Drug addiction symptom of chemical or spiritual malady? Both?

I've had a drug problem for years now, and i am torn between if it is caused by chemical imbalanes, or by having a spiritual deficit/malady/problem. Lately i have been thinking of the latter, but i cant help thinking the way i felt when i was a child. i was born with anxiety disorder and narcotics and alchohol always calmed me down and made me feel 'normal'. Are some of us born with psychic pain, or is it chemical imbalance? I supposedly have ADD and anxiety, but what if that is a side effect of psychic or spiritual problems? Or is it simply from chemical imbalance? I have not come across a 'Medical Doctor' or 'Psychologist/Psychiatrist' who can address this because most are limited to everything being scientific. What do you think?

Well I'm not going to give you facts to run with..

But I can offer some help in the addiction centre of it..

I can already tell volumes about you based on your post..

If you do want some help, lemme know.. if not, I hope you get the answers you want.

what are the 'facts' about drug addiction, ive been researching this for years, my major was in neurobiology, but i actually quit that path for a more spiritual one. I think the facts are still open to interpretation.

Drug addiction in itself is not cause by any kind of spiritual or physical/chemical problems...well that is, until you use the drug, which sends a stream of "happy" chemicals to the receptors in your brain, and you get hooked. Drugs are just very addictive, mentally and physically. It's something that makes you feel good, and your body starts to crave more and more...you can certainly have a "chemical imbalance" as a result of becoming a drug addict, because you have more or less naturally circulating hormones and chemicals, as a result of your drug use. The only way you can stop this is by stopping your drug use.

A lot of people have anxiety, and I would be skeptical of a psychiatrist telling you that you have "anxiety disorder" as well as "ADD". You need to have the mental resolve to get off the drugs, as that's the only thing that will work for you. And the stuff that a psychiatrist will prescribe for anxiety or ADD is just a more expensive/legal version of whatver you are already using. (Uppers/downers) I think that your issues with anxiety and attention can be corrected through a mental/spiritual pathway, and that drugs of any kind will only make it worse. But you did say that you have been a drug problem for years, so maybe if you just finally got clean your anxiety and "add" would be gone...long term drug abuse definitely messes with the natural chemical balance of your mind and body...you feel anxious, so you take a pain pill or hit the booze...then you need to concentrate so you do coke, then you need to sleep, so you drink, etc etc. It's a neverending cycle, and will only get worse until you make up your mind that you are going to quit no matter what.

Which drugs in particular are you addicted to? Have you tried rehab already? And really the best way is to just lock yourself in the house for a week and go cold turkey, resolve to quit. Many very heavy drinkers/heroin addicts have done this with success, all they really needed to do was finally decide that they were done. If you can't, then you still haven't realized that the negative effects of your drug use aren't worth the enjoyable high that you get...

I completely agree with everything youve said. totally. The drugs that i had the most problems with is prescription pain medication, such as oxycontin, vicodin, etc. Then i decided that i would get on a methadone maintenence program, and also while i was on this i was being prescribed other medications for anxiety and
'ADD.' Right now i am on just the methadone, i am trying to slowly detox off of it but it is hard. Yes i have been to a detoxification and rehab, albeit against my will. I mean, i wasnt FORCED to go so to speak, but i wouldnt have had a place to live if i didnt go. I just created the thread to see if anyone thought that if a spiritual maladly CAUSED people to use drugs, or a more 'physiological' problem. Or maybe a little bit of both. Im still deciding. I dunno, maybe there are issues i have to resolve from past lives or something :shrugs: Because i always remember feeling nervous. The reason i turned to opiates is because one time i had them prescribed to me for pain when i was about 15 (vicodin) and they made me feel so 'normal.' I felt like i could "fit in" with the crowd. I had terrible social anxiety, im not sure if i truly had/have ADD. Sigh

So you are still using methadone, as well as prescriptions for anxiety and ADD? I'm guessing benzos and maybe adderall...? I'm definitely not saying to disobey the orders of a doctor, but personally, I believe that psychiatrists are frauds in many instances...puppets for the pharmaceutical companies, getting you hooked on exactly the same type of drug you would be buying out on the street, only difference is that the pharm. companies are the ones dealing the drugs.

I don't think any kind of spiritual problem causes anyone to use drugs. People use drugs because they are interested in the possible effects, and many psychologists agree that it is a normal desire to want to escape your typical reality from time to time (we all do it at the bar on occasion)...I have had my days of experimentation, so I know how it is, but I have never been addicted to anything because I just decided it was ok to test it out, but after that it could only be bad news by continuing use of any drug...

It's not really your fault for trying drugs...but it is (partially) your fault in becoming addicted, and remaining addicted even though you have realized the harm caused by them. The reason I say partially, is because these addictive drugs are so powerful, it is very hard for a person to resist the feelings that they get. Opiates are probably the worst, as they specifically affect receptors which have been hard-wired into our brains for hundreds of thousands of years, making you feel secure, happy, content, warm, fuzzy, pain free, etc. Doctors have been the cause of many opiate addictions...they send you home with a bottle of vicodin for a minor pain, and soon the person becomes addicted. When they can't get more, they start using heroin, and then it heads downhill from there.

When I was a teenager, I remember getting my wisdom teeth out, and the pain wasn't bad enough to require anymore than advil at the most, but I got a bottle of vicodin...and the bottle was gone within about 4 days after I got it. I definitely know it would be easy to get addicted to that stuff, and it's really something that's half chance and half will power if you try it, whether or not you get addicted. I tried a few different things in my time, but never gave in to friends who would deliberately try to pressure me into something...I know quite a few people from those high school experimenting days who just dug themselves into a hole with drugs and still have yet to even turn around, look up, and see the light. It's a completely normal thing to experiment, but once you go beyond that, the chemical has got you. It doesn't matter what kind of personal, mental/spiritual issues you might have, it just comes down to will power. Whether or not you can force yourself to stop.

My advice...stop finding ways to regret your choices or justify them, just realize that you made some mistakes, which is normal, but now that you know what to do, do it. You just have to realize that you are not actually living life because you are controlled by a chemical. Take back the control. Don't waste your time, money, health, friends/family, and your life in general with some pill or powder that will never actually help you or care about you. you have to care about and help yourself, and you have the potential to stop, just make the decision.

[edit on 11-2-2007 by Shoktek]

Yeah, i agree with everything you said, I used to be on benzos, and Adderall too, But i stopped taking them. I just dont feel right taking all these medications, I also agree that these doctors (mostly psychiatrists) are just middle men for the pharm companies. I still take methadone and I'm tapering off of that. Its VERY difficult because of how i feel trying to get off of it. I wish it had never been invented. Damn Germans! jk. Yes and it is partially my fault, if not all my fault. The first time i took opiates was when i was prescribed vicodin. I was 14 and it made me feel 'normal' because i was always really nervous and shy, i also had a stutter, but i when i took it, it made those things go away, thats why it was so addicting to me. thanks for all your input.