The Addictions as Pathological Mourning: An Attempt at Restitution of Early Losses

Drug abuse is an attempt to resolve through the use of chemicals the psychic disequilibrium caused by intrapersonal (narcissistic) losses. The chemical equilibrium creates a false sense of quiet which retards the completion of the process of mourning for these losses. Due to the unconscious need to express these losses, addicts pick up clothing styles, behavior patterns, and grooming habits from the Judeo-Christian mourning and black ghetto rituals. In order to successfully give up the drug, the addict must resolve his grief by completing the stages of mourning in the process of group therapy.