By hijacked, I mean the brain’s reward center more quickly focuses on alcohol and other drugs as the primary source of pleasure. Once hijacked, the reward center responds less to normal sources of pleasure and bends motivation toward repeated consumption of things that most stimulate the reward center – chemicals like alcohol, cocaine, meth, opiates, tranquilizers, cannabis, etc. The drug of choice depends on one’s personality, friends, and substances available. We sometimes feel as if we are the victim and point fingers at other people or situations. This kind of thinking prevents us from looking at our powerlessness.
The paradox of powerlessness
- Because denial is common, you may feel like you don’t have a problem with drinking.
- Fortunately, depression—even with co-occurring substance use disorder (SUD)—is treatable.
- It also includes binge drinking — a pattern of drinking where a male has five or more drinks within two hours or a female has at least four drinks within two hours.
- If we feel weak, damaged, different and inferior to others, these are exactly the kinds of feelings that make us want to drink more.
Step One isn’t the only reason for this, but it is clearly a part of the problem. Admitting the full reality and weight of the first step plunges people into despair. Once acknowledged as powerless over alcohol and/or other drugs, there seems to be no hope left. Step One only says that, if you are truly addicted to alcohol and/or other drugs, you are completely unable (i.e., powerless) not to be addicted. Even if you abstain for a while, as soon as you return to using alcohol or other drugs, the addiction will reawaken. You do not have the capacity to use any addictive substance in moderation.
- According to Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions (1981), “Few indeed were those who, so assailed, had ever won through in singlehanded combat.
- Although men have historically suffered more health problems from alcohol, a JAMA study published in July found that the rate of increase in alcohol-related deaths is rising faster in women than men, particularly for those 65 and older.
- Joi Honer directs the operations that support our alumni in their recovery from mental health and substance use disorders.
- Alcohol use disorder includes a level of drinking that’s sometimes called alcoholism.
- Perhaps you are familiar with the words of the Serenity Prayer, which is commonly recited at AA meetings.
I’m In Recovery
Dr. Alam is an internationally renowned psychiatrist with academic affiliations with Northwestern University and University of Illinois, Chicago where he completed his residency training. He has been a principal investigator for over forty studies and has been involved in research leading to the approval of most psychiatric medications currently on the market. He is the founder of the Neuroscience Research Institute which continues to conduct research on cutting edge medication and interventional psychiatry. Dr. Alam is a Distinguished Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association and the American Society of Addiction Medicine. He has won several awards and has been featured extensively on radio and television.
Benefits of Understanding Powerlessness in Sobriety
This concept cast a long shadow on cognitive rehabilitation efforts and has been eschewed by those who believe that recovery means a return to a premorbid state. Goldstein posited that, as for compensation, there is no such thing. Rather, a head injured patient might undergo restitution powerless over alcohol and recuperation, achieving “new normal” where health “is restored if a relation between preserved and disturbed performances is reached (page 331)” (Goldstein, 1995). But such adaptation could result in a brain-injured patient’s adapting to the deficit state and rejecting change.
You Drink More Than Planned
New research suggests the risks of even moderate or light drinking may outweigh the benefits. In June, the World Health Organization said that no level of alcohol consumption is safe for our health. And a new study funded by the National Institutes of Health found that binge drinking among adults ages 35 to 50 has reached historic levels. Although men have historically suffered more health problems from alcohol, a JAMA study published in July found that the rate of increase in alcohol-related deaths is rising faster in women than men, particularly for those 65 and older. You care about your loved ones, but you can’t imagine your life without alcohol. Your drinking has led to trouble with your family or friends, or made problems worse, yet you continue to drink.
It’s the perfect starting point to help you uncover your hidden beliefs about alcohol and take the first step to weakening your craving. These beliefs are reinforced by the media’s portrayal of alcohol, societal norms around drinking, and alcohol’s addictive nature. Growing up in a culture that glamorizes drinking, few of us get to form our beliefs about alcohol based on its true nature. Yet, our misguided beliefs shape our perceptions, and our perceptions fuel our desires. Maybe you’ve been concerned enough that you’ve already thought about or actually tried to cut down on your drinking — and it didn’t happen. Alcohol masks unhappy emotions, so those feelings may come back when you quit drinking, making it harder to stick to your goal.
Understanding Powerlessness in Sobriety
By recognizing and embracing these examples of powerlessness in sobriety, individuals can navigate their recovery journey with a greater sense of self-awareness, humility, and resilience. It is through these experiences of surrendering control, letting go of old habits and patterns, and accepting limitations and vulnerability that individuals can find the strength to overcome addiction and lead fulfilling lives in sobriety. This step of accepting powerlessness from the 12-Step process of recovery essentially highlights the power of drugs and alcohol over our lives. Few people intend to destroy their lives and relationships by drinking or doing drugs, but that is what can happen with addiction. These substances literally rewire brain function, making the need to satisfy a craving take prominence over everything else in life–regardless of the consequences. Admitting powerlessness means admitting that no amount of trying or practicing or self-control is going to change the way that drugs or alcohol affect your brain, thus this is the first step in a lifelong journey of recovery.
Read on to learn more about the concept of powerlessness, what it really means, and why it’s so critical in the recovery journey. Throughout substance abuse treatment, core interventions such as individual therapy, group therapy, 12-Step programming, and family or marriage counseling provide a stable support network and a foundation for psychological healing. Unlike ordinary sadness or grief, which can occur temporarily after a loss, the symptoms of depression occur nearly every day for weeks—sometimes months or years—interfering with all aspects of an individual’s life. Although the user may rely on substances used to relieve symptoms of depression, chemical intoxication can actually make depressive episodes more severe, increasing the frequency and intensity of negative thoughts and self-destructive behavior.
This analysis revealed functional connectivity between the insula and nodes of the salience network (anterior cingulate, medial prefrontal, temporal, and parietal cortices) in the controls but not alcoholics. Functions of the insula may have particular relevance to alcoholism given its role in impulse control, self-regulation, error monitoring, and reward processing. As a principal node of the salience network, the insula enables switching between intrinsic and task networks, notably, the executive control network (Menon & Uddin, 2010). This set of results led to the speculation that low insular CBF impairs connectivity among functional salience network nodes and reduces ability to switch from interoceptive desires, such as cravings (impulsive system), to cognitive control over these desires (executive system). In this way, the insula might be considered an “addiction site.” Later in this review, we will see that the insula plays a role in a critical yet under-studied component of memory function in alcoholics. These alcoholics and controls were also administered a comprehensive neuropsychological test battery.
