99 - The Addiction Pandemic

Click here to read the episode highlights.    The "Living with Heart" Podcast is brought to you by Chip Dodd Resources (www.chipdodd.com) and The Voice of the Heart Center (vothcenter.com). You can connect with Dr. Chip Dodd at [email protected]. Contact Bryan Barley for coaching at [email protected].    Be sure to subscribe to Dr Chip Dodd’s new Substack. He will be sharing two to three articles a week. The topics focus on healthy relationship, personal growth, and leadership.  What is Substack? It is a subscription-based platform that allows independent writers and other creators to publish content directly to their subscribers’ inboxes. The cost of the subscription is only $7 a month. Dr. Dodd shares content two to three times a week. The content focuses on healthy relationship, personal growth, and leadership. To subscribe, use the link above or go to chipdodd.com.   In this new season, “What is Addiction” we will focus on three main aspects of addiction: what addiction is how addiction operates what recovery entails   The pervasive impact of addiction   The pervasiveness of addiction and its impact makes it a pandemic, perhaps the deadliest human beings have ever experienced.   A pandemic is an outbreak of a disease that occurs over a wide geographic area (continents in the case of addiction.) It affects a significant proportion of the population.  An epidemic is localized.  A pandemic refers to “all demographics.”   Tragically, Addiction impairs the addict’s ability to see the impact of their addiction.  This impairment is called denial. It prevents the addict from seeing clearly and accurately the consequences of his/her addiction.     We have 30+ million alcoholics in this country and 15+ million people addicted to illegal drugs.    For every one person chemically dependent on alcohol or illegal drugs, 3 to 4 other people are emotionally, mentally, if not physically harmed.    These addictions result in emotional trauma, setting up the high probability of tendency toward addiction.    Adding up the numbers using only the impact of addiction upon 3 people is 135 million people in this nation harmed. When the addicted person is added to the number, the impact is monstrous.    Click here to continue reading the episode highlights.