Addiction Disease Definitions

Codependence:
A state resulting from childhood trauma that renders a person unable to experience appropriate levels of self-esteem, set functional boundaries with others, own their own reality, deal with adult dependency issues around needing and wanting and express reality with moderation.

Addiction:
Any process that relieves intolerable reality and becomes a priority, taking time and attention away from other priorities and creating harmful consequences that are ignored.

Eating Disorder:
Obsessive-compulsive preoccupation with food and/or weight. Body image is usually distorted. Symptoms may include overeating, anorexia, bulimia or a combination of these conditions.

Chemical Dependency:
A progressive fatal disease in which the addict/alcoholic loses the capacity to predict when chemical use will stop once she/he starts.

Sex Addiction:
Obsessive-compulsive sexual behavior in the face of harmful consequence. These obsessions can take the form of fantasy or overt acting out, performed alone or with others.

Love Addiction:
A process of obsession and compulsion whereby a person assigns too much time, attention and value above themselves to any person they are in a relationship with, coupled with having unrealistic expectations for unconditional positive regard from that person to the exclusion of self care and self valuing.

Addicted Relationships:
Relationships that exist between a “love addict” and any other addict that create intensity (often mistaken for romance or love) and avoid real intimacy.

Spirituality:
The experience of being in a relationship with a power, external to and greater than self, that provides guidance, solace and serenity.