What Makes an Addiction?
Physically addictive substances use daily can bring on these uncomfortable physical symptoms
Withdrawal
Alcohol
We make dozens, if not hundreds, of these every day with our minds. One of the best ways to improve our lives is to practice making good ones.
Decision/Choices
We experience these in our mind, heart, and gut. It is important to learn how to manage our reaction to them.
Feelings/Emotions
The essential inner drive, focus, and desire that brings about positive change and attainment of goals.
Motivation
A strong addictive urge that can pull you down the wrong path if you are not careful.
Craving
(2000s) This artist, known as the King of Pop, died due to complications from prescription drugs in 2009.
Michael Jackson
It takes more and more of a substance to get the same effect which often fuels the desire and need for using larger amounts.
Tolerance
A class of drugs used medicinally for thousands of years to relieve physical pain but nowadays often abused to relieve emotional pain.
Opiates/Opioids
This describes the overall way we present ourselves. If we have a negative one, we should want to change it to one that is more grateful and positive.
Attitude
It is important to learn to manage this uncomfortable mental experience that can occur when we worry or stress over things.
Anxiety
The ability to look inside yourself and be able to understand your own thoughts, emotions, and behaviors.
Insight/Self-Awareness
You may have gone backwards a bit but you still have not completely relapsed.
Lapse/Setback
(1990s) Singer of one of the most popular grunge bands in the 90s who was addicted to heroin and shot himself in the head in 1994 at the age of 27.
Kurt Cobain
Failure to recognize the truth about a problem, particularly an addiction, is often referred to as this.
Denial
Prescription
This categorizes and includes all that is most important in your life, what you care about the most, and was has the most worth to you.
Values
These changing, temporary states of mind can make us feel high, low, and everything in between so it is important to be able to regulate them.
Moods
Something just about everyone needs when overcoming a difficult challenge becuase it is so difficult to do it alone.
Support
Some people may try to deal with substance use by attemptin to use less or change to a less harmful substance. If that is not working, you may need to consider this older, more basic option.
Abstinence/Sobriety
(1980s) John Belushi was a legenday actor and comedian who shocked the world when he overdosed and died from mixing cocaine and heroin in 1982 at the height of his fame. He was on the original lineup of what longstanding TV show.
Saturday Night Live
Every bad choise we make can mean we have to face these later. Addiction can cause people to foolishly ignore these repeatedly.
Consequences
The vast majority of people who use this legal plant use it as often as 10 or 20 times a day, despite knowing that it is the number one killer of all addictive substances in the world.
Tobacco
You can have ups and downs along the way but what matters most if that you keep moving forward. If that is true, then you are steadily making this
Progress
It is essential to learn to eliminate this negative emotions which stems from holing on to anger and grudges
Resentment
Building insight and motivation lead to this powerful experience defined by a strong sense of positive mental stimulation to try to make things better.
Inspiration/Spiritual Awakening
With more severe addiction, particularly opioid, if withdrawal or cravings are overwhelming, it may be wise to consider a doctor for this
Maintenance/Medication Assisted Treatment
(1970s) This iconic musician is on of the top earning dead celebrities today, still earning over $50 million/year for his music, despite dying from complications of prescription drug addiciton back in 1977.
Elvis Presley
When you spend too much, use too much or too often, and life problems are steadily piling up, it is a good sign that you have lost this.
Control
Stimulants, such as cocaine, speed, and methamphetamine, when taken for long periods of time can iduce a mental state of hallucinations and extremem paranoid delusions called
Psychosis
This involves all the people, places, and things you surround yourself with adn that you choose to be connected to
Associations
Sometimes addictions can be directly linked to deeply disturbing or distressing experiences that occurred earlier in life, all of which is referred to as
Trauma/PTSD
If you find and discover this, it can help you define your goals and add meaning and direction to your life.
Purpose
They say relapse doesn't suddenly happen out of nowhere. It's often not an event, it is often much more of a gradual ___.
Process
(1960s) This world famous movie star shocked the world in 1962 from a barbiturate overdose which some say was accidental, some say was suicide, and other say was murder.
Marilyn Monroe