Understanding Addiction And What It Is Like To Be Addicted

One can define addiction as, occupying oneself with or involving oneself in something habitually or compulsively. 

Addiction is a chronic disease of the brain. It comes in different forms. Addicts are moral agents, in the community, with biology working against their spiritual goals.

Our bodies were created with neurotransmitters to help us enjoy the physical pleasures of life, adapt to stressful situations, and direct us to do what is necessary to maintain our bodies’ physical and mental health. Addictive substances pervert all these basic brain functions, breaking the biological systems we depend on to think.

1 Peter 2:19. They promise them freedom, but they are slaves of corruption. For whatever overcomes a person, to that, he is enslaved.

If you have never experienced addiction, it may be hard to understand what motivates the addict to pursue their addiction despite the cost? Each person's experience of addiction is unique. Everyone has an addiction to something and our purpose as Decent Conversations and this article is to encourage understanding of people with different addictions, do away with stigma and ensure that we all get the necessary assistance to help us overcome addiction.

Purpose to attend: Understanding Addiction - Well being-forum.

Feeling Apart. There are times one can feel unhappy with who you are. It could be because you failed at everything you tried, or you were never satisfied with the level of success you have achieved in your life, your thoughts and emotions make you feel like you aren't good or as lovable as others. Or it could be someone who told you, showed you that you are no good, worthless or that you existed just to be a stepping stone for other people to their success.  

Getting Hooked. Then imagine you drink alcohol, take a prescribed or not prescribed drug, have a sexual experience, win a bet, or buy something for yourself, and suddenly everything feels great, perfect and you are peacefully in heaven. You feel as if success is easy and right before you, that perhaps others do not understand but to you, you are alive finally you have something you can depend on to feel and be okay. Compared to the emptiness of what you felt before, investing in the chance that you could again feel good about yourself and about being alive is what matters. 

Finding Belonging. People who have known you for some time like family won't understand what is happening to you. So you start associating or looking for people who will give you a sense of belonging. Other people don't understand so that just makes you want to spend time with people who do understand. whose addictions make them feel exactly the way you do. You don't even need to talk about it with them because, between you, there is already an understanding, a beautiful mutual feeling. And that makes you feel like an insider and a member of a secret club that really understands you without you being judged 

 

Courtesy: WSJ.com

The more people criticize you, the more you want to seek comfort in that good feeling you get from your addiction. The more others lecture you about what you should be doing with your life, the more convinced you are that they do not know what they are talking about. 

At times, you wish what they're saying is true, but underneath you, you know that normal life was never real for you(You felt empty in real life, and your addiction is filling up the spaces).

Of course, there is a price to pay. There is always a consequence, a what next?. You may put on or lose weight, experience health problems, or lose lots of money, things, or relationships that are very important. 

Except you long for a normal life. You wish that you could take satisfaction in the things that seem to make other people happy, such as graduation, a career, and a family. None of the things that the people who care about you feel good about feel good to you, either because you were denied them or because the experience was hollow and unsatisfying in some way  But to get those things, or to experience them the way you want to, you would have to believe in yourself and that self-belief has always eluded you.

The cure is possible for every addict. But it does mean facing the problems that caused the addiction in the first place, the deep dissatisfaction with yourself and your life, and taking responsibility for how your behavior affects other people. It means learning how to experience a gentler sense of pleasure in the small things in life and coping with the many challenges and imperfections of life, without retreating back into your addiction.

1 Corinthians 10:13.  
No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation, he will also provide a way of escape, so that you may be able to endure it. 

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