We easily get addicted, be it to drugs, alcohol, people or depression. How to keep this from ruining our lives is important. The question here is. Do I really wish to be defined by my vices?
Alcohol.
By far the biggest destroyer of lives, alcohol has been a part of nearly every culture for thousands of years and is one of the most promoted drugs out there. It is not easy to avoid as most social gatherings include alcohol. Many people are functional alcoholics. Many others use it for confidence to express themselves or to forget about their problems. It is not uncommon to see people drinking from early in the day and this is not a condition that is easily treated. Suddenly stopping can sometimes be very problematic. A gradual reduction in intake works best and time is needed for the body to adjust. Good diet, rest and exercise are vital. Changing lifestyle is important as we then have something new to discover. Getting into shape and into nature helps. Facing what is driving us to drink helps too if we are using alcohol as an escape. When I left the military I needed to drink every day, after a period of this I took a long honest look at myself and decided it was time to rebuild my life. Step by step this happened. Religion and Alcoholics Anonymous have helped many people.
Tobacco.
More addictive than heroin, this is a real hard one to give up. A lot of willpower is needed here and again a gradual reduction is the key. What worked for me was waiting until lunch time before my first one of the day then extending that to dinner time then to only on nights out. This helped me give up many times and with practice it got much easier as I was a chain smoker. Now I still smoke but can drop it anytime I like, I just don't start the day smoking and its not a problem. When I am peak training I don't bother smoking as I am too busy.
Hard drugs.
This is a field where professional help is needed. Chemical dependency is a hard challenge and a good support group is needed to help with this. There is no easy way out for this and if you are in this position then the question is, do you want to change? If yes is the answer then seek out professional help.
Sex and people.
Sex in the proper loving context is beautiful and helps us feel better about ourselves and discover depth in someone else. When it becomes a heartless addiction we risk losing our humanity and finer emotions and stop seeing the other person as human but rather a tool for our pleasure only. This is not good or in any way healthy. Dealing with sex addiction requires that we start to spend time with people we would love to shag out of the bedroom and start to see if we can broaden the connection with them in other areas. Sex addiction does not generally lead down a good road. If we are using sex for dominance or self validation or allowing ourselves to be used then we are doing ourselves a great deal of harm that only becomes obvious later, then the suffering starts and we turn to other drugs to dull this awareness. Starting to respect other people is the first step away from this problem.
Power and money.
We all know someone who has become completely heartless on this road. If we only see people as resources then we are missing the real reason we live here. The way out of this is to learn to share and build people up we have a chance to keep and develop our humanity and de free of greed.
Summary.
No matter what we are addicted to we all have to decide when its time to make the change and get on with it. If you have a problem with addiction please contact me and lets see what we can do for you.