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Addictions

Differences Between Drugs & Addictions

Answered by Jim LaPierre, LCSW, CCS

Question

How do you look at dealing with the Addiction of Alcohol compared to other drugs? I know some say A drug is a drug. Although I agree to some extent, there are different components that one drug carries from another..

Hi there and thanks for your question. Yes, as they say, "addiction is addiction, is addiction" and yet there are differences and some of them need to be acknowledged and addressed. In my experience 95% of what we have to deal with is ourselves and in order to do that we have to be clean and sober. The other 5% can be dealt with bit by bit. Food addiction is unique in that it's the one addiction that I HAVE to continue using in a healthy way. Alcohol is unique in that no matter how hard I try, I can't stay away from it - (it's in every store I go into). I think focusing on what divides us and what the distinctions are drives us away from each other. My choice is to focus on what unites us, connect to others (even after all my healthy years I'm still no good alone other than brief period of solitude) and choose what I'm moving toward and not just what I want to get away from.

I'm not sure what your journey looks like but I hope that it includes amazing people and the recognition that you're one too (most of the best people I know are in recovery). Good luck and blessed be!

About the Expert

Jim LaPierre

LCSW, CCS

Brewer, United States of America

Specialties

Anger Management, Gay Lesbian Issues, Spirituality, Divorce, Compulsive Disorders, Trauma and PTSD, Life Coaching, Addiction or Substance Abuse, OCD, Mood Disorders, Parenting, Domestic Abuse or Domestic Violence, Anxiety or Fears, ADHD, Impulse Control Disorders, Relationship Issues, Women, Loss or Grief, Eating Disorders, Depression, Finding Your Purpose in Life

License

my_license #LC9830