Recovery Made Addiction Simple

Recovery making addiction simple must begin with a critique of current systems– particularly how society has historically failed to treat mental health and addiction equally. They are “separate, but not equal”. Much like in the psychological professions, where newcomers are not always welcomed, inequality persists under the guise of structure; they are separate and not equal. The field of psychology has become an industry of mental health– similar in appearance, but fundamentally different in experience. For those who have been on both sides, this is a false equivalency. Repackaged mindfulness, self-help, and religion as healthcare solutions is as old as authority. So why should we trust this version of democracy? We should all remain skeptical of professions and methods being sold as medical treatments without proper evidence or comprehensive understanding. Those in recovery often hesitate to trust these industries precisely because they have failed to deliver effective results, especially when compared to the lived experience of self-help models.

In recovery, we openly discuss how psychology and psychiatry have overstepped– particularly in areas like diagnosing and medicating citizens. And yet, they have no diagnosis, no conceptual framework to name what recovery has endured. Implicit choice is not the only form of choice left. All freedoms are rooted in the ability to choose. Without that, there is nothing left to say; only much to do. True freedom is born of informed choice, and all choices are valid when unconscious informed consent is present. Without it, what may appear broken may actually be what needs healing, not fixing. And what needs fixing is the system that made this logic possible.

To imply that something is broken and must be fixed, without proper justification, requires us to deeply question how mental health diagnoses are made. They are often subjective, influenced by pharmaceutical and governmental interests. The very professions that supported the war on drugs, banned psychedelics, and blocked research access are culpable. Psychedelics like LSD and psilocybin were once used in therapeutic settings, so why were they banned? Based on what research? Under whose authority did they discontinue the science of healing? As recovery would see it, this is addiction. And recovery can simply it by defining it as dissociation. If we were to add undiagnosed addictions– like perfectionism, altruism, or ambition– to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM), we might begin to level the playing field for those addicted to power and control. But those individuals who need their own recovery programs are unlikely to attend them the way a drug addict is expected to, under the weight of the same moral failing they claim to transcend. This calls for systemic reform– a reckoning. A national convention. A constitutional shift. A rebirth and healing process.

If those in power are ready to acknowledge past injustices and begin making amends, then learning from the healing and recovery communities is a worthwhile choice. True recovery and healing require the kind of relationship that is compromising, unconditional, and unafraid of loss. To love openly and without pretense is to know that love, too, is no form of freedom without responsibility.

Traditional medical approaches to mental health and addiction must advocate instead for more holistic, self-help-informed models, especially when trauma and dissociation are at the core. As we challenge the ethical practices of so-called moral professionals and call for systemic change, this recovery reckoning provides a critical lens through which one can reevaluate current approaches to mental health and addiction recovery.

Here’s a structured summary of the key points:

1. Critique of Recovery Industry: Be skeptical of how mindfulness, self-help, and religious practices are repackaged as healthcare solutions without sufficient evidence.
2. Role of Psychology and Psychiatry: These fields are critiqued for overreaching into areas like diagnosing and medicating. This suggests concerns about subjectivity and external influence from pharmaceutical and political entitites.
3. War on Drugs and Psychedelics: Highlights the historical criminalization of psychedelics– despite their therapeutic use prior to prohibition– and the consequential denial of research opportunities. Questions the justification and authority behind their prohibition. Recovery advocates for legal reevaluation of the role these substances play in recovery.
4. Addiction as Trauma-Related Dissociation: WHI redefines addiction not as a disease, but as trauma-related dissociation that is conditioned. Emphasizes unconscious psychological responses to stress and trauma over medical conditions, which makes more sense when we see the physical body as the psychological unconscious. This perspective calls for treatment approaches that address personal freedoms and moral-ethics.
5. Alternative Recovery Methods: Acknowledges the role of alternative recovery spaces like AA and the Acid Tests and highlights their effectiveness when traditional systems fail. This reinforces the historical context for a profession of healers and validates the legitimacy of recovery healers.
6. Call for Systemic Reform: We advocate for bias-reduction protocols across various systems and reevaluation of drug laws and Big Pharma. We question the consistency of the moral character clauses found in professional licensure, especially among policy influencers.
7. Conclusion- Systemic Change Needed: WHI calls for systemic reform, including national conventions, constitutional changes, and National Healing to repair past injustices and promote true recovery through acknowledgment and amends.

In summary, recovery makes addiction simple by advocating for a shift away from traditional medical models towards holistic approaches that focus on trauma and dissociation. It challenges conventional models, critiques the “moral-ethical” practices of professionals, and calls for deep structural reforms– because true healing demands systems that are as honest and accountable as the people they serve.