Thought as an Addiction

When many of us think of addiction, we envision those who are addicted to alcohol, illicit drugs, pain killers, smoking and food. There is one addiction, however, that affects all of us and can potentially be as damaging as any “traditional” addiction. It is the addiction of thought.

With the invention of technology that allows us to map the brain, neuro-scientists have been able to identify how patterns of neurons are laid down in the brain. There is an understanding that as we mature and make choices and decisions, pathways (not unlike highways) of information are created. That way, whenever we perform repetitive functions, we don't have to “think” about how to do them. We now know that this same pathway creation that is associated with mechanical and logical functions also occurs within the emotional realm. When we react to an emotional stimulus, pathways of thought connected to that stimulus are created. Thus, when any new situation occurs, that information is directed to an existing neural pathway unless we intentionally create a new pathway or new way of thinking about that new situation. Perhaps an equally descriptive term might be, “unintentional thinking.”

Have you ever had thoughts that begin with: “Why does this always/never happen....?” or, “That person/situation/circumstance/political party/religious group/child/husband etc. will never change...” or, “I'll never get better...”? This is addictive thinking.

Addictive thinking allows us to categorize anything or any situation that we encounter and gives us the confidence that we are right or correct in what we think. Generalization allows us to not think or, perhaps, allows us to assume without thinking or reasoning.

We encountered a situation just the other day with a patient that illustrative of this type of thought process. Some weeks ago, an older patient came to our office with ever-increasing pain symptoms that the allopathic doctors were unsuccessful in helping. In five visits, the pain levels decreased from 10 (worst pain) to 2 (very mild). The patient then went on vacation. Later, we called to see how this person was doing and were told that the pain levels had increased from a 1-2 to a 4-5. Coincidentally, the individual was watching a Dr. Oz show in which a chiropractor who uses cold laser technology for pain relief was demonstrating how effective this instrument is. As we always use cold laser for pain at our office, one might think that this person would have liked to continue this therapy, as it had proved highly effective. Instead, we were told, “Oh, that (cold laser) can't help me, no one can help me.” Now, logic would say that of course the individual was helped and significantly so, but, as this patient is convinced that the pain is something that has to be accepted and as the brain has laid down those neural pathways, the thinking slipped easily back into the old familiar negative thought patterns. Until such time as this person decides to break the addictive thinking, no amount of pain relief will be consciously registered and life will continue as before.

This is not an isolated or unique situation. We encounter this fairly regularly. There is no amount of reasoning that will change a person's belief if that person is trapped by his/her addictive thinking. If we find it easier to set our brains on, “auto pilot,” we will not be able to allow new thoughts or neural pathways that carry those thoughts to be created. We can step back, any time we choose, and question our reasoning or the validity of what or how we have been taught since childhood. If we are particularly adventurous, we can even question what we believe as adults. Questioning why we believe what we do is always a good way to determine our methods of reasoning. It can shake us out of our complacency and intractable thought patterns; it may even allow us to eschew long-held physical and emotional dogma and open us to new and exciting possibilities.

<ahref=http://fixdhealthcare.com>