subject: Cross Addiction, Individuals Can Easily Become Addicted To Other Substances [print this page] Cross addiction is when an individual is addicted to more than one mood or mind altering substance. A person who addicted to drugs or alcohol usually has a 'drug of choice'. Once dependent (either physically, psychologically or both) an individual can easily become addicted to other substances.
Alcohol is also classed as a drug as this is a mood and mind altering substance, the only difference between alcohol and drugs is one is legal and the others are not.
When we have crossed the line into addiction we rely on our 'drug of choice' to cope with emotional or physical pain. When our 'drug of choice' is removed the addicted person will often transfer their dependency to another mood and mind altering substance. Inevitably this usually leads the individual back to their drug of choice. An alcoholic and addicts body chemistry has altered meaning it is hyper sensitive to all addictive substances and remains toxic to all mind and mood altering substances. Even if the effects of substances are different the brain will react the same way wanting more and more of the chemical. The cycle of addiction can only be broken by remaining clean from all drugs and alcohol.
It is not uncommon for problem drinkers or alcoholics to stop drinking and start using cannabis occasionally only to find that very quickly they are smoking cannabis at the same levels they drinking and eventually they start to realise if they are smoking this much they may as well drink, thus starting drinking again. It is also common for individuals to stop drinking and build a reliance on prescription drugs like valium, diazepam or anti-depressants. This is legal drug addiction as the root problem is still there and hasn't been dealt with; drugs are still being used to cope and to numb feelings.
Remember that the defining characteristic of alcoholism and addiction is a desire to change how you think and feel. It is about not being comfortable in your own skin and looking for ways to change that.
Addiction is insidious and an addict or alcoholics mind will search out anyway way to change how they feel. Cross addiction will also occur in behaviours, certain behaviours produce the same changes in brain chemistry as alcohol and drugs, and they work in the same areas of the brain that governs pleasure. These behaviours can include: gambling, sex, and exercising, overworking, over-eating, shopping, obsessive relationships.
Obviously some of these behaviours are appropriate and necessary to a fully functioning human being so it's not the activities themselves that is the problem but the motive behind them. It's when these behaviours are used to hide, mask and fix feelings.
Our professional experience has been that when and individual manages to give up alcohol or drugs but gets no further help their behaviours around food, relationships and money become extremely unhealthy and damaging. The most common is co-dependent obsessive relationships, where an individual begins to believe that the right relationship or partner will 'fix' them.
An alcoholic or addict who stops using alcohol or drugs will inevitably use some kind of behaviour to cope; the behaviour will do the job that the alcohol or drugs used to. This is why stopping drinking and using in itself is not the answer, in fact that's the easier part, it's dealing with feelings and emotions that is difficult.
