We know the language of the rooms: powerlessness, unmanageability, defects of character, and the spiritual malady. But what if we look deeper? When the AMA declared addiction a disease in the 1950s, and when it was later rebranded as a brain disease, it legitimized a treatment industry built on certified paraprofessionals—essentially “paid sponsors.” That is exactly how I fell into this business early in my career. But five years in, a darker clarity emerged. Looking closely at myself, my patients, our families, I found the common thread: narratives of abandonment and unspeakable childhood abuse buried beyond active recollection. Addiction isn’t a pathology. It is a somatic shield, an intelligent but desperate response to a fractured soul. To truly heal, we have to look beyond conventional medical wisdom. We must stop fighting the coping mechanism and instead begin the deeper, soulful work of mending the initial heartbreak—a philosophy I champion daily in my own work and as messaged here at the
Infinite Recovery Project.
https://infiniterecoveryproject.com/blog/addiction-is-a-response-not-a-disorder/
Leave a Reply