Thanks for sharing your insight Lynn!
It sounds like awareness of addiction and how it effects our thinking is key to overcoming it. I totally agree. That's why I think talking about it and working with like minded people can be so helpful. Support groups work so well for this very reason. The hard work is done individually though.
It's always so helpful to read from you! Thanks for posting.
Ashley
Ashley,
Those are great, thought-provoking questions. I can only speak from my experiences, but doing it for someone else will not be sustained over time. For me, giving up the addiction was recognizing that it was just that, an addiction. It was something that wouldn't just go away. It would be a lifelong battle if I were fortunate enough to gain some control of it and not drink.
The lifelong battle becomes hard when denial makes you question what you are doing. How does alcohol play with the mind like that when it could be years out from having a drink?
Congratulations to those with decades of sobriety AND those with one day of sobriety.
This is so true! Plus, you have to want to do it for yourself. Often pressure from other people does not help and sometimes can be counterproductive.
So, I guess the question is, how do you convince yourself you want to give up the addiction? How do you push past denial? How do you put yourself and your health first?
Ashley
I don't know who to credit for this statement, but it is so true:
The hardest part of giving up an addiction is wanting to give up the addiction.
