Rethinking Addiction

Why It’s Not About Morality

When we reduce addiction to a question of right or wrong, we miss the pain, the history, and the human beneath it. Here’s why morality can’t explain addiction and what can.

Written by Emma Nagle, LCSW } November 10, 2025

Addiction is not a “moral failing” or a reflection of weak character.

It is a complex and multifaceted response to pain, stress, and trauma. Many people who develop substance use disorders are attempting to manage overwhelming emotional states, intrusive memories, or chronic distress that feel intolerable without external relief.

Substances temporarily alter the nervous system, dampening hyperarousal responses, numbing painful emotions, or filling the void created by disconnection and loss.

Over time, these coping mechanisms, though initially adaptive in their intent to reduce suffering, become maladaptive and self-perpetuating as the person increasingly relies on substances to regulate mood and function.

Repeated substance use fundamentally changes brain chemistry, particularly within the reward, motivation, and stress regulation systems. The brain begins to associate substance use with survival, reinforcing cravings and compulsive behaviors even when the individual intellectually understands the harm. This neurobiological conditioning can override logic and willpower, creating a cycle of craving, use, and shame that deepens the sense of helplessness.

By understanding the driving forces and the science behind addiction, treatment can become more integrative. This means programs and providers can address co-occurring mental health conditions simultaneously with therapy and psychotropic medication when necessary. Additionally, treatment can become more individualized. Providers can reach the person suffering by beginning to understand the experiences that led to self-medicating. Treating addiction from the viewpoint of moral failing sends the message to a person addicted that they are of weak character or lack of willpower. This type of messaging can risk causing further shame and emotional pain that perpetuates the cycle of using.

Understanding addiction through a biopsychosocial lens rather than through one of morality, allows for compassion, accountability, and effective treatment that targets the underlying trauma and emotional pain driving the behavior. If you are struggling with substance use or know someone who is, consider: What is this drug treating?  This might give you the key to the next step in unlocking how to recover from the cycle of addiction. 

If you or a loved one are struggling with addiction, help is available. You can book a consultation call with me here, to see if individual therapy is right for you, or find help and support near you on SAMHSA’s website.

How to Support a Loved One with Addiction

A CRAFT-Based Guide to Staying Connected Without Enabling

Written by Emma Nagle, LCSW | April 23, 2025

When someone you care about is struggling with substance use, it’s natural to feel helpless, scared, and unsure of what to do. You want to help, but you don’t want to enable. You want to set boundaries, but you don’t want to push them away. It’s a painful and confusing space to be in.

That’s where the CRAFT model comes in.

CRAFT stands for Community Reinforcement and Family Training. It’s a research-backed approach designed to help family members and close support systems learn how to effectively encourage a loved one toward treatment without ultimatums, guilt-tripping, or cutting them off.

As a therapist, I’ve seen CRAFT empower families and partners with tools that are not only compassionate and practical—but actually work.

Here’s a guide of how it works:

1. Understand What You’re Dealing With

CRAFT starts by educating loved ones on what addiction is: Not just a series of bad decisions, but a complicated behavioral pattern shaped by reward, habit, and pain systems in the brain.

Knowing this helps shift the mindset from:

“Why won’t they just stop?” to “What’s reinforcing this behavior, and how can we shift that?”

2. Notice What is Reinforcing the Substance Use

CRAFT teaches that people keep using substances because something about it “works” for them, whether it’s escaping stress, numbing pain, or just feeling normal for a moment. Their substance of choice should give insight into what they may be “treating” within themselves.

Your job isn’t to fix them, but to start recognizing how your responses might be (unintentionally) supporting the behavior.

Examples:

• Are you giving money when they’re short because they spent it on substances?

• Are you cleaning up their messes so they don’t face consequences?

This isn’t about blame. It’s about becoming more conscious of what’s keeping the cycle going.

3. Use Positive Reinforcement for Healthy Behavior

Here’s something refreshing: CRAFT isn’t about punishment. It’s about learning how to reinforce positive change, even in small doses.

Did they come home sober one night? Keep a therapy appointment? Go 24 hours without using?

Notice it.

Name it.

Appreciate it.

When you consistently reward healthier choices (with time, attention, calm conversation), you’re giving their brain a reason to keep trying.

4. Improve Communication Without Fighting

CRAFT encourages clear, kind, and assertive communication. That means less yelling, fewer power struggles, and no more walking on eggshells. Try using “I” statements and avoid blaming language. 

Instead of saying:

“You’re ruining your life!”

You might try:

“I care about you, and I get scared when I see how much you’re using. I’d love to talk when you’re ready.”

This approach respects both your boundaries and their autonomy—two things that are crucial when trying to keep connection without enabling.

5. Support Treatment—But Let It Be Their Choice

A major goal of CRAFT is helping loved ones be more likely to accept help without being forced. CRAFT has been shown to be more effective than interventions that rely on confrontation or cutting people off.

You’re not trying to control their timeline. You’re helping create an environment where choosing help feels safe and supported. When they are ready to accept help, be ready to help. Have resources available or someone for your loved one to speak to further about their addiction.

final thoughts

Supporting someone through addiction is emotionally exhausting—but you don’t have to choose between doing everything and doing nothing.

CRAFT offers a third option: Stay connected. Set boundaries. Reinforce hope. All while taking care of yourself, too.

If you’re navigating this with someone you love, consider finding a therapist or support group to help ensure you are prioritizing your own emotional needs. Al Anon is one commonly sought out mutual aid resource for family and friends who have been affected by a loved one’s addiction. Support groups are a helpful reminder that you are not alone in this struggle. With the right tools, it is possible to make meaningful change—without losing your sanity, your compassion, or your connection.

Want a printable version of this guide? See below: