Meaning-Making among Drug Addicts during Drug Addiction Recovery from the Perspective of the Meaning-Making Model

Abstract

(1) Background: This study aimed to explore the dynamics of meaning-making among drug addicts during drug addiction recovery by using a case study approach. The participants were five male recovering addicts, aged 26 to 49 years, who had been abstinent for 4 to 17 years; (2) Methods: Data collection consisted of in-depth interviews. Data were analyzed using the Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE) Questionnaire, Meaning in Life Questionnaire (MLQ), Beck’s Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II), and recovery stage criteria based on the Developmental Model of Recovery (DMR). (3) Results: The results showed that meaning making was an ongoing process before and during the use of drugs and recovery. Drug use was a coping strategy to overcome distress caused by ACE, which was perceived as a stressful event and brought up an implicit meaning of ACE. This initial meaning played an essential role in initiating the dynamics of the subsequent meaning-making process. A similar mechanism using non-constructive adaptation processes other negative impacts of drug use. They created more distress and developed false-positive beliefs, which resulted in continued drug use. Symptoms of depression occur during drug use, which drags the addict to the lowest point in life (hitting rock bottom), and addicts perceive it as a turning point for seeking treatment and attaining recovery. In complete recovery, reappraising the meaning of the stressors experienced throughout life makes new constructive meaning. Creating a constructive meaning of earliest traumatic experiences played an important role in preventing relapse and ensuring the success of recovery from drug addiction.