Some people seem to be more prone to addictions than others. There can be various causes for this, such as environmental influence and genetics, and addiction is probably caused by a combination of these. An addictive personality may be addicted to different things, which affects the treatment of addiction importantly. Recovery is based on getting to know one’s addictive personality and taking the steps that are needed to get rid of addictive attitudes, beliefs, values and behavior. For example, if someone is addicted to alcohol, it is not enough to quit drinking alcohol but one has to realize at the same time the need for monitoring the whole addictive part of themselves – otherwise it is possible that the original addiction is just replaced with another addiction, such as food.
It seems quite obvious that there is something in our modern society that makes it easy to get addicted. The capitalist system is based on consuming and constant growth. People are competing with each other by shopping different material things to enhance their social status. Trying to get more and more money and buying things that a person doesn’t genuinely need are fine examples of an addiction and our society seems to push people towards this kind of behavior. Also it is very common for young people to escape the reality quite often by using different substances, which probably is a sign of something.
My personal view on the subject is that addictions often start when people are trying to fill a hole in their lives, in other words feeling empty or depressed. Then it is easy to find a fast solution with instant gratification from buying new clothes (women) or getting drunk (guys). First thing that an addictive person should start thinking is whether there are some basic things wrong in his/her life. Is the fast-paced career really making people happy? Is more expensive car or über-expensive sofa system really making the life worth living? How would the life be if one stopped competing with others and started focusing on different life values and activities that are healthy and make one feel good inside? Even if this would mean driving cheaper car, wouldn’t it be easy to find more meaningful things to live for?
When a human being is living for the values that are good for him in the long run, it is much easier to find motivation in life. One finds meaning for everything he/she does and gets things done more effectively, which leads to true long-term rewards instead of the fast and disappearing instant gratification. Usually it is important to have bigger long term goals that really feel worth accomplishing and it is very hard to motivate for these if they are not in line with one’s genuine values, passions and life purpose.
To succeed with the big change that getting rid of an addiction usually brings to life, it is good to have different resources and support from close people. Also getting rid of people who might push back to the old bad habits is a good idea. If you are for example addicted to weekend drinking and feel that it takes away your energy and motivation, try this: Force yourself to not go out or drink alcohol this weekend, but at the same time try to do things that you really enjoy doing that contribute to the society and other people somehow. Do something good for other people, make some art, start writing a book or an online blog, start a new hobby – express your true self to the world, don’t hide yourself behind alcohol or other substances. The most important thing is that you finally start doing the things in life that can get you into the flow state and you enjoy doing the most, but you for some reason haven’t done in a long time. It will help you to find good feelings outside the addictive behavior. At first it takes some discipline to adapt your brain into the new habits, but in time it will get easier and the new activities will become a part of your life and help to replace the empty feelings that were the main reason for addictive behavior in the first place.
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