Consider this article from Harvard Medical School (an “establishment” organization if ever there was one) titled “Five Action Steps for Quitting an Addiction,” in which the very first, Number One step toward the light is:

1. Set a quit date. It might be helpful to choose a meaningful date like a special event, birthday, or anniversary.

Here is another piece on the same topic, headed “When Should I Start To Quit Drug Addiction? A Practical Guide.” It comes from Addiction Treatment Plus, described as “an award-winning addiction placement service,” and delineates the initial step as self-assessment.

It seems fair to extrapolate that one element of this interior inventory should cover the possibility that a personally significant date is involved. Of course this is not the only factor worthy of scrutiny, and may not even apply in many cases — but if it does apply, it could be the key that unlocks a door you didn’t even know existed. The idea that an anniversary reaction lurks beyond that door is certainly worthy of scrutiny.

The authors go on to explain that, when this particular party is over, one of the addict’s clues is “mental readiness.” A component of that goal should certainly be a deep dive into the anniversary situation, preferably accompanied by a professional who can guide the search for whatever lurks in the addict’s subconscious.

What sort of memory, consciously recognized or not, is hooked to the projected quit date? More urgent is the question of whether a previously unacknowledged anniversary reaction could make that day the worst (or maybe the best!) possible choice:

Choosing when to start quitting drug addiction is less about a magic number and more about recognizing a confluence of signals — physical health, mental readiness, environmental factors, and the pharmacology of the drug involved.

That concluding paragraph stresses four factors, of which two are notably applicable: “environmental factors,” which certainly include the calendar date; and mental readiness, which could be compromised by neglecting to take the anniversary effect into account as either a positive or negative influence.

A website created by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and covering the subject of post-traumatic stress disorder speaks of triggers or anticipated, time-linked trauma-related cues, in other words, significant dates. Author Sadie E. Larsen, Ph.D., writes,

Anticipated trauma cues might include the dates of collectively experienced events such as September 11, military-related holidays… or individually relevant dates, times or cues related to a specific trauma.

Though there is scant empirical research on recurring trauma reminders, the broader literature provides a context for understanding why people may find such anniversary cues to be particularly difficult.

There are layers of opportunity for disturbance, including shame and anger because of self-perceived weakness or unworthiness:

Anniversaries may also be times when people consciously think about how their lives have changed or make judgments about themselves (e.g., “What is wrong with me that I’m still bothered by this?”)

That phrase “scant empirical research” strongly suggests the existence of both the opportunity and the need for a lot more study of the anniversary reaction. So far, all the evidence suggests that more attention to the widespread phenomenon could pay off spectacularly, if combined much more conscientiously with the problem of determining the optimal time to put a stop to addiction.

This is an area where family input can be useful if available. In a small but significant study of military veterans, “in some cases, spouses reported anniversary reactions that had not been identified by Veterans.”

This page includes a table of clinical suggestions for the care providers to address with the patient, with the goal of being able to “remember an event with a full range of emotions but without a significant and sustained functional impairment in doing so.” The particularly significant eighth item reads,

Anniversaries may be a time to make some meaning, whether by marking the occasion, reflecting on positive changes in life, or helping others (e.g., giving blood, making a charitable donation).

Or, dare we add, a trauma anniversary may be necessary for an addict to either consciously choose, or conscientiously avoid, as a quit day. That determination has quite a good chance of being made if the therapist heeds the extremely varied and detailed table of suggestions that have been developed and proven effective over decades of treating PTSD.

Intrusive memories can be tamed, and so can emotional numbing, hyperactivity, irritability, sleep disturbance, grief, depression, and “a general sense of feeling stuck and unsure how to move forward.” In life, one of the most meaningful and impactful ways to move forward is to shed an addiction.

In the future, is it possible that we might look back and realize that the ability to identify and use this connection has turned out to be the addiction field’s biggest discovery of the century?

Sources:

“Five Action Steps for Quitting an Addiction,” Harvard.edu, February 13, 2021.

“When Should I Start To Quit Drug Addiction? A Practical Guide,” AddictionTreatmentPlus.com, undated.

“Anniversary Reactions and Other Recurring Trauma Reminders,” VA.gov, undated.

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