Triumphing Over Addiction

When most of us think of addiction, our minds think of alcohol and drugs. Yes, drugs and alcohol addictions will completely destroy a life and even the lives around those who are addicted. However, addictions can take all kinds of forms through someone's life. Eating, over spending, sex, and even exercise can all be addicting when a person becomes too dependent on them and uses theses things to fill some other emptiness a person feels he or she has in their lives.

Many addictions can be harnessed and maintained through active help and support from others. There are support groups of all kinds today, and if you think you have a problem with something, these support groups can really help you get through some hard times. Some addictions are to hard to stop with the help of others and if this is the case in your life, there are many residential treatment centers today where one can go and get the medical treatment they need to stop using a chemical substance.

When people start using drugs or alcohol, they don't think there will ever be a day when they can't say no. Many people abuse substances to cover or block out feelings that hurt or make them feel a certain way. Whether it's a childhood hurt, or a present pain they feel is unbearable. Feelings are not all good all the time but when we do go through bad times, the use of drugs and alcohol really only prolongs these feelings. If we deal with them as they come along, they really don't stay long and we come out on the other side a bit stronger for it.

Alcohol and drugs do have the ability to make a person feel good, in the beginning anyway. That's why the phrase "just say no" really didn't work. Most people feel emotionally bad at times and it human nature to want to feel better. Our bodies naturally produce good feeling endorphins but when certain chemicals are introduced into our systems they can cause an overload of these endorphins into our systems making us feel great.

Because addictions are so strong physically as well as emotionally, one will have to retrain their thought process and re-learn how to cope with everyday life. It's very possible to do, although it will take a very strong commitment to stay sober no matter what. By having a support system, one can learn from the others that have gone through this before how to retrain their way of thinking, and it really helps to many to be able to call on someone to help them through the really hard times.

After a while the drug or alcohol that used to work and make us feel good, only gives us the ability to function to some degree of normalcy today. Without using we are useless and can do nothing. If you are tired of living this way, please get help. There are free services everywhere and there are 800 numbers all over. You can be free from drug abuse, it takes courage and strength, but with the help of others who want to be there for you, you will find the strength you need to get through the hardest of times.