School speaker defines addiction and its cause

When people think of addiction it is often associated with illicit drugs and alcohol. While this is true of many addicts, addiction comes in all shapes and sizes. In fact, according to addictions expert and school speaker Scott Gallagher, addiction can mean a number of things.

“The first thing I got addicted to wasn’t a drug. When someone says ‘addiction’ people think of alcohol and drugs,” Gallagher said during an addiction prevention school presentation.

According to Gallagher, who now works as a school speaker, in its rawest form, addiction is the desire to do something that will in turn make the addict feel better. This relief, however, is only temporary and does not allow the addict to actually feel better about him or herself. For example, at one point in his life, Gallagher was addicted to sugar.

It is also important to realize that addiction isn’t just about the use or consumption of a product such as drugs or alcohol. A person can also be addicted to a behavior. Gallagher uses himself as a prime example.

“One of the first things I got addicted to was this behavior of having to be the best at everything,” Gallagher said. “The reason why I had to be the best at everything is because deep down inside I believed that I was the worst. I believed that I was stupid, bad, and weak.”

But Gallagher’s addiction didn’t stop at being the best. He took it a step further and used his strengths to put others down. In other words, he became addicted to bullying behavior.

“To compensate for being weak, I’m playing sports and I’ve got to win and I’ve got to hurt people,” Gallagher said. “I would get a thrill out of it.”

While it is common to imagine an addict as someone who grew up in an unhealthy home or had addicts for parents, this is not necessarily the case.

"I was a kid that you would have never suspected would end up a crack head. I smoked crack on and off for 17 years," Gallagher said. "No one thought that would happen to me because I did really well in school. But I did well in school because I was addicted to being the best."

Understanding the true meaning of addiction and what causes someone to become addicted are both essential to the healing and helping of addicts.

In conclusion, addiction occurs when an individual repeatedly uses substances or performs a behavior in an effort to feel better on the inside. Addicts typically struggle with the idea that something is wrong with them and therefore turn to the addiction to escape the pain caused by their negative beliefs. The addictions gives them immediate but temporary comfort. Lastly, addiction is not limited to alcohol and drugs. People can become addicted to a number of behaviors and substances such as food, caffeine, sugar, bullying or abusing others.