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The determining factors and the relationship between substance abuse and addiction include time, the build-up of tolerance, the development of craving, and the experience of withdrawal so that the individual no longer wants to ever be without the drug. One who abuses substances is likely to get into legal or social trouble; one who is addicted is one who no longer cares about the repercussions and cares only for the high that the substances promise (Doweiko, 2015).

In my own experience, abuse can turn into addiction as the will gradually gives in to the craving. For instance, I have seen people become alcoholics as they start off just enjoying alcohol. Then they begin enjoying it too much and they get a DUI. Then they realize that they need to straighten out their lives, but eventually things do not go well for them and they end up turning to alcohol for support. This time they do not stop drinking. They feel it is better to be drunk all the time or that they need to be drunk to cope with reality. They get to a point where they cannot even get through a day without drinking a six pack or a twelve pack of beer. When they try to quit, they become so agitated that they think they cannot continue.

As the Bible says, however, it really does come down to one’s will—one’s desire to seek the higher things: “No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it” (1 Corinthians 10:13-14).

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The causes of substance abuse and addiction can be internal and external. They can be genetic, psychosocial, emotional (trauma), environmental. One can be moved to try drugs or alcohol because of the peers one is associating with. One can be pressured into abusing them by friends, or media or groups one encounters (Doweiko, 2015). In the cases where one has suffered a trauma and is now experiencing PTSD, substance usage becomes a way to self-medicate but gradually it can turn into abuse and then addiction as the will is worn away and the mind gives over to the sway of the body’s cravings. The problem is also institutional, as many drug addicts today got hooked by doctors overprescribing opiates.

The problem needs to be addressed in our society at the cultural level. There is far too much media that glorifies risky behavior...…hell. One cannot be happy in such a state and one needs the grace of God to get out of that state. Both models are helpful because they show how there is a physical and spiritual nature to the problem of addiction, and since man is both physical and spiritual the two models really are needed—one by itself is not enough.

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One thing I did not know about prior to this course was the difference between abuse and addiction. I figured that these two were really the same. I also did not realize the scope of addiction and how there is such a physical and spiritual transformation that goes along with it that needs to be addressed. The physical effects of substance abuse and the spiritual effects are linked, and one has to seriously address both, I believe, in order to conquer the addiction or at least deal with it in a meaningful way. The person who simply keeps going without getting help, without ever going to AA, or without ever getting support is like an abandoned ship at sea. I will likely use this information personally and professionally to remind myself that addiction is serious and needs a holistic approach in order to be combated—i.e., a biopsychosocial model and a spiritual model.

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