What biases do you find in yourself about process addictions?
I sometime find myself resisting the urge to blame the addicted person in cases of process addiction. The lack of chemical physical addiction makes it easier to shift the blame to personal responsibility. Sometimes it seems like it should be easy to just abstain from the behavior since there is no inherently addictive quality to it. However, I feel that my opinion about this has definitely changed over time and in learning more information about how process addictions work. Learning about how ritual behaviors can affect the brain’s pleasure center just like drugs definitely changed my biased feelings towards process addiction. Reading about common types of process addictions also made me realize that there are physiological implications for some addictive behaviors like eating, sex, and exercise. More importantly, the mind and body and interconnected and respond the addiction triggers whether they be a drug or a behavior.
Are there some behaviors your more readily accept or reject as being problematic or addicting? Are you more likely to call something an addiction if you are uncomfortable with the behavior or view it as undesirable or unhealthy?
I believe that any behaviors could be problematic/addicting. If someone is experiencing a compulsion to repeatedly engage in a behavior despite it being detrimental to his or her life, it could be an addiction. It seems that some behaviors are generally more socially acceptable than others, such as exercise and work addictions. Personally, I feel that the object of addiction is not so relevant…the feelings and thoughts that drive someone to become addicted and perpetuate the addiction are where the focus should be. I do not think that I’m more or less likely to call something an addiction based on my opinion of the behavior. My personal opinion of the behavior is not a factor in whether or not it can be called an addiction. It truly is about the client’s experience with the behavior or substance. I included a graphic in this post that I really liked because it illustrates this concept so well. The tree of addiction sprouts many different branches, but the roots are the same!
What shapes your views of these processes? How might your own beliefs, morality, or spiritual beliefs shape your views of your client’s problems?
I have a very humanistic perspective on individuals and believe that no people are inherently evil and that everyone has the potential to thrive and to find happiness. I know that my family, upbringing, education, work experience, travels, and many other experiences have influenced and reinforced this. Thinking about people in this light allows me to have compassion for all people, despite their behaviors, because people are more than the sum of their parts. I do have a strong sense of morality and hold myself to very high standards, but my awareness of this coupled with my core compassion for others are what will allow me to be a good helper without being judgmental.
( graphic found from: http://thoughtbroadcast.com/2012/05/21/addiction-psychiatry-and-the-new-medicine/)
JHU Addictions: Reflective Blog 
Rachel,
I thoroughly enjoyed your post. Specifically, I enjoyed the tree that you shared throughout your post! Like you I consider myself to be a morally sound person and hold myself to a high standard. However, after reviewing your blog and working with substance abuse patients for the last three weeks, I realize that they feel the same way. I often wonder what differentiates them from me. In my mind, i think nothing really. Just because I am not an addict to substances does not mean that I am not addicted to something. I just finished up my post for this week and I realized that I am addicted to work and success…for some of the same reasons that my clients are addicted to substances. I think it is amazing to look at elements such as loneliness, physical abuse, fear, spiritual abuse, shame, sexual abuse, grief, anger, etc and see how my addiction has been my healing balm for some of these things. The same is true for individuals that are addicted to other things! I think that it is highly important to point out the brain functions that occur based on our addictions! I think this is important for us as budding professionals in the counseling field to realize!
Great Blog! I am going to use this tree tomorrow in some of my groups!
Ayzha