Currently, in West Texas, there are many thousands of people who suffer from varying forms of addictions including alcohol, drugs both legal and illegal, sex, pornography, gambling, internet gaming, tobacco, and religious addictions. These addicted people cover the entire spectrum of the social and economic strata: from every race, creed, and color to every level of economic success or failure. Manifold addictions exist from the poorest ghetto district to the most luxurious of neighborhoods.  

Why are addictions so commonplace and why do they seem to be increasing? I believe the primary causes of addiction are root emotional issues emanating from wounding received earlier in our lives. When I say earlier, it may mean all the way back to our childhood or post-childhood, adolescence and/or early adulthood. By wounding, I am referring to recurrent similar situations in which we have suffered deep psychic and/or emotional pain. The most enduring and powerful wounding are the kind of wounds received via multiple emotional and physical channels in a single or similar recurring incident. Each time a similar incident is experienced; the wounding is fortified and deepened so that the pain experienced by the individual is made worse to the point where some kind of relief is required either on a conscious or subconscious level. Addictions are an attempt to self-medicate ourselves to provide an albeit temporary relief from these internally felt wounds that provoke our internal pain or misery.

An essential understanding of addiction includes knowing that: 

1)      Addicts will almost invariably tell you that they do not have a problem or that they can quit at any time. This is probably the most insidious factor in the nature of addiction as it prevents the addict from initiating and/or continuing in treatment. This is called “denial” and it is a very common factor.

2)      Addictive behavior, no matter what type, will generally require greater and higher amounts of whatever is fueling the addiction to gain the optimal effect because of the physical acclimation to the behavior or substance requires ever-increasing amounts to achieve the same effect.

3)      No only are greater amounts required as time goes on, but we are also able to observe a higher frequency of the addictive behavior also because of the body and mind’s acclimation.

4)      Generally speaking, the more the behavior continues, the more the addict requires the addictive behavior in order to even begin to feel normal.

5)      Addicts who are under the control of the above-mentioned forms of addictions and others will generally and most frequently not be able to stop until they hit rock bottom. In many cases, this means they have lost most of their financial assets and resources. In some cases it may mean they have lost their homes, their families and/or their livelihood.

6)      The path up from addiction is grueling and challenging.  Many times relapsing is a part of the recovery process.

Many who get help with their addictions receive help from some form of a twelve step process. This step program was originally devised for alcoholics and the first such program was Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), which was begun in 1935 by Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith, known to A.A. members as "Bill W." and "Dr. Bob." in Akron, Ohio. The Twelve Steps were originally written by Wilson and other early members of AA to codify the process that they felt had worked for them personally. The Twelve Steps were essentially a rewriting of the 6 steps of the Oxford Group (founded by Frank Buchman)with whom Wilson had contact. This "codex" is the book Alcoholics Anonymous, often referred to as the "Big Book." These are the Twelve Steps as defined by Alcoholics Anonymous:

1.We admitted we were powerless over alcohol—that our lives had become unmanageable.
2. Came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
3. Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.
4. Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
5. Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
6. Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.
7. Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.
8. Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.
9. Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.
10. Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.
11. Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God, as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.
12. Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.
- (Sources: Alcoholics Anonymous)

Other twelve-step groups have modified the twelve steps slightly from those of Alcoholics Anonymous to refer to problems other than alcoholism.

Lastly, one important thing to know about addictions is that earlier stages of addiction are much easier to treat than later stages. Additionally, a person who is addicted can generally not stop this behavior without some kind of help. Sure, many can “quit” for a period of time and even modify their intake or behavior for a period of time, but the addictive behavior many times will come roaring back in full force. There are also some addicts who manage to substitute one addiction for another. It all point to the fact that we all need help if we are addicted.  And many times the only reason we delay getting help for so long is our own foolish pride. You can begin getting help locally or through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) at http://www.samhsa.gov/  and their Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT) at http://csat.samhsa.gov/ .