Did
you know that your body is programmed
to develop cancer and die? I know, it
seems counterintuitive, but it’s true. This
isn’t classified. It’s not a
secret. If nothing else kills you, and
you live long enough, you will get cancer.
And die.
The
human body contains certain mechanisms that regulate the growth of cells. Our cells grow at a certain rate, and
ultimately, with the passage of time, our built-in cellular growth-regulating mechanisms wear down and fail. When that happens, some cells start to grow
uncontrollably. And that’s cancer.
This
means that cancer is perfectly natural. In
other words, it is not a foreign ‘bug’ or virus. It’s more like a self-contained time
bomb. This actually makes sense if you
think about it. I mean, if the human
experience is supposed to include the reality of mortality, it’s logical to
assume that the body has a way of
destroying itself at some point in time.
Certain
genetic or environmental variables can increase one’s risk of developing cancer
earlier than ‘nature’ intended, which
is why we have things like skin cancer and lung cancer and breast cancer.
Cancer
comes in many different ways and many different forms. It is capable of invading all parts of the
physical body. Some cancers are worse
than other. It comes in varying degrees
of severity and complexity. It is a
cunning adversary, and it is also very patient and powerful. And it has baffled doctors and scientists for
many, many years.
Cunning, baffling and powerful. Cancer.
The exact same words – “cunning,” “baffling” and “powerful” – are used
to describe alcoholism in the basic text for Alcoholics Anonymous.
 |
| Cancer of the Soul... |
==========
I
suppose any number of diseases, disorders and other medical maladies may
contribute to a person feeling lonely and isolated. Sad and depressed and anxious and frustrated. And scared – absolutely terrified.
Cancer
for sure. Blindness. Severe burns.
Obesity. AIDS. Bipolar Disorder, Schizophrenia and other ‘mental’
illnesses. Multiple Sclerosis. Assorted debilitating phobias. Amputations and congenital physical
deformations. Stomach-related
issues. Heart failure. Whatever.
All kinds of horrible sickness. And on and on and on.
However, the disease of addiction might be the only medical
condition that actually intends to
cause a human being to feel lonely and isolated and fearful. The specific aim of addiction – its actual modus
operandi, for want of a better term – is to totally isolate a person. And then to kill the person. Alone in a room, usually a small, unpleasant
room.
Addiction,
through its cunning and baffling tactics, methodically and progressively sets
out to destroy its host. Sometimes quickly,
but much more often very slowly and deliberately. Like cancer, addiction is generally defined
by the medical community as a chronic, progressive, relapsing disease with no
cure. It is a terminal disease that
ultimately results in death – a very painful death. It can
be successfully treated and even permanently abated, but only for a relatively small percentage of
those truly afflicted with the illness.
But unlike cancer – which left
untreated will also completely destroy its human host and result in death – addiction
negatively impacts and severely damages anyone and anything related to the afflicted
individual. It severs relationships with
loved ones. It tears apart families,
businesses, and all manner of material property. It warps the lives of children. It results in bankruptcy, loss of certain
freedoms and privileges. It is by far
the largest contributor to jail and prison populations in Western society. Addiction is at the root of most domestic
violence. It leads to endemic levels of
suicide. Accidental and fatal
overdoses. It often results in the death
of innocent ‘bystanders,’ so to speak, in the form of drunk driving accidents,
drug deals gone wrong, armed robberies, burglaries, and the list goes on.
Addiction further burdens its host
with the very heavy weight of an antiquated social stigma, derived from long-standing
misconceptions and ignorance about the disease.
Back in the days when nobody knew what addiction was, when such a
‘sickness’ was believed to be nothing more than a morality problem and a weakness
of the will, the addicted were regarded as disgraceful reprobates, devoid of
will-power. And these poor souls were
judged accordingly. The sick and dying
addicts were simply treated like any other categorically insane mental patient. They were often locked up in dungeons and
asylums. Some were sent to live in exile
on island colonies or placed on large ships that never made landfall. Addicts were deemed ‘lost causes’ who were
quite a nuisance to civilized society at large.
Presently, the collective scientific
knowledge and wisdom about addiction is light years ahead of where it was just
fifty years ago. Great advances in medical
technology and increased sophistication in the specialty of addiction medicine have
provided doctors and scientists in multiple fields of study the ability to
demonstrate that addiction is an identifiable brain disease; the modern medical
community has clearly shown time and time again, through all kinds of studies
and clinical trials, that, at a biochemical level, the brain of an addict is
literally hijacked by the addictive
substance (e.g., alcohol, cocaine, heroin, prescription narcotics, etc.). In other words, when the addict is actively
using his or her addictive substance(s) of choice, said addict loses control of
the brain – a biochemical ‘hijacking’ that puts a monster at the control
panel. Even when the addict decides to
attempt a life of sobriety, the neuropathways in the brain have been forever
altered, which effectively means that, on certain occasions – the most severe
cases – in certain individuals, the brain is ‘hijacked’ before the addictive
substance even enters the addict’s body.
It’s an incredibly complex mechanism, but it does become quite clear and
logical if one is simply willing to learn about this disease that plays a
significant role in the destruction of modern society.
Nevertheless, quite a large
percentage of the ‘general public’ still believe that the only thing an addict must
do to be cured is to merely make the choice
to stop. That prisons are full of
addicts who want to be there. That millions of otherwise perfectly rational
and reasonable human beings would actually choose
to suffer repeated, progressively worse, humiliating and ultimately fatal
consequences brought about by addiction.
That the homeless wino passed out on a park bench in a snowstorm just decided
that it would be a good idea to die of exposure. It’s a tragedy that addiction causes so much
damage to society in so many different ways, and it is because of that damage
that the stigma is perpetuated.
Nobody chooses to be an
alcoholic. And no-one wakes up one day
and says, “I think I’d like to become a drug addict. And then I want to give up everything I love
for everything I loathe. Furthermore, I
hope to spend some time in prisons and hospitals. After that, I think I’ll retire, penniless
and alone and dig my own grave and die.”
Yeah, sounds like a great idea.
==========
This
story is a true tale of addiction and consequences. Addiction is a chronic, progressive relapsing
disease. And that’s what I am – a
chronic, progressive relapsing alcoholic and drug addict. Addiction personified – that’s
me. No Hollywood rehab or celebrity
crackhead or slaps on the wrist. No, no,
no. This is real. This is addiction in its purest and rawest
form – and it goes on everywhere – and its sick and twisted and angry and focused,
and it causes so much more damage to society than most people can possibly
comprehend.
I truly think addiction is a cancer
of the soul. In addition to all of the
tangible, evident damage addiction causes to its host and everyone else, and
once the afflicted individual has been rendered totally dysfunctional, the
disease eats away at the very humanity of the sufferer. It kills the soul. It takes away everything about the person it
afflicts – everything that makes that person more than just a physical shell. It eradicates dignity, self-respect,
creativity, compassion, love, sex drive, appetite, intellect and anything else
that makes the person who he or she is or was in the eyes of those who have
known the person since the pre-addiction days.
Once
the addict has lost everything and gets to that point where he or she is holed
up in that dark, lonely little room waiting to die, addiction continues to eat
at what’s left. It takes away the desire
to live. The will to continue existing
in such an impossibly painful state of being.
It takes away the soul. Soul
Cancer.
****end****
****end****
