The Road to
Recovery:
Uncovering and
Regaining One’s
Humanity
Instructor:
Craig Nakken, MSW
“Ultimately, happiness comes
down to choosing between the
discomfort of becoming aware
of your mental afflictions or the
discomfort of being ruled by
them.”
-- Youngey Mingyur Rinpoche --
A Framework
for
Understanding
Humanity
The Pleasure , Power and Meaning Framework
Drive for Meaning
Domain of Transformation
Spiritual Side
of Our Being
Natural Resistance to Transformation
Drive for Power
Domain of Control
Ethical Power
Desire for Power
Drive for Pleasure
Domain of Avoidance
Desire for Pleasure
Ethical Pleasure
© Craig Nakken 2008
Instinctual Side
of our Being
Empirical Research on Meaning in Life
Shows:
Lack of meaning is associated with psychopathology in
a linear sense: meaning, greater the severity of
psychopathology.
•A positive sense of meaning in life is associated with:
• deeply held religious beliefs
• self-transcendent values
• membership in groups
• dedication to some cause
• adoption of clear life goals
•Meaning must be viewed in a developmental perspective.
Irvin D. Yalom
Meaning changes over an individual’s life; other
developmental tasks must precede development of
meaning.
(SAFETY FIRST)
From: Existential Psychotherapy by Irvin D. Yalom
The Pleasure , Power and Meaning Framework
Drive for Meaning
Domain of Transformation
Spiritual Side
of Our Being
Illness of Addiction
Drive for Power
Domain of Control
Sensations of Power
Desire for Power
Drive for Pleasure
Domain of Avoidance
Desire for Pleasure
Sensations of Pleasure
© Craig Nakken 2008
Instinctual Side
of our Being
Vision
Drive For
Pleasure
Drive for
Power
Drive For
meaning
© Craig Nakken 2008
Life is a struggle and
it is pleasure that
makes life worthwhile
Time
Focus is on the
moment and getting
as many sensations
out of it as one can
Oranizing
Structures
Avoidance
Depression
Become Freud’s
pleasure principle:
embrace pleasure,
avoid pain
Because one
unknowingly attaches
to grief process, all
sensations fade
Control
Fear/ Inflated ego
Focus is on the
Right
moment. If you can
Life is a struggle to
control moments, and
Wrong
get power and then to
others in those
Always be right and
keep it
moments, you feel
get more power;
your control
if you’re wrong, you
feel powerless
Life is a struggle, but
within the struggle is
where we find
meaning
byproducts
One’s power always
decays and s/he
always sees others
with more power.
Always monitoring
internal self
The moment is most
To create a
Growth, joy, meaning,
important, for within
meaningful life,
intimacy, ethical
the moment we plant
spiritual principles
power and pleasure,
the seeds of our
then become what
but also more pain
future
one oragnizes around
Suffering
“You desire living,
to know the art of
my friend?
It is contained
in
one
phrase:
make use of suffering.”
–– Henri-Frederic Amiel ––
Suffering is to be transformed
Addiction leaves the person in a position of
experiencing suffering with no way of transforming it
into authentic growth.
Pain is hijacked and used to fuel the addictive process
instead of growth
Positive transformation is the
process of creating meaningful
lives out of sufferings, desires,
and instinctual energies
The Spiritual Process For All Humans
A Cycle of Decay and Regeneration
• Natural law of physics --- All things decay
• Change and growth are based on decay
Period of Integration
Decay
Decay
Regeneration
Critical Junction
Critical Junction
Critical
junctions are
times where
structure
breaks down
and new
structures
must be
embraced.
Think Structure
• Human beings need structure; they
will always operate under some form
of structure.
• Addiction is very structured.
• Recovery needs to be very
structured.
• What we use to build our structure
with is very important and helps to
determine what type of person one is.
“Spirituality is a lot like health. We
all have health: we may have good
or poor health, but it is something
we can’t avoid having. The same is
true of spirituality; every human
being is a spiritual being. The
question is not whether we “have
spirituality” but whether the
spirituality we have is a negative
one that leads to isolation and selfdestruction or one that is more
positive and life-giving.”
Ernest Kurtz
Spirituality is about the process
of experiencing life and
extracting and creating meaning
Negative
Spirituality
Positive
Spirituality
Leads to isolation
and self-destruction
Leads to deeper
relationships with self,
others, and spiritual
principles
Trilogy of Spiritual Growth
Awareness
Blame
Responsibility
Trance
&
Denial
Dependence
Destroys
free will
Free Will
“Unless this
person can
experience an
entire psychic
change, there is
very little hope of
his recovery”
Dr. William Silkworth
1873 -1951
“We have to get over
drinking in order to stay
alive. But anyone who
knows the alcoholic
personality by first hand
contact
knows that no true alky
ever stops drinking
permanently
without undergoing a
profound personality
change.”
-- Bill Wilson 1940 --
What can create an entire
psychic change, a profound
personality change?
Spiritual Principles Negative and Positive
“Principles were not
invented by us or by
society; they are the
laws of the universe.”
--Stephen Covey--
“Principles are
self-evident, selfvalidating natural
laws.”
--Stephen Covey--
During our addiction we
operated mainly by negative
spiritual principles
Negative Spiritual Principles
Cynicism
Control
Lies
Hate
Entitlement
Arrogance
Resentment
Envy
Resistance
SelfCenteredness
Judgmentalism
Ignorance
Unfairness
Dishonor
Disdain
Shame
Inequality
Laziness
Intolerance
Willfulness
Chaos
Perfectionism
Unmanged Fear
Refusal to Learn
Injustice
Deceit
Unkindness
Unbridled Worry
Disrespect
Despair
Rugged
Individualism
SelfRighteousness
Apathy
Cowardice
Indifference
Skepticism
Infidelity
Irresponsibility
Separteness
Greed
Impatience
CraigNakken
Nakken2008
2008
©©Craig
To chase only sensations is to chase
negative spiritual principles, for all they
have to offer is sensations that fade
over time.
“My
“During
addiction
my
had
addiction,
me seek
I
used
refugetowithin
hold
these
these
in high
principles”
regard”
Negative spiritual principles have us believe
more in instinct than in humanity
Instinct: What AA Says About Instinct
• Creation gave us instincts for a purpose. Without them we
wouldn’t be complete beings… Yet these instincts so
necessary for our existence often far exceed their proper
functions.
• Powerfully, blindly, many times subtly, they drive us, dominate
us and insist upon ruling our lives.
• Nearly every serious emotional problem can be seen as a
case of misdirected instinct. When that happens our great
natural assets, the instincts, have turned into physical and
mental liabilities.
• Whenever a human being becomes a battleground for the
instincts,
there can be no peace.
• Every time a person imposes his instincts unreasonably
upon
unhappiness
•others,
Alcoholics
especiallyfollows.
should be able to see that instinct run wild i
themselves is the underlying cause of their destructive drinking.
Drug Addiction Erodes ‘Free Will’ Over Time
As addiction progresses
with continual
administration of the
abused drug, all of
these brain systems are
progressively
destroyed, so that in the
later stages the
individual may seem to
lack all power of choice
Nora Volkow, MD
and free will
Director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse
From Dr. Volkow’s lecture titled: “The
Neurobiology of Free Will” at APA’s 2007 Meeting
in San Diego
Positive Spiritual
Principles
Humanity’s
Working Representatives
“AA’s 12 Steps are a group of
principles,
spiritual in their nature, which,
if practiced as a way of life, can expel
the obsession to drink
and enable the sufferer to
become happy and usefully whole.”
From:Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions
Positive Principles
Principles consist of two parts:
1.
The essence, the truth, the meaning of the
principle.
2.
The action, the behavior, of the principle.
You can have #2 without #1, but you can’t have #1
without #2. In this way, the action of the principle is
most important.
#1 and #2 operate on a continuum
|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
growth = movement on this continuum
© Craig Nakken 2008
Principles Of Betterment Chart
T
GR
Gratitude
S
Surrender
L
Truth
Love
FW
Free-will
HU
Humility
FO
Forgiveness
H
Honesty
AC
Acceptance
SE
Service
O
Openness
AW
Awareness
F
Fairness
DI
Dignity
EM
Empathy
GU
Guilt
E
Equality
P
Persistence
TL
Tolerance
WI
Willingness
D
Discipline
EX
Excellence
FA
Faith
W
Wisdom
J
Justice
I
Integrity
G
Grace
CM
Community
R
Respect
HO
Hope
RE
Relationship
AN
Anonymity
CA
Care
C
Courage
CO
Compassion
TR
Trust
CM
Commitment
A
U
Unity
GE
Generosity
P
Patience
© Craig Nakken 2008
Accountability
Elements being of the Spirit release ethical power held within them when placed into action
Elements being of the Spirit have the ability to heal wounds of the spirit when placed into action
Elements combined together create our value systems
Our Relationship with Spiritual Principles
Not Surrender to:
(act of giving up, contracting of self)
But Surrender to Become:
(act of choice, act of expanding of self)
Spiritual Principles represented by each of
Alcoholics Anonymous’ 12 Steps
Violet Layer
Purple Layer
Step 12-- Service to Humankind
Step 11-- Spiritual Awareness
Step 10--Perseverance
Step 9-- Justice
Step 8-- Brotherly/Sisterly Love
Step 7--Humility
Step 6-- Willingness
Step 5--Integrity
Step 4-- Courage
Step 3-- Faith
Step 2-- Hope
Step 1--Honesty
How Principles Transform People
Ti
m
e
⇓
⇓
© Craig Nakken 2008
PRINCIPLES
⇓
BEHAVIORS
⇓
SKILLS
Counters of Positive Spiritual Principles
Principles of betterment have negative counter-principles. By
recognizing the negative counter, one isolates which principles of
betterment must be brought to the situation.
Principles of Betterment
Negative Counter-Principles
Guil
Shame
Responsibility
Irresponsibility
Surrender
Repressive Control
Discipline
Chaos
Humility
Honesty
Harmony
Gratitude
© Craig Nakken 2008
False Pride
Dishonesty
Self-Centeredness
Self-Pity
Cynicism
Control
Gratitude
Surrender
Truth Lies
Love Hate
Selflessness
Resentment
Envy
Resistance
SelfCenteredness
Forgiveness
Appreciation
Acceptance
Service
Dishonor
Disdain
Shame
Guilt
Dignity
Chaos
Empathy
Perfectionism
Discipline
Excellence
Unbridled
Worry
Disrespect
Serenity
Indifference
Compassion
Respect
Skepticism
Trust
Entitlement
Unmanged
Fear
Faith
Despair
Hope
Infidelity
Commitment
Judgmentalism
Ignorance
Arrogance
Humility
Unfairness
Openness
Awareness
Fairness
Inequality
Laziness
Intolerance
Willfulness
Equality
Perseverance
Tolerance
Willingness
Injustice
Deceit
Unkindness
Justice
Integrity
Refusal
to Learn
Wisdom
Rugged
Individualism
Relationship
Irresponsibility
Accountability
Grace
SelfRighteousness
Apathy
Cowardice
Anonymity
Care
Courage
Separteness
Greed
Impatience
Charity
Patience
Unity
Attitude
1. At any given moment, it represents
one’s relationship with principles.
2. It’s a vehicle that allows us access to
and evaluates our relationship with
principles.
3. Allows us a vehicle of intervention
into negative intrapersonel patterns.
4. Is changeable.
© Craig Nakken 2008
Action
• Action allows us to see motivation (especially our own)
A person comes into recovery with
• Action speaks of intent
the mind of an addict.
• changing of Actions can change beliefs
it is through doing the actions that
Sobriety sayings about actions:
recovery suggests that you create
“Act your way into right thinking”
the“Walk
sober
mind
the walk”
“Do the next right thing”
© Craig Nakken 2008
TRAGEDY
Sensations
CRISIS
PROBLEM
ISSUE
SITUATION
INCIDENT
DILEMMA
What is different about above
this line that attracts addicts?
We will have all of these. healthy
Families are better at keeping
Incidents, situations and issues as
Incidents, situations and issues and not
Turning them immediately into problems or
crises.
Fears
BiologicalShame
Impulse Anger
Sadnes
s
Joy
Person mainly
becomes impulsive
Power /
Force
Energies
Decisions get made
toward a goal
FILTER
Fears
BiologicalShame
Anger
Impulse Sadness
Joy
© Craig Nakken 2008
Energies
V
A
L
U
E
S
Energies get
focused
Principles mixed in with
energies
toward a
meaningful
solution
Depth of
values
= more likely able to get
a meaningful solution
Locus of Control
Movement from Addiction To Recovery
It --> You--> Me--> We
As the person suffering with addiction shifts
their primary relationship from the human
world to the world of objects, they
surrender control over to that object--they
become dependent on an “it.” This “it”
(object) defines an external locus of
control.
© Craig Nakken 2008
Locus of Control
Movement from Addiction To Recovery
It --> You--> Me--> We
When the person surrenders to recovery,
they allow themselves to attach to an
external value system, The 12 Steps.
They allow recovery to be their external
locus of control, for a period of time.
© Craig Nakken 2008
Locus of Control
Movement from Addiction To Recovery
It --> You--> Me--> We
As the person stays sober over time, they sort
through, internalize, and integrate the values
and principles of recovery. They create or recreate an internal value system; a “Me” is reestablished through the “We” of the
program.They create a new internal locus of
control.
© Craig Nakken 2008
Locus of Control
Movement from Addiction To Recovery
It --> You--> Me--> We
As an independent person (a “Me”) who chooses to
stay in recovery (or chooses not to) in order to
deepen their knowledge of human interaction, and
for a place to be of help, serve others and be
enriched. They are now interdependent and have
become part of the “We” of recovery, operating
from an internal locus of control (personal value
system) and, at times, from external locus of
control
(group conscience).
© Craig Nakken 2008
Authentic Questions: Purpose of is to lead to
new insights, perspectives, and ways of
being.
Dysfunctional Questions: Purpose of is to
keep one stuck in past, transfer feelings onto
others, create doubt for doubt’s sake, control
others, preserve the status quo.
Paul MacLean’s Triune Brain Theory
© Craig Nakken 2008
Paul MacLean’s Triune Brain Theory
The three brains operate like “three
interconnected biological
computers.”
Each has it own special intelligence.
Each has its own subjectivity.
Each has own sense of time, space
and its own memory. Each vies for
control.
The three brains live in the same
skull, but generally don’t cooperate
very well.
© Craig Nakken 2008
Reptilian Brain
Archipallium Brain
• Similar to the brain possessed by reptiles
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
that preceded mammals, 200 million years
ago. “Survival Brain”
Brain of fight, flight or freeze.
Doesn’t believe in or have need for
relationships -- except for mating. It's
"preverbal," but controls life itself, such as
autonomic brain, lung and heart functions.
Lacking language, its impulses are
instinctual and ritualistic. Rhythms. It is
rigid, obsessive, compulsive and paranoid.
Likes rote behaviors.
Doesn’t learn from its past mistakes.
Hoarding, dominance, preening and mating.
Functions of reptilian brain are involuntary -“Startle Response”
Cannot look into the future.
“It’s so far from the head it doesn’t even know there is a head.”
Addiction takes place primarily in the
reptilian brain;
“Turtles do not come when you call.”
© Craig Nakken 2008
Limbic Brain
Palleomammalian Brain
Play is physical poetry
• Purpose is to monitor the external world and
internal bodily environment and to orchestrate
their congruence.
• Brain of the senses. The part of brain that seeks
pleasure and works to avoid pain. Things are
either “agreeable or disagreeable.”
• Rules emotions and can hijack the higher
mental functioning neocortex when it feels that
there is a need.
• Primary seat of emotion, attention, and
affective (emotion-charged) memories.
• It's involved in bonding needs, including
emotions linked to attachment. Desires
pleasurable connections, relationships.
• Evaluates the nature of other’s intentions.
• Retention of information can be significantly
increased when it's presented in an
emotionally charged context.
• Our limbic system retains our need for contact.
Parts taken from: A General Theory Of Love By Thomas Lewis,M.D., Fari Amini, M.D., Richard Lannon, M.D. 2000 Random House
© Craig Nakken 2008
Because of the brain’s design,
emotional systems defeat reason
Neocortex
Neopallium Brain
• Neocortex surrounds both the reptilian and
limbic brains. Constitutes five-sixths of the
total brain mass. Skill of abstraction.
• Every task that calls for symbolic
representation, strategy, planning problemsolving has its headquarters in the
neocortex.
• Neocortex controls such high-level processes
as logic, creative thought, language, and the
integration of sensory information.
• Neocortical brain can envision where and
how a plan ends -- hypothetical. “What-ifs.”
• The neocortex is divided into the left and
right cerebral hemispheres, described in the
Left Brain/Right Brain Theory .
Parts taken from: A General Theory Of Love By Thomas Lewis,M.D., Fari Amini, M.D., Richard Lannon, M.D. 2000 Random House
Innocence
We need to be willing to
sacfrice and exchange our
innocence for knowledge.
“Every
life istoa march
But
it is ours
from innocence,
exchange.
through or
temptation,
Tragedy
abuse is to
or vice.” is
whenvirtue
our innocence
Abbott
takenLyman
from us
and we
have no say or when it
is stolen from us.
© Craig Nakken 2008
Nature of the Addictive Wounds
Deterioration of values-based relationships
Loss of relationship with spiritual principles
Voice of conscience replaced by voice of instinct
Conscience is now kept alive by an ever-growing
spiritual pain, sense of emptiness and increased
suffering
Creation of fear as losses and pain grow
William James
Author of:The Varieties of Religious
Experience
“the common
denominator of spiritual
experience is pain and
utter hopelessness”
William James
1842-1910
Step 1
Powerlessness
Step 3
God of Our
Understanding
Step 2
A Power Greater
Steps
4&5
Steps
8&9
Steps
6&7
Step 10
Step 11
Step 12
Higher Power
Higher Power
Higher Power
Others
Others
Others
Self
Self
Self
It is important to understand the significance of the placement of the
circles:
“The quality of our relationship with Higher Power of Our
Understanding is absolutely contingent upon the quality of our
relationship with others.”
From: The Essence of Twelve Step Recovery: Take It to Heart By Damian McElrath to be published spring 2008
Why are you
surprised?
Humans have
always been
half animal.