Love, Hate And The Emergence Of Self In Addiction Recovery
Keywords:
Addiction, love, hate, self, identity, recovery This paper is written by two addiction professionals, one of whom (AB) has over thirty years of lived addiction experience. We hope therefore that the paper combines both theoretical and experiential rigour. As such the purpose of this paper is to explore the issues of love and hate as they manifest in the recovery process of individuals who are described as having addictions. By using the word ‘addiction’ we do not mean to denigrate these individuals or to create alienating labels which can hinder authentic living. However, based on our clinical and personal experience, we are convinced that there exists a commonality of suffered lived experience which can be called ‘addiction’. With the caveat that addiction will manifest differently for each individual, and also for different cultures and groups, there does appear to be commonalities across various types of addictions.Abstract
The authors argue that the formation of self is at the heart of many addiction issues. Likewise issues of love (sought) and hate (found) are central to both the formation of a self vulnerable to addiction and to fostering recovery. So the negative feelings towards addicts (hate) is not simple prejudice, but inherent to the condition itself. As such this needs careful reflection by therapists. The authors argue that love, as compassion, is the central healing feature in addiction recovery.
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Published
2014-07-01
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Articles
