Whatever the source of the addiction, it impacts the reward area of the brain. Addicts experience a “rush” when they partake in that which they are addicted. And it is that unending craving that keeps them from quitting. (1)
Most people feel that they know what it means to be addicted: doing something you can't stop, even though it interferes with daily living and good relationships. It's something that controls them, despite good intentions to stop it.
Getting one’s life back is the easiest, and most difficult, thing a person can do. The demanding voices that are the addictive process are powerful, indeed.
Addictions have many faces: alcohol, drugs, food, smoking, work, gambling, sex, wanting to control others. It is not the cure-all to identify what the addictions are; it is necessary to not only stop it, but to find other constructive behaviors to take their place.
Addictions merely mask the problem. The not-so-simple stopping of those deleterious
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actions does not leave the recovering addict to simply pursue a gainful life. The root of that person’s problems were the cause of that addiction.(2) Without solving the complicated puzzle of how that addiction came to be, stopping one’s negative behavior will surely lead that individual to another, probably more dangerous, course in the future. Most people believe that when they stop the physical practices of the addiction the problem is over.
The cessation the self-defeating behavior must be addressed first; keep in mind that the addictive deed is just a symptom of an underlying cause. Many people are ill-equipped to cope with their feelings. Then, when society condemns them, they feel trapped. If they do stop their detrimental behavior—-without getting to the cause of it--they agonize over the void left behind; wherein they are unable to deal with their emotional and physical misery. It is that overwhelming buildup of internalized pressure that they do not know how to deal with. The...
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