The Book Review: Green Level
My book review is on “The Addictive
Personality: Understanding the Addictive Process and Compulsive Behavior.” This
book is based on the causes, stages, process and the behaviors of addicts. Addiction
is a state in which a certain substance or objects predicts a certain mood
change in a person. They fall into an emotional logic which leads for that
substance to gain power for the fact that it controls their physical and
emotional state. These objects are an outlet for some people to feel better
about themselves or enter a pleasurable state, even if it’s for a certain
amount of time. What can cause addiction is dealing with low points in life. It
can be due to traumatically events for example a loss of a family member or
financial issues and other reasons. The book also argues that children coming
from families with a background of addiction have a higher percentage of
becoming addicts. These people lose trust in others and gain trust only in the
substance because they believe that it cannot betray them. They tend to find
excuses that give them permission to do what they want to do. That then becomes a problem
because family members and friends no longer feel safe being around them
causing them to leave or distance themselves. However, that does not help the
addict. The addict then starts feeling more alone and turn to the object to
fill in the empty feelings. It’s a cycle that the addict goes through. It seems
as if the addict lives two lives, but once it takes over, the addict loses self.
This is giving the object a higher power.
The author also mentions how
society plays a huge role in the reason why people become addicts. Being
disconnected from the world and their “self” being leads an addict feeling despair,
rejection and shame. They become accustomed to the good feeling of what the
substance produces. However, when they
start to feel that the object is no longer giving them pleasure, but pain they
start to look for ways to better. The first step known to help is by realizing
they have an addiction and go on from there. There are steps to rehabilitation
and getting there is not easy, but also not impossible.
The author Craig Nakken is a family
therapist who specializes in treating people with addiction problems. He has
more than twenty years working with addicts. Therefore his analyses on addicts
are through the experiences he has with those patients. There were a few fallacies
in this book. One that was repeatedly used was the fallacy of “self pity.” There
is an example used in the book that when a gambler comes home from work and he
or she had a very hard day so they gamble because they deserve it after that
uneasy time at work. “People who suffer from addictions must turn to addictive
system to explain away their actions; otherwise they would find these actions
hard to accept.” [1]
Another fallacy was the “Use the Hard-Cruel-World Argument,” is also used when
they blame life and other things for their addiction. They say life is unfair
and depressing therefore, it’s a good excuse to do these things. I realized as
I read this book that addicts find ways to accommodate their actions. Drugs
have addicts into believing that it is the only solution to their life creating
a false dilemma because drugs are actually what destroy a person.
Opioid users and people who wills
start on opioids should read this book to become aware of the stages of
addiction. That way if they see themselves falling into addiction by having
knowledge from this book they can stop on time. Opioid users are not the only
ones who should get their hands on this book, but also people who are already
addicts and need some help understanding what they are getting themselves into.
Families who deal with drug users can achieve some knowledge on the stages of
addiction by reading “The addictive Personality.” Overall anyone who is
interested on working with patients who are addicts, including doctors,
students, teachers and the addicts themselves.
Before I had read this book I was
very bias about people who become addicts. I used to think it was all in their
heads and only the weak minded that fell into this problem. I also did not
fully understand how it worked. However, by reading this book it helped me
understand the process, the stages, how it developed, the issues one faced
during that period and how hard it is to accept your problem and recover from
it. Working at a clinic where I deal
with patients who are on opioids can be extremely difficult as well as
dangerous. I once had a patient who got close to my face and said “if you do
not tell the doctor to prescribe me my medication I will get sick and you’ll
have to call an ambulance because it would be your fault.”[2]
That incident made me realize how strongly one relied so much on their
medication. I had no knowledge on why they became aggressive. It’s educated me
in the sense that I know how to point out an addict and also how to react
towards them in order to avoid an incident like the first. Although I am not a doctor, therapist or a
specialist in this field, the book taught me how to comply, understand, and be
patient and how to show support to an addict. It definitely has made me less
judgmental than before. I understand this is a serious issue and that people
really do fall into this problem.
Quotes from the book:
“Bring me your pain, I’ll give you
the illusion of relief.”[3]
“I will come to own you.”[4]
“Spend time with me, I’ll teach you
to be mistrustful of others.”[5]
“You can hide temporary, but the
issues won’t go away. “[6]
[1]
Nakken, Craig. The Addictive Personality:
Understanding the Addictive Process and Compulsive Behavior. Center City, MN: Hazelden, 1996. Print.
[2]
Nakken, Craig. The Addictive Personality:
Understanding the Addictive Process and Compulsive Behavior. Center City, MN: Hazelden, 1996. Print.
[3]
Nakken, Craig. The Addictive Personality:
Understanding the Addictive Process and Compulsive Behavior. Center City, MN: Hazelden, 1996. Print.
[4]
Nakken, Craig. The Addictive Personality:
Understanding the Addictive Process and Compulsive Behavior. Center City, MN: Hazelden, 1996. Print.
[5] Nakken, Craig. The Addictive Personality:
Understanding the Addictive Process and Compulsive Behavior. Center City, MN: Hazelden, 1996. Print.[6] Nakken, Craig. The Addictive Personality: Understanding the Addictive Process and Compulsive Behavior. Center City, MN: Hazelden, 1996. Print.
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