The plight to be understood

"What is addiction, really?  It is a sign, a signal, a symptom of distress.  It is a language that tells us about a plight that must me understood."  [Alice Miller]

It's so tempting to demonize the addict as weak, callous, or broken, but in so doing, we further isolate the person and deny a part of us that we all have.  Pain, hurt, and loss have no language, but it's in the addiction that we can hear the soul's cry to be understood.  Hiding behind every addiction, be it alcohol, drugs, sex, shopping, or work, is our fear of disconnection.  Addicts terrify us because they are "us", and they represent the parts of us we shudder to shine a light on.

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