Understanding addiction and the simplicity of the cure

First let me explain what addiction is. Addiction is often forced to indulge in behavior that offers short-term relief but long-term harm in any area of ​​your life (health, relationships, finances, and work, to name just a few areas). The important word here is forced.

Addiction is a difficult challenge to overcome. Not because addictive behavior is difficult to break once the addict realizes he has an addiction, but because the addiction is wrapped in denial, which prevents the addict from seeing her behavior clearly.

The addict creates denial in an attempt to protect himself from the perceived loss he will suffer if he gives up the addictive behavior or substance. Perceive is a very important word here because the addict doesn’t really gain anything from his addiction. His addiction gradually and systematically destroys every area of ​​the addicts life until all that is left is the addiction. As each area of ​​the addict’s life is slowly destroyed, the addict becomes more and more attached to the addiction because he perceives it as a pleasure. The key to breaking any addiction is to break the cycle of faulty thinking that keeps the addict trapped in this cycle. So the good news is that addiction can be overcome much more easily than we all think possible.

Let’s first explore addiction itself. All addiction has exactly the same roots, regardless of the substance or behavior that constitutes the addiction. So the addiction could be to substances like alcohol, drugs, or food, or it could be to behaviors like gambling or shopping. All addictions are there to serve the same purpose, which is to change the way the addict feels. Every addiction masks unresolved pain.

Is that how it works. The addict has a feeling. Now the feeling can be good or bad. A good feeling will lead the addict to celebrate. If they are addicted to food, they will celebrate by eating. An alcoholic will have a drink. One player will treat themselves to a little flutter. If the addict has a bad feeling, he will indulge in the addictive behavior to try to make himself feel better. This is the paradox of addiction. A cure for all feelings! So, as the addictive behavior continues, it naturally picks up momentum (I’ll explain why in a bit) and becomes a bigger and bigger part of addicts’ lives. In extreme cases, if allowed to continue, it becomes the only thing in the addict’s life.

Addictions naturally gain momentum for numerous reasons. The first reason is that the addict perceives that he gets some kind of reward from his addiction. This is never the case. If you like something, you can participate in the activity and feel better after doing it. An addict usually feels worse after the addictive behavior. A heavy drinker will have a hangover, a shopper will feel guilty about the bills he now has to pay, an emotional eater will feel guilty about his latest binge, etc. As discussed above, addicts indulge in their addictive behavior to change their emotional state. Once bad feelings surface after their latest indulgence, what’s the first thing you think they’ll want to do? Yes! They will once again indulge in their addictive behavior to get rid of their unwanted feelings. This is obviously a downward spiral.

The second reason addictive behavior gains momentum is because it’s used as a coping mechanism, but it’s also used as a celebration (initially anyway. Once the addiction really takes hold, there’s no longer any desire for celebration. ). Generally, if we are healthy and balanced, we have several ways to alter our emotional state. Some examples are taking a hot bath, meditating, reading, relaxing and watching a movie, chatting with friends, etc. The addict stops looking for new ways to solve challenges and relieve stress. They use their addiction for immediate gratification. This gives the addict fewer and fewer coping mechanisms as addiction becomes a larger and larger part of their lives.

The third reason addiction gains momentum is if the addiction is to a substance rather than a behavior. If the substance is physically addictive, this causes further complications in the cycle of addiction, as the body begins to crave the substance and will react (withdrawal symptoms) when the substance in question leaves the body.

The fourth reason addiction gains momentum is tolerance. Our bodies are amazing and intricate machines. If you are addicted to nicotine or alcohol, try to remember the first time you smoked or drank. The taste was disgusting! You felt sick and dizzy and your body produced all kinds of unpleasant sensations. He did this because you were poisoning him! It was a warning. Now nature is very smart. Your body assumes over time that if you’re constantly poisoning it, you’re doing it because you have no other choice. So, to make him feel more comfortable, stop producing warning signals. This means that to get any ‘benefit’ from the drug of your choice, you need to take more of it. Your body reacts once again to warn you. You ignore the warning, so your body decides to stop warning you because it assumes you have no choice but to poison yourself, so you need to increase the dose. This is called tolerance. Obviously, with each increase in dosage, the body is put under more stress as it tries to cope. As the body is subjected to more and more stress, our health and well-being are increasingly compromised. Again, a very painful downward spiral.

Now we come to the point where we can explore how to overcome an addiction. As stated earlier, it is not the addiction that is the difficulty; it is the addicts perception of their addiction that is the challenge. If the perception of addicts changed, the addiction could be overcome relatively easily. The addict feels powerless to overcome his addiction because he perceives that his addictive behavior is precious to him. This is denial. It is this denial that needs to be addressed and then the addiction can be resolved because the addict can clearly see that the addiction is not serving them. In fact, he is doing the opposite. He is destroying them. The strongest addiction is actually psychological addiction rather than physical addiction. Physical addiction can usually be resolved after a few days of detoxification. If physical addiction were the strongest element of addiction, after a few days of detox you would be free. As we all know, this is not the case. Psychological addiction is at the root and is caused by faulty thinking and denial. Change the thinking and the addiction no longer exists because it is no longer ‘necessary’.

If you think you have a physical addiction, seek help because you may need a supervised detoxification program. For addictive behaviors, your first step is to admit that you have a problem. It is not necessary to hit rock bottom to overcome an addiction. People hit rock bottom because they fear their life without their addictive behavior so much that they continue the behavior until they have nothing left. I promise. Life without addictions is wonderful. It is wrong thinking that is telling you otherwise!

Beneath the addiction is often unresolved emotional pain. If you have suffered from any type of trauma in the past, please go and seek help now to resolve it. Avoiding emotional pain will not help you. You have to learn to walk through emotional pain. Don’t let your past dictate your future.

Addiction often also masks a feeling of purposelessness. Addiction can allow someone to ‘opt out’ of life and sit on the fence just watching from a distance. We all have skills and gifts to share with the world. You are not an exception (although you may feel that you are). Trust me, you have a purpose. Decide today that you are going to commit to finding and living that purpose.

As I said before, addiction often masks emotional pain. If you have experienced trauma in the past, get help today to resolve that trauma, and then make a decision to make sense of your suffering. There are probably thousands of others who have experienced a similar trauma who could really benefit from your help, even if it is just to hear your story.

Addiction also exacerbates emotional pain. As you try to navigate life through the eyes of your addiction, it creates more challenges for you. Their behavior creates feelings of helplessness and guilt. This has a prolific effect on your self-esteem, which then needs to be further medicated with your addiction of choice. Be kind to yourself. Try to remember the things that used to give you pleasure. Slowly introduce those things back into your life. And don’t beat yourself up if you try to calm down and then relapse, doing so will only make the journey more difficult.

And finally, as a homeopath, I have dealt with many clients with addictive behaviors. I have listed below some remedies that can help with your addiction. The remedies should be 30c potency and should be taken 3 times a day until you start to feel better. Once you start to feel better, just take another remedy when you start to feel worse.

nux vomica

Take this remedy if you work hard. You may worry about work, eat unhealthy food, and drink alcohol to cope. You may be moody and stressed.

arsenic album

Take this remedy if you feel anxious and restless. He may not be eating or he may be very hungry. You may feel sick when you see or smell food. You are exhausted, but you will still get things done. You like everything in its place.

carcinocine

Take this remedy if you like to be perfect. You may have had abusive or strict parents as a child. You may have had to take on adult responsibility as a child. You need to be a ‘good girl’, ‘good boy’.

Natrum muriaticum

Take this if you find it difficult to share your problems with people. You like to cry alone. You don’t like people getting too close. You may like salt. You live in past disagreements or negative situations. You find it difficult to forgive. This is also good for past unresolved complaints/losses.

Pulsatilla

Take this if you feel like you bend and sway to win people’s love and approval. You can be needy and clingy. You may cry a lot. You don’t like to be alone.

Sulfur

Take this if you have a philosophical approach. You can think more than you ‘do’. It is also good for restoring energy where energy is depleted due to toxic liver.

Avena sativa

This is a good tonic for those who are thin and weak as a result of too many drugs. When used with a good diet, it helps to strengthen the body.