Counselling

It boggles my mind as to how most addiction centres and programs don’t understand or address the root cause of addiction. Well, I kinda do because if they did address the root cause, it would be bad for business.

Dr. Gabor Maté, a Hungarian/Canadian physician, who specializes in childhood development and trauma has said the following regarding the root cause of trauma:

“Trauma is the root cause of addiction. Addiction is only a symptom, it’s not the fundamental problem. The fundamental problem is trauma”

I 100% agree with Dr. Gabor, I would only add that the root cause of addiction is trauma and the lack of love, because trauma is in many cases a sign of the lack of love.

So, in essence, addiction is a manifestation of a deficiency of love. A void.

Many programs place emphasis on removal or prohibition of the substance that the patient is addicted to. I don’t agree with this approach, and here’s why.

When we remove or prohibit a substance that an individual is addicted to, the individual is then left with an even greater void. This approach clearly, only aggravates the fundamental problem which led to the addiction in the first place and causes the individual to develop new addictions instead (transferral of addiction) and/or to engage in an endless zig-zag between periods of abstinence and intoxication, without really ever becoming freed from the addiction.

It doesn’t take much to recognize that addiction truly does find its origins in childhood. It’s evident to any discerning person, that children from troubled families, who experience abuse and disunity are the ones most predisposed to develop addictions whereas children who are raised in a loving and unified environment seldom develop addictions.

We are, by our very nature, dependent and needy creatures and that’s why we have a tendency develop attachments to different things. However, if we don’t have healthy attachments or relationships with our primary caretakers (our parents), with a significant other, and/or with our Creator (God), then inevitably we’ll up developing attachments to other things which may prove to become detrimental to our well-being, both physical and spiritual.

In the human body, an analogous process takes place. In the absence of essential nutrients, the body becomes as a toxin sponge and holds on to toxic elements instead because it has no other choice. For example, the thyroid needs a daily supply of Iodine to be able to synthesize T3 and T4. When Iodine is deficient in the diet, the thyroid instead holds on to fluoride, chlorine and bromine, all of which harm the thyroid. In the same manner, when our diet is deficient in Zinc, the body begins to compensate by accumulating Cadmium instead, which is a toxic heavy metal. In like manner, the more we experience deficiency in what regards to unconditional, faithful, perfect love, the more will we try to fill our love shaped hole with the finite, material and illusory things of this world.

It’s important to mention that an imbalanced gut microbiome and biochemistry can also make a person more inclined towards addictions and for this reason anyone who’s serious about overcoming an addiction should consider a wholistic approach using detoxification, personalized nutrition therapy, counselling, prayer, etc.