Isolation - Addiction - Shame

Struggling in the quiet.

The life of an addict is constant struggle. Struggle for understanding, struggle for control, struggle to hide the pain and keep secrets, struggle to connect with others, struggle to hide from others. Always struggle.

And the struggle is a quiet one. For the addict almost always struggles alone. Not that there is no one who will help the addict. Rather the addict hides and goes to great lengths to push away the arms that offer to help. Isolation. Addiction. Shame. The cycle goes on and on.





I've heard it said that the best way to help an addict is to get the addict outside of himself. Get the addict to help someone else. When the addict helps another he steps outside of his own shell and moves away from self-centered thinking. He is able to break his own Isolation-Addiction-Shame cycle by removing the isolation. Just don't tell the addict this or he will surely resist!!

This addict's recent weeks have been quiet struggle. Struggle with the every day. The addict spent two weeks of traveling for business and avoided all of the acting out which such business trips can bring. A real triumph for the addict.

But then came a return to everyday life and the addict struggled. Isolation. More struggle. Addiction. And then Shame. Which of course the addict follows with more isolation.

The cycle has been broken this week. The addict was able to reach out for support and work on surrendering the addiction to his higher power. And his higher power was good and faithful with the request.

Still, the addict feels isolated. He is an introverted person to begin with (INTP on the Meyers-Briggs test). How can the addict discern between the healthy isolation of an introvert and the unhealthy isolation of an addict? And why must the addict always feel alone?



Despite being an introvert, loneliness sometimes haunts the addict. He forgets that he has chosen to be alone and quickly assumes that he is alone because others have abandoned him. So he acts out to cover his pain. Addiction. Shame. Isolation.

This blog entry could go on forever.

Addiction.

This blog entry could be unending.

Shame.

This blog entry could cycle repeptitively.

Isolation.