Enhanced Healing

Current treatment programs do not adequately deal with the individual’s thinking, and because of this, they do not adequately deal with the cause of addictive behavior. The addict’s or alcoholic’s thinking is not incidental. It is not merely a symptom. It is not simply a byproduct of a diseased brain. It is the central creative force that shapes his self-esteem, emotional pain, choices, behavior, and dependency. Until treatment recognizes this, it will continue to fall short.

The Alcoholics Anonymous Big Book states that “to get over drinking requires a transformation of thought and attitude.” This statement points directly toward the truth of the new paradigm that I am proposing. If overcoming drinking requires a transformation of thought and attitude, then the central work of treatment must be the transformation of thought and attitude. It must not merely be the management of a disease. It must not merely be meeting attendance, work the steps or relapse prevention. It must be the deep reorganization of the individual’s inner life.

A transformation of thought and attitude means that the person must come to think differently about himself, his past, his pain, his responsibility, his power, and his future. He must stop identifying with shame and begin identifying with worth. He must stop believing he is powerless and begin understanding that he has choice. He must stop using the past as proof that he cannot change and begin using the present moment as the place where change begins. He must stop seeking relief through substances and begin creating peace through self-love.

Most people do not want to look inside themselves where it is dark. They do not want to examine their shame, guilt, fear, resentment, self-rejection, or painful beliefs about their worth. They do not want to look at the thoughts they have accepted and repeated for years. They do not want to confront the possibility that their suffering is connected to their own thinking. It is easier to blame the substance, the disease, the brain, the past, the family, society, or external circumstances. Yet if the cause is internal, looking outside will never reveal the solution.