I've had
several coaching clients come to me who, while they wanted to move forward in
life, were actually stuck in a self-destructive addiction. I'm not speaking of
any particular addiction, as we all have one or two in our lives. However, for
sake of discussion, the primary addictions that people fall to when they find
that their lives are faltering are alcohol and drugs. --- Abstinence or Control
---
---
Disease or Responsibility ---
While I
do agree that certain physical illnesses can cause people to turn to substance
abuse, the abuse and addiction in and of itself are resulting actions and not
diseases.
--- Involuntary Addiction ---
This area
of "involuntary addiction" is the center of much controversy. We did
work through some situations to angle her life toward her new Vision, but it
was her choice to alleviate herself of the medication and "give life a
try." In essence, we were able to replace her physical addiction with a
mental and emotional addiction a direction in life.
How
did I become addicted? Addictive substances have the ability to disrupt the
motivational hierarchy of needs by displacing other motives in life. The addict
usually places substance use as their top priority, while losing interest in
life's other rewards. It's interesting to note that we can become addicted to
situations as well as substances. Determining addiction is complex in that it
is based on many different signs for different types of addictions. Recovery is
your choice. --- A replacement addiction? With help from their medical
professional, along with a life plan, they can remain focused and busy while
working toward their Vision. In the process, he turned to a serious alcohol
addiction, which nearly disrupted his entire life. There are a number of
pitfalls common to self-recovery from addiction. Additionally, our society sees
addiction as a noble affliction and denies that self-recovery is possible. As a
result, society does not reward, and sometimes punishes, people who accept
personal responsibility for their addictions and their recovery.
Realize
that, if your environment has changed because of your addiction, all is not
lost.
