http://thefreedomstep.com/[/url]
I have counseled doctors (MD, PhD & Psy d) on the Freedom Step protocols.A,A Frankly, when it comes to addictions, we admitted addicts are no different from anybody else on the planet.A,A We just form fellowships that seek a spiritual solution.A,A There are no AC/a,!A"normies.AC/a,!?A,A
Much love,
Marty
ADDICTION IS NOT THE PROBLEM
There is one fundamental truth about addiction that all addicts know in their hearts.A,A We hate emotional pain!A,A While certain substances can be physically or psychologically addictive, addictions are also emotionally entrenched habits we have unconsciously created in an effort to avoid having to feel unresolved emotional pain.A,A A,A These may manifest as addictions to alcohol, other psycho-tropic drugs, cigarettes, and so forth.A,A They may be addictions to work (amassing money), shopping (spending money), gambling, eating or any number of ego-driven AC/a,!A"solutions.AC/a,!?
The addiction is not the problem. It has merely served as the toxic, ineffective, often destructive method for dealing with the problem of unresolved emotional painAC/a,!A|until the addiction itself becomes the problem. That is why traditional addiction treatment has often been only partially, temporarily effective.A,A Most traditional recovery programs tend to focus on the addiction, not the problem.
One goal of The Freedom Step is to heal the real problem rather than treat the symptom.A,A The difference between the two is that with treatment, the situation remains the same, that is, the treatment goes to the addiction.A,A Whereas with healing, the resolution is elicited by changing the focus to the underlying cause of the situation.A,A The resolution brings about the absolute removal of the cause.
It is one thing to prescribe medicine for high blood pressure.A,A It is quite another to bring about changes in the patientAC/a,!a,,C/s life so that he stops being angry and tense.
Awareness of this is essential. If we treat only our chemical or psychological symptom, we are avoiding the real problem. We then relapse into our primary addiction AC/a,!A"of choiceAC/a,!? or we transfer from one addiction to another.
So how do we address and AC/a,!A"healAC/a,!? the causes of addiction (past/present emotional pain) so that the symptoms (addictive behaviors) may be eliminated completely?A,A Recent scientific research provides an important clue about our physiological development that explains why we avoid emotional pain.A,A Quantum Mechanics offers valuable insight about how the energy of emotions is created.
This emerging field also holds exciting promise in providing simple, effective ways to resolve the enormous backlog of unresolved emotional pain in our lives, and easily manage the strong feelings, the pockets of energy, that arise within us.A,A
The Freedom Step came into existence as a vehicle to bring healing to all who suffer from unresolved emotional pain.A,A That would include virtually everybody on this planet.A,A When we try to resolve that pain with any ego (mind) solution, we never experience permanent or even long-term resolution. Examples of ego solutions, which often are not in our best interests, are:
AC/a,!AC/ drinking alcohol
AC/a,!AC/ ingesting psychotropic drugs (prescribed and non-prescribed)
AC/a,!AC/ smoking
AC/a,!AC/ eating
AC/a,!AC/ gambling
AC/a,!AC/ compulsively seeking physical pleasure
AC/a,!AC/ sex addictionA,A
AC/a,!AC/ managing our life or that of others
AC/a,!AC/ codependency
AC/a,!AC/ excessive gaming
AC/a,!AC/ Compulsive thinking and so on.
When these AC/a,!A"solutionsAC/a,!? become excessive and repetitive, they are called addictions. The solutions often lead to even more emotional pain. That cycle is a danger to mental, physical and emotional health and continued occupation of this planet.A,A All addiction is caused by unresolved emotional pain.A,A All addiction is addiction to the ego!
Liz Woolley
Good stuff, this is the way I have been looking at my addiction all along, and I feel it is the right way to go about treatment...