Well, there are many types of addictions, and they all have a common denominator, but I'll get to that in a moment. First, let me say that there have been many theories proposed by countless numbers of degreed professionals in the addiction recovery field, but unfortunately, none of them have been clinically proven - especially the disease model! Think about it, if the current treatment approaches to addiction were actually working, the number of addicted Americans would be decreasing. However, The number of addicted Americans has increased 62% from 2002 - 2006, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Agency.

Traditional Programs Fail in Excess of 90% of the Time!

My experience has taught me that the mainstream approach to addiction is fundamentally amiss because formal Drug and Alcohol treatment programs attempt to defeat the symptoms of addiction rather than address the core issue. The majority of all treatment programs offer a group recovery approach as the primary or as a secondary component of their treatment modality. Unfortunately, these groups are often counterproductive and leave the individual at risk for continued relapse.

Recovery groups place a great deal of emphasis on spirituality, powerlessness, and the emergence of a person's sense of soul. They claim many of the steps of the twelve-step program to be paradoxical. Concluding that you are powerless over addiction, but like magic, you some how become more powerful! The goal of the program is a spiritual awakening although they often admit that most people find it difficult to make this connection because they feel victimized by someone else's behavior. My experience teaches me to conclude that admitting you are powerless does not promote empowerment and nor does it restore self-esteem! In my opinion, many of the twelve steps are unnecessary, and they are actually counterproductive to making a spiritual connection, increasing self-esteem, and achieving addiction recovery.

Addiction is not a Disease!

Unfortunately, most psychologists, psychiatrists, interventionists, drug and alcohol abuse counselors, and addiction specialists still believe that addiction is a disease, and an incurable one at that! They believe that there is no cure and there is no such thing as completely overcoming an addiction. However, addiction is not the disease that the medical community has deemed it to be. In fact, it is not a disease at all! Addiction is a choice, or what many view as a solution to temporarily remove their underlying emotional pain! Someone that is suffering from addiction merely has a co-dependency to a substance or compulsion in response to removing their emotional pain. This temporary solution quickly becomes a trap because the body and mind adapt requiring more and more of the addictive behavior or substance to remove the pain! However, if you understand why you made this choice in the first place, you can make another by choosing a better solution that will remove the pain, permanently! Yes, there is a better solution! One that you can work through in the privacy of your home, and one that will give you what you truly desire, happiness!

The Square Root of Addiction

So, what is the common denominator for addiction? the root cause of addiction is the underlying emotional trauma cause by family dysfunction.

Take a brief inventory of your feelings. Why does abusing substances or compulsions make you happier? What emotional pain do they temporarily remove? Were you unloved as a child, controlled, inadequately parented, verbally, physically or sexually abused? Did your parents manipulate you, reject you, or abandon you as a child?

You see, the key to beating a drug addiction is to uncover and remove the emotional pain and the inner turmoil that is causing you distress.

Addictive behavior is a symptom of underlying emotional trauma. Therefore, when you fix the root of the problem habitual behavior becomes repulsive. Instead, the mainstream philosophy has followed a pattern of bombarding people with multiple theories and confusing psychobabble, neither of which address liberation from underlying emotional trauma or restoring self-esteem. The following is a brief outline of the 5 steps to addiction freedom. Prior to following these steps or any addiction recovery program, take the necessary time to ascertain whether you require the additional support of an addiction counselor or medical attention regarding withdrawal.