Recovery – Twelve Simple Steps to a Life Beyond Addiction by Dr Lynden Finlay

Author:Dr Lynden Finlay
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Accent Press Ltd 2014

Chapter Five

Behavioural Addictions

In this chapter I will consider various self-defeating behaviour patterns and aim to reinforce the theory that all ‘addictions’ are basically the same and the 12 Step programme offers a route to recovery from all of them. In previous chapters we have seen how there are certain people who are predisposed to become addicted to chemicals. These people are also predisposed to become addicted to behaviours. These are people who find that certain behaviours make them feel euphoric or soothe painful emotions and who over time come to think obsessively about these behaviours and act on them compulsively in spite of serious unwanted consequences.

During my years at The Rehab I have worked with residents who exemplify these behavioural addictions and I will refer to these people in this chapter. To protect their anonymity I have changed their names and any descriptions which may identify them. The behavioural addictions I will consider are perhaps the most commonly found and are, in no particular order, gambling, self-harming, spending, working, cleaning, and eating disorders. Eating disorders or food addiction has been given a chapter to itself. This of course is not an exhaustive list as addicts can become addicted to anything. If you think about it obsessively, act on it compulsively, can’t consistently predict when you will stop once you start, and continue to do it even when experiencing serious unwanted consequences, you are addicted to it whether it’s injecting heroin, eating ice-cream, posting on Facebook, or washing your hands.

The Rehab was registered as a treatment centre for ‘younger adults suffering from chemical dependency’, which means people aged between eighteen and sixty-five who are addicted to alcohol or drugs; so all our residents were chemically dependent and some in addition were dependent on certain behaviours. Whatever their dependencies they all followed the same 12 Step treatment programme, the only significant difference being the wording of Step 1. Alcoholics who were also gamblers admitted they were powerless over alcohol and over gambling; alcoholics who were also co-dependent admitted they were powerless over alcohol and over other people; drug addicts who were also self-harmers admitted they were powerless over chemicals and over self-harming, and so on. Some residents were powerless over four or five behaviours as well as chemicals. Introduction in group therapy could have become long and tedious if every person present listed all their dependencies: ‘My name is John and I am powerless over alcohol, drugs, online poker, computer games, and self-harming.’ ‘My name is Janet and I am powerless over alcohol, dieting, relationships, exercising, and cleaning.’ In our group therapy everyone used the same introduction: ‘My name is …, I have an addictive illness.’ Another way of saying this is ‘My name is …, I am powerless over my addiction’ or, if you prefer, ‘My name is…, my addiction is more powerful than I am.’

Robert, alcoholic and gambler

Let me introduce you to Robert. Robert is in his forties, the only son of affluent parents, public school educated, a professor in a British university.

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