Therians: the chameleon

It generally starts as something private and evolves into something public but it's not always the case, some addicts remain in the shadows during the whole thing. Interventions are about exposing the addict so the shame and guilt do their part and the addict begins its journey towards rehab. It all depends on the kind of addict, there are many, the one I'm talking here is the subtle one, the one I've chosen to call "the chameleon". Nobody knows about its addiction, it's the best kept secret, it uses just enough to get by but not a lot so nobody can notice it, well that's what the chameleon chooses to believe. Obviously you can tell about its addiction, those mood fluctuations don't come from nowhere, the whole person becomes a house of cards. 

This addict hates the cynicism contain in the other kinds of addicts, it criticize them harshly and mercilessly, it's necessary to do this otherwise it'd expose its true colors (if it has any at all). It sounds like a psycho but it's not exactly that, it's more like a lunatic, a madman, a con artist.  In order to keep the deception going it needs to develop some virtues so nobody can conceive its addiction: virtue disguises its vice. I'm not focusing my attention on the thing consumed by the chameleon, this may change depending on the person, the time, the place but at the end it's about an addiction, it's about something that harms the users body, mind and close relationships. Because it's something well hidden the addiction is a long term thing, it may last years or the chameleon's entire life. The question is always there in the back of its mind: how do I stop it? or sometimes even worse: why should I stop it?

The struggle is always there even when no one notices. Sometimes the chameleon daydreams about being one of those cynical ones accepting its addiction to bleach, extreme cleaning, accumulate all kinds of things, eating plastic or chewing rocks, then being exposed, receiving attention and care by family members, friends and doctors so it can finally begin the detox process but no, it's to arrogant to do it. It might be easier and less romantic to call it functional addiction than chameleon, the difference lies on the way it hides its addiction: it's flawless. It is not an evil entity, the addict recognizes its condition despite all the cons and disguises, it wants to quit but the addiction is too strong and the chameleon too skilled at hiding it. It chooses to suffer in well planed seasons: it stops for a while and then goes berserk again. 

It is not fair to tarnish the reputation of this beautiful animal by using such a comparison with a human addict but maybe a cure lies at this juxtaposing exercise. What if the addict chooses a positive characteristic like loyalty, bravery, resilience or deep social cooperation, then associate that with a different animal like a wolf, a tiger or a bird and just like the arbitrary comparison done above associate itself with that animal and that characteristic. The addict doesn't have to bark, meow, chirp or neigh, it just have to believe that it can do better with its own existence, that a more livable life is possible, that it's not all lost forever. Animals can do much more for our psyche than just be a trend or a fashion thing, they were our first gods, our main source of hope.