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What Causes Addiction? Addicts are lonely. They are starving for love, attention, and nurturing. Many are angry that their needs—either when they were children, or as adults—have gone unmet. Some are angry at having been physically, sexually, or emotionally abused as children. This causes a lot of emotional pain. The addict seeks out ways of relieving their pain. Many turn to alcohol, drugs, pornography, food, and many other things to relieve their pain. Their drug of choice may work for a while, but it will eventually become an addiction.
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Relief From Addiction: This is usually referred to as "sobriety." The addict is said to be in "recovery."
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Spiritually: Addicts must take the risk of confessing their powerlessness. They fear that if others know about their addiction, they will be ridiculed and abandoned. Fellowship with others who can tell their stories to one another is one of the essential elements of getting well. Confessing powerlessness to others brings an addict closer to being willing to return control to God.
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Emotionally: Addicts will need to address old wounds that have caused them to feel unloved and un-loveable. This may be a matter of intensive counseling that addresses traumas and memories of abuse as a child. Healthy churches will work to create opportunities for them to have support groups. This kind of fellowship is also a kind of accountability. Addicts will need to be accountable to change the behaviors that led to addiction. New habits will need to be substituted for the old addictive behavior.
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Physically: Addicts may need to seek medical evaluation or medical intervention to detoxify from their drug of choice.
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