ABSTRACT
The psychodynamics of the mental mechanisms that bring about an addictive disorder and the psychic processes that lead to deaddiction with the return to abstinence remain obscure. From the literary presentations and the sensitive and intuitive perceptions of the gifted writer and poet, much has been learned of the overall psychological forces that give rise to and influence man’s struggles with himself. The accumulating clinical studies have rendered the hypothesis that a drug-dependent personality might ultimately be identified, the underlying psychopathology detailed, and its psychodynamics unambiguously outlined as highly debatable. The coercive or mandatory structuring that arises out of a disorder that cannot be treated with any high degree of effectiveness and the potential threat that the drug-consuming behavior superimposes on an apprehensive society also has its impact on the psychodynamics of the disorder. The complex and intricate psychodynamics and their dimensions that make for drug abuse vulnerability and its maintenance, although receiving intensive study, are far from resolved.
