Addiction and Attachment Part 2

• Addiction
• attachment theory
• EBT

Continuing with the theme of the psychological attachment component of addiction, I would like to share with you some information that I learned from a book entitled Addiction as an Attachment Disorder by Philip J. Flores, Ph.D.  You can order this book online.
 

Dr. Flores presents some very interesting points which support the anecdotal evidence that EBT can work to help people who struggle with addiction.  First, attachment theory states that individuals cannot regulate their affective states alone.  I interpret that to mean that you cannot do this work in isolation.  Our limbic/emotional brain requires that we be around other humans.  That is how we have evolved.  We cannot survive independently.  We cannot change our brains independently and we cannot do EBT independently.
 
Second, Dr. Flores argues that until an addict gets rids of his/her dysfunctional attachment style and develops a secure attachment style, he/she will forever be vulnerable to addiction and symptom substitution.  I know that as a physician, symptom substitution is a huge challenge.  It makes sense to me that if the underlying problem is not fixed, the problem stills exists and likely just manifests itself in different ways.
 
Third, a person who struggles with addiction also struggles with attachment in general.  Relationships are full of inconsistencies, jealousy, distrust, disappointments and never-ending challenges.  It is tough to take that honest of a look at relationships but it is the truth.  Most alcoholics do not have strong healthy marriages.  Most drug addicts don’t have relationships with their children.  Most food addicts spend more time in the kitchen than with friends and family. 
 
Finally, in my opinion, the brain and attachment are linked – a chicken and egg issue.  Maybe our brains are wired for addiction and lack of attachment.  Or maybe that wiring comes from how our parents interacted with us as a child or a traumatic event.  Regardless, the desire to change has to come from the individual who is willing to do the work – to improve attachment and rewire the brain.
 
As I said at the start of this blog, I found Dr. Flores’ book very interesting in discussing the relationship between addition and attachment.  If you would like more information, I recommend you take a look at this book.  More next week on the behavioral aspects of addition and how that is addressed in EBT.