Understanding Addiction: Cross-addiction
Welcome to the fourth of our multi-part series on understanding addiction. We are honored to continue to share this blog space with Chrissy LaCivita, LCSW, LCDC-intern. Chrissy is an experienced addiction therapist and is the newest member of our counseling team, here at Salyer Counseling Group. She is passionate about addiction recovery and knows a lot about what successful recovery looks like and common concerns that inhibit successful recovery.
Today we are going to address another barrier to addiction recovery: Cross-addiction.
Another aspect of early addiction recovery to look out for is cross-addiction, which is simply becoming addicted to a different substance, behavior, or thing. Depending on who you talk to or what treatment center you attend, the definition of cross-addiction changes, but everyone in the addiction treatment field can agree that it is something to be wary of for successful addiction recovery.
The general concept is based on the pleasure center of the brain, meaning that that part of our brain just likes stuff a little more than the brains of those who don’t struggle with addiction and if you are likely to become addicted to one thing, you are more likely to become addicted to other things.
People can become cross-addicted either in their active addictions or in addiction recovery, which most addicts can acknowledge at some point in their life.
So what does cross-addiction look like? Here is a short example:
Let’s say you’ve smoked weed for so long that you just don’t get high anymore, and you take a “break” for a few weeks to get your tolerance down. However, during that supposed “break,” you are drinking a bottle of wine a night to get by. This person has become cross-addicted from their primary drug (weed) to another substance (alcohol). This person may be completely unaware that their behavior is equally addictive in both instances.
If we look back throughout the lifespan of an addict, we can see cross-addiction present, even if the cross-addiction is more mild abuse.
The hardest part to grasp about cross-addiction seems to be that to be cross-addicted, the individual does not necessarily have to switch to crack or alcohol or an illicit drug or regulated substance.
Individuals who struggle with addiction have a higher propensity to become addicted to or abuse all sorts of things that can generate that pleasurable brain response.
For example, things like gambling, shopping, sex, food, exercise, and video games are defined as process addictions. The list of potential addictions is extensive and can even include things like raging or cults. To put it simply, anything that gives our pleasure center an extra shot of dopamine could lead to addiction or abuse. Cults sounds like a random example but for context, the natural high one can get from some spiritual experiences is likened to a DMT trip, so the rush one gets from a cult could definitely lead to abuse and a cross-addiction.
The Periodic Table of Intoxicants was referenced by Dr. Kevin McCauley in his film “Pleasure Unwoven.” Just like the periodic table of elements, this graph includes all substances that can be abused by people and categorize them in groups of similar substances. (A full copy of The full Periodic Table of Intoxicants is available for purchase through the producer.)
At the bottom of this table, Dr. McCauley has process addictions listed and warns of the cross-addiction potential to these issues as well. I would highly recommend giving this table a glance as it gives a graphical or chart representation of how easily one can jump from one thing to the next.
The “Marijuana Maintenance Program,” is a sarcastic term for when people assert they are sober but continue to use cannabis to cope, is nothing other than cross addicting to a seemingly less harmful substance when in fact you are just hooked on something you can’t overdose on.
13th stepping is another concept in AA where members cross addict from alcohol to codependency/relationships which again is a seemingly less harmful issue that we are still addicted to.
Unfortunately, a lot of the things on this list of potential cross-addiction are not things that you can avoid or abstain from, like eating or sex. If you are married, get sober, and tell your spouse you are abstaining from sex indefinitely because you could get cross-addicted, you are probably going to end up divorced. You can’t just stop eating food once you get sober or you’ll die.
Process addictions are more obscure and harder to navigate than substance addictions themselves because we need them in some manner, whereas we don’t ever NEED meth or LSD. This is where addiction recovery can become complicated.
Moderation, awareness, and being open to feedback from others is the key to success when it comes to cross-addiction. Sponsors with long-term recovery can spot cross-addiction from a mile away and family members will notice if you are spending 98% of your free time at the gym. If we pay attention and listen to those closest to us, cross-addiction could be a non-issue in early recovery.
Written by Christina LaCivita, LCSW, LCDC-intern
If you are interested in learning more about addiction and understanding more about the symptoms and challenges of sobriety, stay with us as we unpack a different element of addiction recovery and more.
If you are ready to take control of your addiction challenges, address sobriety concerns, learn about addiction treatment, or manage a potential cross-addiction, a professional, trained addiction therapist can help! To learn more about addiction therapy services, our addiction therapists, or other counseling services at our Arlington, Tx base therapy practice, contact us today. Online therapy services are available to all Texas residents.
