One of the first realities I wish my reader to understand is that not all addictions are harmful. In that, because
man was created in the image of the source of his being, whom I chose to call "God," man is therefore, a spirit
being having a human experience. He is prone to fear which causes him confusion. How he learns to cope with
his fears is the key to his development.
The sub-conscious mind dictates how people react to various fear based stimulations. Often it appears that
harms done in childhood play a key factor in a persons ability to cope with stress in later life, whatever we
believe removes the pain, is what we naturally continue to use.
If inflecting physical pain on ourselves gained us attention from others and appears to alleviate our emotional
pain, we continue to inflect physical pain on ourselves hoping for the same outcome. If eating allows us to feel
complete, or whole, we become addicted to food as the source of our healing or protection from the pain.
If sex makes us feel complete, we become sexually over active. If shopping or material possessions fills the
empty void, we become addicted to materialism. If chance taking is our temporary way of staving off pain and
sorrow, we become addicted to gaming.
There is a war going on between two separate entities, who battle for the soul of all the people of the earth. One
is allowed to trick us in order to keep us dependent on the material world, whereas, the other desires us to
return to the spirit world.
When most discover the true harms imposed by the various addictions that humans engage in, one of the first
places they visit is the spiritual realm to find relief from the addition and to better understand where the pain is
coming from.
However, with the advent of various ideals of what religion is, many become even further confused as to how
they should feel, if they are now doing all the right things, going to the correct places, hanging out with the right
people, going to the proper places and desiring the things that are healthy for them. Often this confusion causes
us to give up and return to what worked before.
Therefore, religion is not the answer, but rather, is often the cause of relapse. In that, we are all religious
people. We religiously get up each morning to drink coffee, eat, smoke, brush our teeth and perform a host of
rituals to start our days. Religion, therefore, is what leads us back to the old ways of thinking and doing the
same thing over and over again.
Where there was once a personal relationship with God, a hole has formed that beckons to be filled. Adverse
addictions then rally to be a substitute in place of that relationship. Therefore, one must understand that no form
of religion can substitute for a personal relationship with God, because self-determination will aways fail if not
backed up with divine intervention.
Adverse addictions have been allowed control through both the physical as well as the psychological
passageway from the time our spirit moved into bodies. (An excellent e-book that teaches us how to use humor to
overcome stress HERE)
When an individual seeks to denounce an adverse addiction, or better stated to replace a harmful addiction with
a healthy or beneficial addiction, cravings or desires for the unhealthy addictions constantly grow stronger to
regain their control, until a stronger willingness denounces their hold upon us.
However, cravings or desires will never totally subside in our present state of development. They can be better
managed if given signs to recognize their triggers, but never totally arrested. Whether a person is addicted to
gaming, food, lack of food, shopping, unlawful sex, self-will, drugs or a host of other adverse addictions, these
triggers are all related.
During the process of recovery one must stay accountable to others in order to allow enough space and time
between the symptoms of relapse and recovery. Between these two objectives there will be the cravings that all
addicts must face in this fight for their very souls.
Listed below is a group of facts to aid in this life and death struggle;
1. Cravings are a byproduct of all forms of addiction. They usually continue on and off well after physical
withdrawal from addictions are complete.
2. Cravings can be stimulated or triggered automatically if a recovering person experiences certain situations
that were strongly associated with his/her patterns of former use. (Examples; A certain smell, feeling, place, even
a color can trigger the sub-conscious mind into becoming fearful or careless.)
3. For an addict, occasional use, even with milder forms of their former addiction (s) tends to keep the craving
triggers alive. This is why controlled use, such as, “I’ll just engage my addiction one more time for old time sake”
is not only dangerous, but will lead back to a full blow relapse, simply because once an addict always an addict
out of control. Cravings are like fire, they are just too powerful to toy with.
4. Gradually being exposed to craving situations and not using, with the help of strong support and good
planning, can work to weaken or extinguish the triggers.
5. Therefore, complete abstinence, which means not using at all, is the surest and quickest way to reduce the
craving for good.
6. Certain old triggers that have not been properly dealt with, such as the “old neighborhood” you return to for
the first time in years, can remain strong even after years of abstinence. Even certain smells, emotions, people,
places and things can cause relapse. Just like the cowboy walking through the horse barn, one must be careful
where one steps!
7. Determination and willpower are poor defenses against craving. Change your lifestyle, gain new friends and
support. Learn new ways to relax and have fun. Find new ways of becoming a healthy productive and growing
person. Join a club, a Bible formed church void of its own agenda, find a twelve step meeting. Do everything you
can to take your mind off of the cravings, besides creating a new and harmful addiction along the way! This can
reduce cravings and their dangers. Real strength grows with time, work, guidance, and support.
8. You might slip. If that happens, get back on the recovery road IMNEDIATELY. You should have a plan to
follow if you do slip. A slip does not mean that you have failed or have wasted your efforts. It simply means that
you must learn from it and will probably need to make a better plan to get more support.
9. Even though adverse craving are a natural occurrence in our fallen condition, you have been granted the
power of choice. You can take steps now to reduce addictions power over you. It has been conquered. You now
have a choice. You can either remain addictions willing victim, or you can allow the power of the Great Conquer
to overcome material desires for you. However, it is up to you to decide!
If you believe that relapsing will gain you attention, and you feel the need to be attended to, the world is filled
with co-dependent people. These co-dependent people desire to keep you sick in order for them to feel better
about themselves. Therefore, if you wish to dance, they will lead you back to the gates of your hell.
If you give yourself a reason to relapse, you will relapse. Period! Play the tape out. Remind yourself that it
is humanly impossible to manage an adverse addiction. Ask yourself if you really want to go back to that dark
and lonely place again. Better yet, take it one day at a time. Even better yet, set an alarm to go off in twenty
minutes. You just managed to stay free from addictions grip for twenty minutes. Now set the alarm again and do
not stop until the craving is gone. Before the day is over, you will have a day free from your captor. Some days
are going to be harder than others, but rest assured there is hope waiting for you to ask for guidance.
Think about not using. Write down everything you can remember about the havoc your addiction, your self-will
has caused you and your loved ones. Now make a list of all the things you could have done in the time you
wasted chasing your addiction. Write down your plans to spend that same time, money and effort to do
something fun. Dream big! Just be realistic. No trips to the moon!
Each time you feel the addiction monster tugging on your ear, ask "God" to rebuke the tempter. You just filled
your entire day, and after a few more days of this you will begin the way your sub-conscious mind focuses on the
spiritual mind, rather than continuing to stagnate in the material realm.
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