programme for clients’ continued abstinence.