In my last blog post, I wrote about some of the warningsigns that indicate you might be addicted to alcohol or drugs. If you think youmight have an addiction problem, then today’s post is written you in mind.
The first step in solving any problem is realizing there isone. It sounds simple enough, right? You identify a problem and then fix it.But, when dealing with addiction, it’s also the hardest thing to accept. No onewants to admit they have become a slave to drugs or alcohol. None of us like tothink that our life has spun out of control, even as we watch it fall to piecesaround us. We all want to think we can somehow learn to control our drinking orusing, like normal people. The truth is, no addict ever used alcohol or drugsas a recreational hobby. From the first time we experienced that first rush, wewere hooked, even though many of us didn’t realize it at the time. If you’reone of those people that thought they’d died and gone to heaven the first timeyou got drunk or high, then you’re one of us. That first buzz feels likenothing else and it’s a feeling we try to recapture again and again over theyears. Forget about that magic ever coming back, though. Once it’s gone, it’sgone for good, no matter how much we try to get it back.
How will you know when booze or drugs have become too big aproblem for you to handle on your own? Here’sthe simple answer to the title of this post – when the pain of drinking orusing has become greater than the pleasure you get from them, but you still dothem anyhow, you are addicted. There are no ands, ifs, or buts aboutit. Sure, we can tell ourselves that our current troubles are just a run of badluck or a fluke, but if those problems are directly (or indirectly) related to substanceabuse, we’re only kidding ourselves.
Anyhow, that’s the thought for today. Don’t over analyze it,justify it, or bury your head in the sand. Just look in the mirror and askyourself if alcohol or drugs are causing more pain than pleasure in your life.Be honest with yourself, make no excuses, and check back tomorrow if it’s thetruth about your current situation.
