A Frame of Reference

Before detailing the contents of this entry, it is important to specify the intersection between suicidality and addiction, not only to justify the following conversation which pertains to addiction, but also continuing a multidimensional approach to mental health.

When we learn about adjacent areas of individual and social behavior, we are not shifting the focus away from the problem of lethal means safety and suicide prevention, but rather, we are enlarging the boarders of understanding, looking at an ever-complex issue from a variety of interconnected factors in tandem with a specified understanding of critical factors, together, learning both the width as well as the depth of the issue of suicidality.

With this orientation, we no longer have a frame of reference but a prism of perspective, fractionating and highlighting the different layers of color which, in its whole, is the same light. Addiction and suicidality, then, are the same issue. One of disconnection and isolation in the midst of trauma (wounding).

The Narrative

the classic perspective of addiction is often one kept of a safe distance, keeping the issue at hand close enough to see but not close enough for any dynamic transfiguration of perspective. Through the fear-centered ostracization of individuals who suffer from addiction issues, pushing labels such as ‘weak’ or ‘feeble’, the problem of addiction as a whole has not been able to be seen in a more authentic light, a sickness.

This, I believe as do others, stems from an innate misinformed perspective on addiction as a whole, seeing ‘the entirety’ of addiction in only one of its fragments.

This definitional distinction provides not only a broader approach to addiction studies and adjacent subjects such as suicidality, but so too does it touch on the shortcomings contemporary SUD (substance use disorder) treatment and future orientations to fill this clinical/judicial gap.

The distinction I am discussing is the difference between physical dependency and behavioral addiction.

Physical Dependency

On a neuropsychological level, our brains and bodies in tandem our wired to adapt and adjust to chemical environments. This of course is what a tolerance to a substance eventually becomes, and what the action of intoxication is when a drug is ingested, a physical reaction.

However, just like how our bodies react to a novel interaction with a substance, they so too interact with a sudden separation, forming an antonymic reaction to a high, a withdrawal.

A homeostatic state has over time been established with frequent ingestion of a substance, making the body physically dependent on the substance in order to maintain such homeostasis. This is where one becomes physically dependent.

Behavioral Addiction

On a psychological level, our minds also look for stability. This of course is not as numerically compensatory, and is much more conceptual than scientific, but it would be quite the unobservant blatancy to assume that addiction does not effect an individual on this level as well.

Behaviors such as these, as stated, come not so much a physical dependency but a service of coping. We are not looking at an effect coming out of a homeostatic need but one that comes out of behaviors such as escapism and or the need for emotional soothing/regulation.

Clinically, this is often referred to a maladaptive coping strategies: ineffective and or harmful ways of dealing with stress, trauma, or other psychological dysfunctions.

The Culmination

It is worth noting that these distinctive qualities of SUD are not necessarily things in themselves, but aspects of the whole which sit on an expressive spectrum. I would like to go back to the prism of perspectives, where light is fractionated into its separate colors which are all of the same beam.

However, if we do not place weight on both of these factors of addiction, we risk falling into the trap of thinking that addiction as a whole is just simply one or the other.

There is physical as well as psychological qualities to addiction that of course cannot be looked at in isolation but by necessity need to be looked at interlinked, as both are reactions to pain.

Local Initiatives and Involvements

Mental Health and Suicide Prevention 2025 EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES IN MESA COUNTY Register Here!

Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST): September 18-19, November 6-7 This two-day workshop(16 hours) helps participants learn how to prevent suicide by recognizing signs, providing a skilled intervention, and developing a safety plan to keep someone alive.

Mental Health First Aid (MHFA): September 26, October 17, December 5 This eight (8) hour training teaches people how to recognize signs of mental health or substance use challenges in adults, how to offer and provide initial help, and how to guide a person toward appropriate care.

Youth Mental Health First Aid (Youth MHFA): August 29 This Six and half (6.5) hour training for adults who regularly interact with people ages 12-18. It introduces common mental health challenges, typical adolescent development, and plan for how to help in crisis and non-crisis situations

Soul Shop™: October 2 This 90-minute workshop equips faith community leaders and other people of faith to train their congregations to minister to those impacted by suicidal desperation.

If you or someone you know is feeling suicidal, call or text 988. The National Suicide Hotline is staffed around the clock with certified members of the American Association of Suicidology. Or the Crisis Text Line, text CO to 741741 from anywhere in the United States, anytime. A live, trained Crisis Counselor receives the text and responds, all from a secure online platform.