Transfer Addiction: Swapping One Problem for Another
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Transfer addiction happens when you swap one thing for another and it can include things like food, weed, sugar, over-exercising, working too much, shopping, gambling, nicotine, sex, or porn. It can also be called cross addiction.
Can I just be Cali Sober?
If we don’t address why we are doing something, then we’re just going to find another substance or self-destructive behavior to take its place. Some people will stop drinking or try to drink less, but take edibles or start smoking weed. I understand the thought process. Alcohol has a ton of consequences and is terrible for us, weed seems like a lesser evil but something we can still use for our desired outcome.
Studies have found that teen and young adult cannabis use is linked to an increased risk of developing a problem with alcohol later in life, and combining alcohol and cannabis is linked to more negative consequences than just using alcohol by itself. A 2014 study found that any cannabis use reduced the odds of staying sober from alcohol by 27%.
And a 2018 study on people who used cannabis during treatment for AUD found that each additional day of cannabis use was associated with 4 or 5 fewer days of abstinence from alcohol.
How to prevent transfer addiction
The issue with replacing alcohol with something else is that you’re not dealing with why you drank. You’re still trying to take a shortcut by using something else external to control your mood. Sure, there are some people who can casually use cannabis, and you do you I’m not judging, but if you just replace alcohol with another substance or a behavior, then you are preventing yourself from learning the skills that you need to learn in sobriety. A lot of people ask what they can replace alcohol with. In my opinion, nothing.
Nothing healthy is going to do for you what alcohol was doing. We need to learn how to tolerate discomfort, stress, and negative emotions without turning to something for comfort. This is what doing the work is all about.
Obviously, we can’t all be perfect. I turned to sugar and take out in sobriety, and it didn’t prevent me from doing the work it was more like an unhealthy crutch that wasn’t necessary. I’m taking the steps to try to deal with it though. If you find yourself turning to something else after not drinking you need to ask yourself how much it’s impacting your quality of life. Less bad doesn’t make it good.
Transfer addiction is using another substance or behavior to compensate for the discomfort you feel when you’re trying to stop drinking. We have to learn to deal with discomfort. It’s just a normal part of life. You can’t feel amazing all the time.
Learn more in episode 130:
Sources
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Bahji, A. et al. Prevalence of substance use disorder comorbidity among individuals with eating disorders: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Psychiatry Research. 273:58-66. 2019.
Constant, A. et al. Emotional overeating is common and negatively associated with alcohol use in normal-weight female university students. Appetite. 129:186-191. 2018.
Aharonovich E, Liu XH, Samet S, Nunes E, Waxman R, Hasin D. Postdischarge cannabis use and its relationship to cocaine, alcohol, and heroin use: A prospective study. American Journal of Psychiatry. 2005;162:1507–14.
Mojarrad M, Samet JH, Cheng DM, Winter MR, Saitz R. Marijuana use and achievement of abstinence from alcohol and other drugs among people with substance dependence: a prospective cohort study. Drug Alcohol Depend. 2014;142:91–7.
Subbaraman, M. Cannabis use during treatment for alcohol use disorders predicts alcohol treatment outcomes. Addiction. 2018
