When you look in the mirror, what do you see? For many addicts and alcoholics the picture is not a pretty one. Years of substance abuse usually has a catastrophic effect on the self image of the individual.

With addiction comes a lot of baggage. Addicts live a life of deception during their active use. The circumstances are different for each individual but they all culminate in a self-image that has been severely impacted. Many programs don’t address this problem, which I consider one of if not the most important components of a successful recovery and acquiring an attitude that will help the addict avoid relapse.

Virtually all addictive substances take a major toll on the addict’s ability to think clearly and process information. You will find that the use of alcohol and all drugs of abuse are progressive in nature, meaning that the frequency and quantity of use accelerates the longer the individual is actively using. For many addicts their drug of choice is not always available and they are forced to fend off withdrawal with drugs that are more easily available or socially acceptable. We often see poly-substance addiction in treatment. An example would be a cocaine user. Cocaine is not readily available in some instances and often the user is in an atmosphere that the use of their drug of choice would be prohibitive. To help cope with the extreme depression or withdrawal symptoms the cocaine addict often resorts to benzodiazepines or alcohol. As these situations become more frequent the addiction to cocaine also becomes benzodiazepine or alcohol dependence.

Addicts will go to extreme measures to protect their addiction. All addicts and alcoholics have events in their addicted life that makes them have feeling of self-loathing or be disgusted with themselves. Alcoholics have to hide their addiction to loved ones and the people they work with. They cannot go extensive periods without alcohol without going into withdrawals so they hide bottles and 99.9% of the addicts that enter treatment have switched to Vodka to avoid the alcohol on their breath being detected. Many times they have put themselves and others, including their family, at risk by operating vehicles or other dangerous activities while under the influence. They will use multiple liquor stores so as not to appear to have a problem and will drink heavily before going to a social event where alcohol use would be inappropriate.

Drug users also put themselves in harms way to obtain their drugs. The obvious would be a heroine user that has to obtain the drugs for dealers on the street. The less publicized are the pain and anxiety medication users that have multiple doctors prescribing them medications and are buying from numerous online pharmacies.

When you are an addict you can often see no way out and feel hopeless. Your self-image is that of an alcoholic or addict. As self-esteem is lowered, most perpetuate the problem by accelerating their use and their distorted image of themselves becomes a self fulfilling prophecy. They see themselves first and foremost as an alcoholic or addict.

When the dependent person enters treatment at a typical treatment facility they are detoxed to remove the mind altering substance from their body safely. They then enter the psychological treatment stage which usually consists of minimal counseling and a great deal of 12-step work. Traditional Alcoholics Anonymous style of treatment mandates the addict to take a moral inventory of themselves. During this process the individual has to recall all of the inappropriate conduct that occurred during their life as an addict. In most cases this style of treatment reinforces the addict’s self-image of being a loser and a person that is terminally flawed. Self-esteem is rarely worked on and is not even on the agenda in most treatment programs.

Addicts and alcoholics are no different than any other people. They have just had events in their life that they found difficult or impossible to deal with and resorted to mood altering substances in their efforts to self-medicate the problems away. Their self-medicating efforts resulted in a physical addiction. The normal perception of the alcoholic is that of a homeless person who is dirty and mentally deranged and drug addicts are perceived as being emaciated junkies that rob and kill to support their habit. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Effective treatment must include extensive work on rebuilding a positive self-image. Most addicts and alcoholics are good, caring, loving people that simply developed a substance abuse problem. They are fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, husbands, wives, employers, employees, coaches, teachers, healers, spiritual leaders… For them to regain control of their lives and maintain long term sobriety, the issue of self-perception must be dealt with. Positive reinforcement of the good aspects of their life is critical in helping them focus on a healthy recovery.

While you can get sober at the urging of a loved one, you must care enough about yourself and hold yourself in high enough esteem not to relapse and return to the life of self destructive addiction.

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