An addiction is something you believe you are charge of, when in reality you aren’t. It has power over you that you cannot see or accept. Even if others bring it to your attention, you likely deny it.
We can be addicted to substances, behaviours and people. Some substances have a strong biological pull on your body and when you don’t have them, you go through severe withdrawal symptoms.
For such physically addictive substances, if you can’t stay away from them, stay away from people who indulge in them. This is hard but you can build up your ability to stay sober through support groups like Alcoholics Anonymous, Women For Sobriety or Men For Sobriety. By being honest with counselors, family or friends, you can start to face your problem.
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Contact these people or groups when you feel the urge to take the substance, but haven’t done so yet. If you talk to someone first, you may get past the hump of that intense urge of addictions. This isn’t a permanent cure. It only gets you over one of the many temptations to relapse that you will experience.
Problem cravings
Few people walk around craving an addictive substance all the time. But when the craving comes, and it can come at any time, it is often intense. Meeting that craving becomes the focus of a person’s thinking. Anything that distracts him from those thoughts can help him avoid giving in to it.
One Saturday afternoon I was driving home from the grocery store when my cell phone rang. One of my clients told me he had a strong desire to drink. He had met some of his old drinking buddies in the afternoon and the urge to go drinking was strong. I asked him if he could hold off for about an hour and a half until we could we meet at a coffee shop. He was able and we met and had coffee for about half an hour. Not only did he not feel the urge to go partying and drinking, but that urge had disappeared minutes after talking to me on the phone.
To keep in charge of yourself, keep the following in the back of your brain: Am I going to be better off in the long run financially, emotionally, physically if I give in? What will I give up by giving in to the craving? I need to recognize how valuable those other needs are to me.
If anyone wants to talk to me about a substance addiction in his or her life, I can be reached at 306-764-5067 or by e-mail at petergrif@sasktel.net.
Peter Griffiths is a mental health counsellor based in Prince Albert, Sask. His columns are intended as general advice only. His website is www.sasktelwebsite.net/petecope.
