Thursday, February 26, 2009

Addictions and life


You know you have an addiction when you can't stop thinking about it. Your mind continuously ponders over it and you lie in bed, reliving the addiction over and over in your head. And when the morning comes, your body, mind and soul feels unrested and unrejuvenated. Yet all you can think of now is to go ahead and feed your addiction.

All of us human beings have addictions. So what is an addiction? It is merely an obsession, compulsion, or excessive physical or psychological dependence such as: drug addiction, video games, crime, alcoholism, compulsive overeating, computer, pornography, etc. Often it is viewed negatively because over time our body relies on it for normal functioning and after awhile we develop a physical dependance or withdrawal symptoms when that drug or substance is removed from our presence. It is basically a recurring compulsion by an individual to engage in an activity despite harmful consequences to the individual's health, mental state or social life.

Not all addictions are entirely that bad. Often they start off innocently. Take for example dieting. The main goal of dieting is to lose weight in the prospect of better physical health such as a more ideal weight, lowers triglyceride and blood glucose levels and to decrease the chances of cardiovascular disease. This is more appropiate for an older individual but in a young person, dieting could be targeted at a better figure in the hopes of becoming more attractive/desirable to the opposite gender or just for self-vanity or a boost to one's own self-esteem. At first the individual is successful and he/she becomes pleased with the results which is greatly reinforced by other's praises and compliments. And so the individual concludes that he/she had made the right decision for change. This may stop and come to an abrupt halt or the individual decides to take it one step further. And another step further. Soon the dieting addiction no longer becomes a hobby or pleasurable, it consumes the individual like a parasite leeching the very life force out of the individual. The person becomes obsessed with food, weight, numbers on the scale, exercise and not a day passes by when he/she is not free from this bitter battle that rages on his/her mind. He/she shuns out his social life, family members, career/education in the pursuit of fueling his addiction/obsession. Why? Because he/she is no longer in control, the addiction now controls him/her. What started out as something so seductive and enluring has evolved into something so sinister, enpowering and most of all inescapable. It has developed into an eating disorder. There are only 2 options to conclude this bitter tragedy; 1)the individual may be in denial and try at all costs to protect his/her addiction and therefore the addiction grows even stronger and the individual weaker, 2) the individual finally stops and realises that the addiction he once held onto like a trusted companion or a safety net as wicked and evil and decides to stand up and fight against it to save himself from drowning in its clutches. That's where medical care comes in. A doctor once asked me what is the difference between someone drowning and depression/addiction? The feelings are exactly the same except that you can't see it in the individual with depression/addiction. And I asked the doctor, 'So where do antidepressants come into play?' He replied that 'Antidepressants are the safety line that holds up the individual preventing him/her from sinking. Without them, what's the benefit/point of utilising a psychological approach?' Haha, no wonder Prozac is the best-selling antidepressant world-wide since 1987 and psychiatrists are filthy rich (The annual salary for psychiatrists ranges from US $173,800 to $265,000).

Note: This post is just a random one, I am not in any way affliated with it.

1 comment:

  1. It really is unfortunate when a person ends up in such a situation. what started off as something mild and eventually take control over the person is something serious & has to be dealt with immediately. NO ONE should ever let anything take away what they have strived so hard to achieve in life like their career, their achievements in study, all their hard work to be what they are today. Why should any one let something take control of him/her until he/she lose his/her own existence? Why lose everything one have in life for that?IT IS AN ENEMY , FIGHT IT !yOU CAN'T SEE IT , IT'S ALL IN THE MIND. When there is a will there is a way.this obession can be overcome and that person should do everything possible to fight it before it takes over him/her. If not that person will just be a person with NO SPIRIT AND SOUL ! There is no 2way about this problem. THE PERSON HAS TO FIGHT!When there is a will there is a way.

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