Understanding the Vocabulary of Addiction

Vocabulary is important because if you look at the concept of an engram, it’s just a memory loop. If someone keeps telling you over and over “don’t think of a pink elephant” and then asks what colors the elephant you’re not supposed to think of, the answer’s easy; the elephant’s pink. engram works exactly the same. Knowing all your triggers as they relate to your addiction reinforces that engram and makes you sicker. It’s going to make the neurological loop fire quicker, possibly on its own. It’s doesn’t need a trigger because it’s active. What you need to look at carefully is what words you use to describe what you have.

No Such Thing as an Addict

First of all, there is no such thing as an addict. When someone says addict, you think of the worst; down and out, drunken, abusive, abused the system, etc. These terms link an engram to what you believe you are, which then you perceive yourself as a loser. Everybody that failed at treatment because they’re an addict, so what we do is change that addict to addiction.

We Don’t Treat Addicts, We Treat Humans

Here at ATS we don’t treat addicts, we treat humans, people who have a medical condition because of an addiction. It’s neurological and medical. If you help someone understand their addiction and treat them, it’s medical. Perception has quite a bit to do with the outcome. If you think you’re a loser, if you think there’s hope and potential for you because you have a medical condition, we can treat that that addiction and you can get better.

There is no reason your chronic condition has to interfere with your way of life. Vocabulary is extremely important and so is changing the mindset of people who have medical conditions of addiction versus a moral condition of being an addict. That what we do here at Addiction Treatment Strategies. We treat those who have a medical condition of an addiction.

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