It all seems complicated . . .
Yes - well as we have said - everything inside and about a person in addiction is pulled in to the problem. It partly seems complicated - because so much becomes involved.

Then of course there is the addicted person - looking every which way but to the one place where the problem resides. And they need us to tag along with them - so that their denial is not challenged. That is when things can get very complicated - because when we collude with the ways of addiction - we can end up as sick and dizzy as the addicted person them self.

Recovery simplifies things - because it does not say to tackle all of this at once right now. Recovery is a here and now and one step at a time program of behavioral change - and that cuts right to the core of who we are. It weeds out addiction from the inside out.

Once this is understood - things get simpler. Otherwise - trying to help a person in their addiction is like trying to hold a burning house together - without putting out the fire inside of it.

But there are also issues about how we look at addiction - and about how we do or don’t understand it well. It’s the old story about the blind men touching different parts of an elephant. One touches the tail - another touches the side of his belly - and yet another touches the elephant’s ivory tusk. Each is left with a very different belief of what an elephant is like - but none truly gets the whole picture. And things would quickly become complicated - once they started to talk with one another.

It is the same with addiction. It is seen as a biochemical problem - a disorder of mental health - a personal choice or a spiritual sickness. Others see it as a social condition or as a complication of vulnerable people raised in a society that teaches a gospel of pills - and their quick fix.

Addiction is not one or the other of these - but neither are any of these theories false. The condition of addiction is bits and pieces of all these viewpoints - and each person with the condition will have differing factors that have contributed to their illness.

How can you help me to understand this better?
One way that helps me is to think of addiction as similar to a heart attack.

Most of us understand that there are many different risk factors to a heart attack. Some people have a genetic disposition. Others smoke cigarettes. Still others have high cholesterol, obesity or a poor level of fitness. Many people who have a heart attack have several of these risk factors combined. Some will have one, another - or none. And a few people will have all these risk factors - but will never have a heart attack.

The point is - that there are many pathways to the occurrence of a heart attack - the same as there are many different factors that contribute to the occurrence of addiction. Not everyone is prone to the occurrence of a heart attack - the same way that not all people seem prone to developing the condition of addiction - even many of those who use alcohol or drugs.

But once a heart attack has occurred - a new and dangerous condition has now developed. Heart muscle has been damaged. The heart is unstable and may not work well until it has healed - and regained some of its strength. But regardless - a new condition of health is now present - distinct from those things that caused it in the first place - with a clinical course of its own and requiring specific treatment.

It is the same with addiction - that once addiction has shown itself - it is now a condition of health that is distinct from all that has given rise to it. It will now take its own dangerous course - with a driving force of its own.

So many search in the past - struggling to understand the condition of addiction. They do not seem to remember - that people start to use alcohol and drugs for so many different reasons - but only a small proportion develop addiction to these substances. And once addiction has occurred within that smaller group of vulnerable people - it needs to be understood as a distinct clinical condition that tangles its roots deep inside the addicted person as they stand here today - and not as they were twenty years ago.

The most important thing to know about a heart attack that has happened today - is how much heart muscle has been damaged. It is not that the past history is unimportant in the larger view of recovery. But understanding why a person began to smoke as a teenager is not going to get us very far in treating their heart attack today.

The roots of addiction do not lie in things that happened twenty years ago. And it does not much matter what were the reasons why the addicted person began to use drugs in the first place. The root of addiction is only to be properly understood in the ways that the condition is tangled today within the brain, mind and spirit of the addicted person.

Is it even possible to grasp the whole picture of addiction and recovery?
It is not as simple as some would like it to be. But neither is it so complicated that it cannot be understood by an interested person.

Do you have some way that you pull it all together?
I have this picture in my head - of a car driving down a road. The car is me - and its not in perfect working order - because I’ve been too busy to look after it properly. But the road I’m on is all downhill - and I’m just sailing along without much effort - just taking the easy way - as it seems to me at the time.

Turns out the car has a serious problem underneath it - in a place I’ve not noticed.

A wheel fall completely off my car - and rolls off down the hill. That’s the part of me that is now addiction. But the tire has disconnected from the rest of me - and is speeding off down the hill on its own course.

And that is your way of understanding all this?
I don’t know if it illustrates every detail - but it helps to understand the larger picture of addiction and recovery.

How so?
Well - a tire flying down a hill can create a lot of damage - and I am quite powerless to stop it - being a broken car stuck at the side of the road.

And people are always trying to fix the car - to treat my bad nerves - to sort out the problems in my life - to understand all the bad things that have happened to me.

These are not terrible things to do - and they are all well motivated. It’s just that they’re beside the point right now - because the best mechanic in the world is not going to make a car with three wheels go very far. The tire may even stop at a bump for a while - take a break. But if it just takes a little nudge to set if off again - all the other repair work on the car will come to nothing.

It is the disconnected nature of addiction - of the compulsive use - that so many do not appreciate - or respect in their efforts at treatment. Specific measures have to be taken in the treatment of addiction. It’s not enough to just put band aids on all of the problems that develop. And it’s not enough to understand any reasons why the addicted person began to use drugs in the first place.

It is also this disconnection within the addicted person - that demands their participation in treatment. It is why treatment for addiction is never enough - in of and by itself.

For me to stay well, I must do things that change me on the inside - things that put me in a healthier condition to counteract the lingering compulsion to use again. And to persist in doing these things - I must be an active participant in my own recovery. 

Does recovery stop the tire?
Good question. But that tire’s on a powerful force of its own - way off down the hill.

So what does recovery do?
Well - in my picture of this car and loose tire - recovery has to change the road underneath us. Trying to fix all the broken bits and pieces at once right now doesn’t seem to work - or at least to last very long.

When you look at those people who do well - one day at a time over time - it seems that they have changed the very path that they’re on - deep things within and beneath them have changed - and they’re now taking a completely different way.

So what happens to the tire?
Well - again in this picture within my mind - I imagine that the things that we do in recovery changes the slope of the road beneath us - so now instead of going down a hill - we’re on more level ground - and the tire loses some of its speed.

Maybe in time - the road changes even more - so our car is now a the bottom of a valley - and the tire rolls back towards the car on its own - not because we’ve done anything directly to make that tire stop - but because we have changed the ground that has given it force.

The tire rolls back towards the car - and we reconnect. And once we’re better connected - a whole person on more even ground - everything seems to get a little easier - as long as I look after the car better - and do what I need to do - to keep all its parts together.

And what is it that connects things back together?
I don’t know much about cars - but in recovery - honesty is a first big step.

Listening is another huge part of it. Just taking in what we hear - without defending or distancing our self.

And not running - just sitting with our self and allowing time to heal - without stirring up a new problem every day.

Addition pulls us apart. It drains us of our energy - and demoralizes our person.

The activities of recovery help us to heal. They connect us on the inside and with others. They put us in touch with the inner wisdom - and natural source of energy that is always there - if we just stop side stepping away from our selves.

Recovery is not a direct fight with the condition of addiction. And it is not a quick fix to all of the complications that may have come into our life as a result of our addicted behaviors.

Recovery is taking a break from the mad rush to fix all the stuff that is on the outside of us - and doing the things that are necessary to heal and grow better on the inside.

It seems to make sense - I’ll think about it more. . .  
Go ahead. You’ll be surprised at how many pieces of the puzzle fit with the picture. Anyway - that image has helped me to imagine a larger picture of how addiction, recovery and change seem to relate.

And what does all this have to do with SupportNet?
Writing on SupportNet helps me to organize my thoughts - about things that have been necessary for me to understand.

It’s not written to help other people?
It’s a way of passing on some things that were given to me - mostly words - things said to me along the way.

I know that there are people looking for a way out of their mess. SupportNet is simply written - understandable to me - and accessible to those who want to use it.

There must be a lot of people who need this sort of information?
Yes - but there are not as many who see their need - or who are willing to follow through on what they read.

Much of what is written on SupportNet sounds simple. Does it work?
Recovery is simple - once you catch on to it. But that does not mean that its ways are obvious at the outset - or that it is an easy path to follow.

The Principles and Ways of Recovery are clear enough. What could be simpler than to talk honestly - to listen to others - to meditate or to ask for help?

But it turns out that these are things difficult for many of us to do - particularly when we think that things will not work out according to our wishes. And the ways of recovery are contrary to so much about the necessary ways of persisting in addiction.

It is not easy to endure in the ways of recovery - one day at a time over time - to the extent or for long enough that the benefits of recovery fill one’s life. There are many ways that seem easier - or faster. 

You seem to encourage recovery group - over individual counseling?
Mutual support and group are the tradition of recovery. It is a more potent - and immediate way of learning. It is a powerful means of personal change.

Alcoholics and addicts spend years talking circles around individual therapists and counselors - going over all the reasons they have to stay sick. Try that stuff for five minutes in a good recovery group. You can’t get away with it.

There is no place more welcoming than Recovery Support Group. But I think people know that it is harder to hide in a group. Individual counseling is a much safer place.

But addiction leaves people in such a mess. There must be more to recovery than just doing things differently - in the ways suggested?
Well - there is another assumption that keeps people stuck in their sickness.

So you really believe that recovery is possible - just by doing these things differently?
I know it to be true.

And that recovery can change people in such profound ways?
Yes - I know that to be true also.

But what about medical treatment?
There are many people in recovery who require medical treatment for health conditions.

There is nothing on SupportNet that is inconsistent - or in any disagreement with proper medical treatment.

You work with opiate addicted persons on methadone treatment?
Yes.

You don’t see anything inconsistent about methadone and recovery?
No - I do not. Opiate drugs change the brain functioning of some people in ways that create a great deal of difficulty for them - in recovery and in other areas of their life.

Methadone treatment does nothing but respond to those physical changes. It is a simple medical treatment that provides the opiate addicted person with some stability to their life - and opportunity to learn about recovery from addiction.

Otherwise - there is so much nonsense talked about methadone - that it is not worth discussing much further.

Is SupportNet compatible with harm reduction?
There is nothing inconsistent between recovery and harm reduction. Sick people deserve access to medical support - and to be provided with education about their safety.

Those with interest can also learn about the opportunity for recovery - and which of course is the best of all harm reduction strategies.

But SupportNet itself is concerned with issues of recovery from addiction - not with the many issues of managing persons within their addiction.

Is it only for those with drug addiction?
No. SupportNet began as a resource for the people I work with - those with deep opiate drug addiction. But the Principles and Ways of Recovery apply to any conditions of addiction - to drugs, alcohol, food, gambling or relationships. As SupportNet has grown - it relates more to those with the condition of addiction - regardless of substance or behavior.

Is recovery always a struggle?
No - it is not. After a while so many things become easier. Much of what we used to struggle with - just becomes obvious. And we are not wasting so much energy on ways that are useless to our condition - or that just make things worse.

There is always a day when I don’t want to hear something that I know to be true - or a day when I feel justified to let anger seethe. Those are the days that recovery is a struggle. Recovery is a pleasant life - when everything is going my way. It is not as easy when things are not going as I believe that they should.

SupportNet encourages the idea of a Personal Program of Recovery - sort of a tracking system for our activities of recovery. It is a way to help one to sustain the effort - one day at a time over time.

Do you think that recovery is beyond rational understanding?
No - I do not. I’ve seen what appear to be magical results of recovery - of people transforming in remarkable ways - but I do not think that recovery is a magical process. I think that its powerful ways of transformation are not even anything new - just things that have been neglected - or forgotten - or that we just find too hard to follow through with.

I think it is magical that recovery can work in the powerful ways that it does. But I do not think that recovery works in magical ways.

But isn’t recovery a spiritual process?
I’m not sure what you mean by a spiritual process. Recovery says to do things differently - to adopt its Principles and Ways in everyday life - and to apply these ways to the challenges that life brings our way. When we do so - things change. We change - and the direction seems to be away from the ways of ego desire and self will - and towards a more spiritual perspective on the living of life.

Recovery is a process. But spiritual awakening is a gradual outcome of the things that we do differently in recovery. And I don’t think that it is beyond understanding or reach. It would seem to be a quite normal step of human potential - for those who are willing to set their self will aside - and who don’t mind to have their ego torn to shreds. But for some of us - the condition of addiction had already looked after that issue.

Opposites can have value to each other. Addiction consumes everything. Spiritual awakening changes everything. Addicts want to live satisfying lives and to feel well. Spiritual growth is the best way to find a settled life. The ways of addiction torment those who suffer in it. The ways of recovery provide a way out - to a life of satisfaction - and meaning.

Sounds like it would be good for everybody?
Life with a spiritual perspective is a better life. But the addicted person has particular reasons to step outside of their person - as the alternative is quite dangerous to them. It not just a matter of personal choice or aspiration - it is a matter of health - life and death.

And everything on SupportNet is available for free?
Yes. There are no SupportNet resources that require payment.

Will I have to find my way through pages of advertisements?
SupportNet hosts no advertisements - and neither does it provide links to any vendor. It is not affiliated with any group - and does not receive financial support from any government agency, pharmaceutical, health or other industry.

What is in the MarketPlace?
The MarketPlace is for institutions or treatment programs that want to offer SupportNet resources to their clients - during treatment or in aftercare.

Some people prefer to have printed manuals, eBooks or compact disks with higher quality sound than can be played over the Internet.

The MarketPlace offers these. But all SupportNet resources are available on the web site and without cost.

What is your goal for SupportNet?
SupportNet is a means of sorting through some things that have been necessary for me to understand. I start out thinking what it is that I want to write. But I end up seeing things differently than when I began.

SupportNet is a hobby - and a personal challenge. We live in a remarkable time - with our ability to share ideas across the world.

SupportNet helps me to connect - and to pass on some of what has been given to me.