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Chapter 7. Substance Abuse

Addiction is not primarily a moral issue, but a disease or condition of individuals and families that is treatable. Chemical dependency is a direct assault on the dignity of the human person, and a destructive invasion of the lives of individual users, their families, and their communities. Each of us, created in God's own image, is intended to share our Creator's freedom, love, and happiness. People physically, mentally, or emotionally addicted to a drug, in contrast, are clearly dependent, enslaved, and unhappy -- a perversion of God's creative plan for us.

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What is substance abuse?

According to the Food and Drug Administration, substance abuse is using a substance for other than its intended purpose and in a manner that can harm the user's health or capability to function properly. A person can become dependent on a substance physically and/or psychologically. Psychological dependence is acquired by repeated exposure to a substance. It is termed habituation. All substances have a potential to habituate. Physical dependence is acquired if the user experiences withdrawal symptoms when a particular substance is denied. This phenomenon is termed addiction. Addiction refers only to physical dependence. Addicts built up tolerance to a substance which requires ever-increasing doses to obtain a certain effect. The road to dependence upon one or more substances usually follows a regular, defined course from the beginning of use until the addict develops negative personality traits which alienate him from his family, friends, associates, and society in general. The process will continue until the negative aspects of the addiction cause sickness and death, unless an intervention occurs that makes the addict recognize the problem. A continuous, lifelong process of conversion and recovery is then necessary.

Why do people become addicted? Psychoanalytic theory holds that addiction is the outward symptom of internal emotional problems. A person can become addicted because the substance provides a positive, euphoric effect, the substance becomes associated with tension reduction, and/or the substance is believed to enhance personal abilities in some way. It must also be noted that addictive substances affect people differently, and biological factors can affect a person's susceptibility to addiction to a particular substance.

Substance abuse is often marked by denial, the illusion of control, and avoidance. A desire for control is manifested in compulsive behavior. Compulsive behavior is something we do that we do not believe we are able to control or stop, but which gives us the illusion of being in control.

The story of Adam and Eve teaches us that the pattern of denial, avoidance, and blame is a typical human response whenever people are questioned about their behavior and motives. Denial is the inability to accept responsibility for our choices and actions. Avoidance refers to the inability to admit our problems. Finally, we blame others to direct attention away from our own shortcomings. These three characteristics of substance abuse work together to become more dangerous than the actual act of abusing substances, because together they prohibit us from receiving God's forgiveness, which we need so much if we are to grow and mature.[63]

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The legal position and the Church's position

In our nation, substances that have been found to be addictive and dangerous are illegal to possess. Not only is this done to protect those physically near the individual possessing the dangerous substance, but it is also designed to discourage individuals from damaging their own physical and emotional health. There is an age restriction on those permitted to sell or use alcohol, for example, because alcohol can impair a person's judgment.

As a believing community, we try to confront chemical dependency with both the honesty to recognize its power for human destruction and the faith that we can prevail with the grace and power of God. Christ comes into our hearts and our lives whenever any one of us takes the bold steps to see addiction for the slavery it is, to act to prevent its spread, and to reach out to those suffering from its devastating power.

To every sister or brother challenged by addiction in daily recovery, we extend our prayerful admiration and concern. To every family struggling to confront and heal chemical dependency in its members, we pledge the solidarity, support, and service of this faith community. The Church is called to serve, to reach out, to help rebuild lives, and to support individuals, families, and communities in the fight against the slavery of drug and alcohol abuse.[64]

The Church encouranges self-help groups as a means of support. Self-help groups are an important part of the continuum of resources for recovery for individuals and their families. For many people, these support groups alone are the path to recovery. The family remains the best resource for prevention, early detection, recovery, and treatment of chemical abuse. Families need to be helped to become aware of the early signs of substance abuse and intervention techniques. The family must also be involved in the treatment process and followup.[65]

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What is the impact to individuals, families, and society?

Each human being, with his or her own unique interior life, personality, mind, intellect, and will, is loved unconditionally by God, who created him or her to carry out a mission in His divine plan for salvation. Substance abuse of any kind frustrates this plan because it dims the intellect and weakens the will to the point where the user is incapable of performing that mission in a way that will be most pleasing to God. Whether the person who is suffering from substance abuse is young or old, heavily addicted or an occasional user, wealthy or homeless, he or she is diminished as a person by being subject to a drug or other substance.

The person who is addicted may lose his or her job, friends, health, family, or even life itself. An addict suffers from the illusion of control when he or she is in actuality being controlled. The effects on emotional state, personal growth, and intellectual understanding as a result of prolonged substance abuse may last the rest of one's life.

Substance abuse not only affects the individual who is addicted. It also harms families. One out of four Americans experience family-related alcohol abuse. Alcohol abuse plays a part in one out of three failed marriages.

Since the family helps form a person's character and attitudes much more profoundly than any other group, the attitudes in that family can contribute to the problem -- and the resolution. Typically, the substance user is trying to escape some sort of stress through this behavior. If he or she feels cut off from others, overworked, anxious, ashamed, tense, afraid of conflict, or fearful of economic problems, the addictive substance can be falsely seen as a "safe escape." The family can, however, make the decision to help their addictive relative return to reality, safety, and peace through a willingness to admit the problem and work together to change. But the first step is always for the addict to admit that a problem exists which he or she must address.

Substance abuse results in many casualties in our nation. One in ten persons in the United States is an alcohol abuser, and one in four is affected by the abuse of alcohol in their own families. The average starting age for alcohol use is twelve (thirteen for illegal drugs), and six percent of high school students are daily users of alcohol. Comparing local and national averages for 1996, the Dayton Area Drug Survey indicates higher teen drug use levels locally than nationally for cigarettes (65% locally vs. 64% nationally), inhalants (19% vs. 17%), marijuana (48% vs. 45%), and hallucinogens (18% vs. 14%). In addition, a larger percentage of Dayton area students reported recent episodes of alcohol-induced drunkenness than did their national peers (33% vs. 30%). Obviously, this is a national trend we cannot afford to ignore.

Substance abuse destroys more than individual lives and families. It cripples businesses, which must deal with addictive employees. It results in violent behavior, which makes our neighborhoods unsafe. It overwhelms our criminal justice and social service systems with needy, often dangerous persons. It causes increased healthcare costs due to the need for recovery and other medical programs. Substance abuse is a problem in all segments of our society. No group of people is immune to substance abuse and its effects.

Substance abuse kills people. Of the two million deaths each year, one in four is attributed to alcohol, illegal drugs, or tobacco use. More than 400,000 people die due to tobacco, and 100,000 people die as a result of alcohol. Illegal drug abuse and related AIDS cases account for at least 19,000 deaths.

Here in Beavercreek, it has been hard to miss the increasing trend in substance abuse among young people, paralleling the national trend. A high school student has admitted spiking a teacher's coffee with LSD. A sixteen-year-old who caused a head-on collision with another car is suspected of substance abuse. A seventeen-year-old was charged with trafficking in a counterfeit controlled substance. A fifteen-year-old entered a not guilty plea for possessing LSD.

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What can we do as Church and as individuals?

Church and individual responses begin by acknowledging that substance abuse is widespread -- from our poorest to our most affluent neighborhoods. Chemical dependency not only tears at the fabric of families and communities, but of the faith community as well. There are several activities the Church and we as individuals can undertake to mitigate the effects of alcohol and drug abuse.

We can help through education. Churches can offer adult education programs on a regular basis to make alcohol and drug awareness information available to families, which play the essential role in prevention. Positive parental role models and stable, loving relationships in the home offer the first and best hope for a drug-free and fulfilling life.

We can direct people to the appropriate treatment assistance for alcohol and other drug abuse and dependency, which takes a number of forms in our communities. It covers a continuum stretching from early intervention with the substance abuser, outpatient counseling, treatment, and self-help groups, to professional detoxification, partial hospitalization, shortterm or longterm residential treatment and therapeutic communities, the use of medication, and aftercare support programs.

The Church and individuals can advocate on behalf of persons who encounter obstacles to drug-free environments and to recovery. We can commit ourselves to ongoing advocacy efforts to promote public policy and to enact legislation to ensure access to adequate, affordable, and appropriate treatment for all those in need. We must be conscious of the particular problems posed by pregnant women who are substance abusers. Instead of abandoning them, supporting the murder of their unborn children through abortion, or judging them, we must be willing to assist both mothers and children in their recovery from addiction.

We can also pray regularly for those struggling with substance abuse, those involved in recovery treatment, prevention, and enforcement, as well as for their families. When we welcome recovering alcoholics and addicts and families wrestling with this disease, we are calling people into the healing and grace-filled dynamic of penance, forgiveness, and reconciliation.

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Resources

Recommended reading

A Christian's Guide to Mental Wellness, Richard Johnson, Ph.D., One Liguori Drive, Liguori, MO 63057-9999, (314) 464-2500.

From Despair to Hope: Family and Drug Addiction, Vatican City 1992, Librerian Editrice Vaticana, Vatican City, ISBN 1-55586-552-6.

"Thinking Catholic: An Attitude of Heart," Archbishop Daniel E. Pilarczyk, 16-part series of the Catholic Telegraph, 7 February 1997.

Local services

Prayers

Please add your own prayers to these.

To you I lift up my soul, O Lord, my God.
In you I trust; let me not be put to shame, let not
my enemies exult over me.
No one who waits for you shall be put to shame;
those shall be put to shame who heedlessly
break faith.
Your ways, O Lord, make known to me;
teach me your paths.
Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are
God my savior, and for you I wait all the day.
Look toward me, and have pity on me,
for I am alone and afflicted.
Relieve the troubles of my heart, and bring me out
of my distress.
Put an end to my affliction and my suffering,
and take away all my sins.
Psalm 25:1-5,16-18

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Prayer for Persons With Chemical Dependencies

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Proclaiming the Sanctity of Life  | Purpose of This Handbook  | The Importance of Life  |  Abortion  |  Contraception  | Death Penalty  |  Euthanasia  |  Substance Abuse  | Suicide  |  Conclusion  |  Footnotes

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