self-recovery from addiction

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.

Self Improvement

External factors do tend to influence the quality of one's life but we cannot always control or change our environment. However, having increased levels of self awareness can change one's destiny. Consciously making efforts to perceive unfavorable circumstances in a positive light and altering our attitude towards unexpected negative incidents reduces the impact that such occurrences have on our existence.

The important thing is to spend more time on introspection as opposed to wasting time trying to resolve external conflicts and situations. Introspection is the act of looking within oneself and identifying one's strengths and weaknesses. Every individual has their own set of positive and negative traits, so there is no point for a person to constantly indulge in comparing them self with others around them. Many times, upon facing hardships or struggles, certain defense mechanisms that are part of an individual's inherent nature, tend to get unconsciously activated. 

In The Shadows

They no longer need to stay in the shadows and to watch men achieve what they want to achieve. Success

If one was to think about people who are successful, there is a strong chance that they won't just think about men. Whether one was to think about the people they know or the people they see in the public eye, they are likely to think about people from each gender.

It won't matter what one classes as success; as there will be people out there from both genders who match up with their definition.

If one started off with a silver spoon in their mouth, it is not going to be possible for them to say they are self-made.

Support

If the financial support wasn't there, it could have meant that one was supported in others ways. Guidance In the beginning of their life, they may have been given the guidance that they needed in order to learn a certain skill. Self-Made

Proud Assistance

One is an interdependent human being and this means they need other people. This assistance could have come about through reading books, having different mentors, speaking to people and taking courses, among others things. Each of these factors (along with many others) will have played a part in who one has become and what they have achieved.

Actors

When one watches a film, they can come to the conclusion that it is all about the actors. As these are the people who one sees on the big screen, this is to be expected. The Illusion However, when people come out and say that they are self-made in daily life, they are often believed.