Posts Tagged: addiction to substances

“YOU MIGHT BE AN ADDICT IF . . .”

On September 18, 2017 by Dteb With 0 Comments - down to earth believer

Increasingly, psychologists and brain researchers are recognizing that addiction is not simply addiction to a substance.  Addiction can also be to a Substance, an Activity, or Person.  Some of these addictions destroy people quickly, and some destroy people slowly.  Some are socially acceptable, and some are not.  However, they all have the same basic characteristics, and follow the same dismally predictable pattern.

In the rest of this post, I will refer to “addiction to a Substance, an Activity, or Person” as ASAP—“addiction to a substance, activity, or person.”  (One of my more benign addictions is to acronyms.)  So, with sincerest apologies to Jeff Foxworthy and his “You might be a redneck if . . .” routine, here are my own observations.

You might have an ASAP if . . .

  • . . . you have to do more and more to feel good;
  • . . . you are feeling less and less good as you do more;
  • . . . you are doing more and more to feel less bad;
  • . . .  you are feeling more and more bad as you do more;
  • . . . you keep doing what you’re doing, even when you don’t want to;
  • . . . your ASAP is consuming more or your time than you would like;
  • . . . your ASAP is crowding out other activities that you used to enjoy;
  • . . . you have to keep what you are doing secret;
  • . . . you say, “Oh, everybody is like this!”
  • . . . and . . .
  • . . . you don’t think you have an ASAP.

Well, hopefully you get the picture.  I’m sure that many other “ifs” could be added.  Pretty dreary, ain’t it?

But here is a recovering ASAP “if list.”  Perhaps this will give you a little hope.  It gives me a lot of hope.

You might be a Recovering ASAP if . . .

  • . . . you have admitted to yourself that you might be an ASAP;
  • . . . you have admitted that you are not in control of your ASAP;

. . . you have cried out to God for help;  (You don’t have to understand or even believe in God a lot.  Just cry out!  That is at least a beginning.  An acquaintance of mine who is (or was?) an atheist commented, “I didn’t believe in God, but I noticed that every time I cried out to God, things got better.”)

  • . . . you have admitted to another human being that you are an ASAP;
  • . . . you hang around with other ASAPs, who have learned a thing or two about how to handle their own ASAP;
  • . . . and . . .
  • . . . you are willing to let the pain in, little by little, rather than trying to medicate it by pursuing your ASAP.

Well, hopefully you get the picture.  I’m sure that many other “ifs” could be added.  Pretty neat stuff, isn’t it?!?

Jeff Foxworthy’s “You-might-be-a-redneck-if” lists are funny—or, at least, I find them funny.  Addictions are not, of course.  They are deadly serious, and seriously deadly.  However, sometimes it is the light touch that is needed with serious topics.  Humor can sometimes sneak in through the cracks when Truth can’t get in with a battering ram.

One of the more helpful comments that I’ve heard in twelve-step meetings is the following: “I’m going to be an addict all my life.  My only choice is whether I’m going to be a practicing addict, or a recovering addict.

What is your choice?

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