Are YOU an Addict? What IS Addiction Anyway?
But first, let’s go hiking in bear country.
As you might have guessed, we’re going to talk about addiction. Hang tight on that—first, I’m going to tell you a story.
A friend of mine—let’s call him Craig—likes to go on long hikes in steep, forested mountains. By “hikes,” I do NOT mean leisurely strolls up gentle inclines along carefully manicured trails. With Craig, we’re talking rough climbs…through overgrown paths…for hours at a stretch…in bear country.
Why’s he do it? Well, one reason is the view. After hours of climbing, unable to see anything but trees, he reaches a clearing near the top of a mountain. The view from there is breathtaking and awe inspiring. The view from there puts the arduous journey in perspective and life in perspective.
In short, the journey and its culmination expands my friend’s horizons in a literal sense…and an expansive, existential one.
Sometimes—particularly in icy conditions or during what Craig calls “bear season”—the way is treacherous. Sometimes, he has hair-raising close calls. He’s used to this and seasoned. AND he didn’t start off that way. AND he never hikes without emergency supplies, a map, and a plan.
When braving a difficult journey—particularly one where the way is fraught and the view obscured—NOT having a plan or guide is scary. NOT having a plan or guide could potentially derail the entire thing. Bear snack, anyone?
We’ll get back to my friend Craig in a minute. First, another story—this one, my own.
I am an addict. I have been clean and sober for 28 years.
The route from where I was…to where I am now was really hard. And treacherous. And, frankly, lacking a map, emergency supplies, or a clear plan and destination.
Sure, there are lots of models and approaches out there for recovery. Sure, one person’s recovery will look different from another’s. Spoiler: There is no “best way” to the top of that mountain. The best way is the one that works for you.
Know what though? During my decades-long process of trekking from bottom to top…finding encouragement at lookout points along the way…I reached a place of ease and expansive perspective. One from which I could gaze down and see the forest for the trees. One from which I could gaze outwards, grasping hitherto unimaginable horizons.
The summit is neither fixed nor final, of course. In recovery—and life—there is no end point (I mean, unless you count the ultimate one). Still, I learned a lot from the climb. I’m able to see and share a lot from the ascent itself and my current vantage point. I have a path, a plan, and an entire language for describing a confusing, scary, perception-shifting, life-altering journey.
I’ll be sharing lots of that here, in this space. But for now—to make sure we’re on the same path and you actually need and want to reach that summit, quick question:
Are you an addict? What is addiction anyway?
Okay, that’s two questions. I ask because:
First, as a licensed healthcare practitioner helping folks struggling with breaking painful cycles and recovering from addiction, I get those questions from clients and their loved ones. I also get them from fellow healthcare professionals and colleagues—holistic and allopathic alike.
Second, when I embarked on my own journey decades ago—braving those first steps amidst tangled overgrowth and a daunting incline—I had those questions too. Problem is, no one I asked had answers—never mind a map that made sense! More than that, no one I asked seemed to speak the same language.
So—with time and experience and years spent on my own climb and helping others scrambling in rough spots or still struggling at the trailhead—well, I learned a few things.
Here’s a foundational one to make sure we’re on solid footing…and, if the timing feels right, to get your own journey (or next leg of that journey) underway.
Addiction is the patterned and repetitive use of any substance or action that attempts to fill a Void / fix a Wound, but instead makes things worse by reinforcing the whole pattern.
Let’s break this down, line-by-line. Addiction is…
…the patterned and repetitive use
Addiction is a cycle. While many recovery approaches acknowledge this, most do not bring a 5,000-year-old system that draws on the wisdom and cycles of Nature to inform medicine, support recovery, and optimize health.
By using these cycles as a map and guide, Chinese Medicine can chart and predict the whole. Seeing the whole expands perspective. Seeing the whole lets us identify where an unhelpful cycle of patterned and repetitive use is weakest…and where we can break it.
…of any substance or action
Addiction does not discriminate based on human traits, characteristics, or personal beliefs or choices. There are universal laws that apply regardless of a person’s skin color, culture, economic status, etc….and whether the pattern involves using alcohol, heroin, gambling, screens, food, relationships, cigarettes, etc.
You name it, and we’ve got it covered. No matter what the substance or action, when it comes to addiction, shared cycles and “laws” apply.
…that attempts to:
Fill a Void
Fix a Wound
Here again, there’s room for everyone! The root and momentum of addiction may be primarily an effort to fill a Void…to fix a Wound…or a combination thereof (which, in my experience, is usually the case - more on what this looks like in our next post).
Whatever language resonates with you, as an individual, is what’s most useful and most important.
…but instead makes things worse by reinforcing the whole pattern.
Whether you resonate with Void or Wound, the mechanism of addiction feeds the origins of the problem. This is why, unaddressed, an addiction or “bad cycle on repeat” grows stronger…and stronger.
If there’s a Wound, the Cycle of Addiction will provide more of the same brand of pain that originally created that Wound. (The Sober Shaman’s Path of Recovery Lesson’s #12-16)
If there’s a Void, the Cycle of Addiction will reinforce Limiting Core Beliefs. These beliefs are exactly what the voices emanating from that un-fillable Void sound like. (The Sober Shaman’s Path of Recovery Lesson’s #6-11)
Whatever language you use and whatever your beliefs, the Cycle of Addiction plants more of the same Seeds—reinforcing, perpetuating, and strengthening a painful, predictable process.
In other words (and to add a plot twist):
Addiction is predictable, but YOU are unique.
Now, back to my friend Craig.
Braving the rocky, overgrown wilderness—trekking through bear country and scaling steep mountains—is not for the faint of heart. Craig’s a seasoned hiker yet would never attempt it without supplies and a plan. Given the choice, I wouldn’t either (plus, maybe some bear spray).
Same goes for addiction recovery. Same goes whatever your drug of choice and whatever labels or language you use.
It’s way less confusing and scary when you go in with a map and supplies. It’s even less confusing and scary when you follow a guide who’s been there, knows multiple routes, and understands that the view from the top is SO worth it. It will change your perspective on the journey itself…and the vast horizons beyond.
Finding courage to ask the question is your entry. From there, our journey begins. So…
Back to you…
Are you an addict?
If addiction is…
the patterned and repetitive use of any substance or action that attempts to fill a Void / fix a Wound, but instead makes things worse by reinforcing the whole pattern…
Does this apply to you and your journey? If you feel called, let us know (or ask questions or disagree!) in the comments.
Copywriting and editing by my wife and partner, Dr.
(whom you can also find at )