After all we know about addiction, there
are still some people out there who view addiction strictly as a choice. This
would be in the sense that people who are addicted could simply just choose to
stop in order to get better and that’s all it takes. The following illustration
can help some people understand things a little better because it makes a
reference to food, which is something that almost everyone can clearly identify
with.
There are some people out there who
naturally have good self-control with food. These fortunate people can eat until
they are full then simply stop eating any more than that, without effort.
However, in the US and most developed countries, the vast majority of people
understand the struggles associated with food. A large percentage of people in
the world today get what it is like to wrestle with the feeling of knowing that
you already ate enough, but still wanting to eat more and at times acting on
those impulses and cravings by overeating. With that in mind, if addiction is a
choice, how much more so should eating be dictated by choice? Based on the
“addiction is a choice” mindset, no one in the world should ever be overweight
because shouldn’t everyone just be able to choose not to overeat? Shouldn’t
everyone have the self-control to just say “I’m done” when they reached the
optimal calorie intake at a meal? Of course not! Millions of individuals
struggle with their weight in this world because it is not easy to just make
the choice and say “I’ve had enough” when it comes to being done eating,
otherwise there would be no overweight people – everyone would be thin. Therefore,
when you consider addiction one can understand how hard it is for someone to
simply “choose” to stop using addicting substances because they have “had
enough”. It’s just not that simple! .Losing control is at the heart of what
addiction is all about. Anyone who thinks that addiction is purely based on
choice alone is misguided.
“I know I am full, but I just want one more
delicious slice!”
-Almost everyone in the world understands
this struggle;
So why can’t everyone have more compassion
and empathy to try to understand addiction?
Nevertheless, in the change process, when
overcoming addiction, there are many important lifestyle choices to be made
along the way. Choosing new ways to cope and actively choosing new positive
support systems and associations are part of this process. Choosing to seek
help or take medication can be another important choice for addiction and
mental health. The change process involves making a series of many critical
choices that often have to be learned over time and with ongoing effort and
practice on a daily basis.
Getting back to the food illustration, when
most people try to lose weight, they rarely make just one blanket choice and
say “I am going to eat less and work out” and then the pounds just steadily
start dropping off from that day forward. In reality, for most people, when
losing weight, each individual meal and each individual snack involves choice
with regard to what is consumed, how much is eaten and how often. On good days
the person dieting may choose a salad and sparkling water for lunch but on an
occasional tough day he or she may choose the double cheeseburger with fries
and chocolate milkshake. Exercising each day requires a renewed choice to go to
the gym or go for a run or choose another calorie burning endeavor. Some days
that choice comes easily but on others it can be extremely difficult. Some days
it may be a 45 minute workout and other days it may just end up to be a nap on
the couch.
The same is true with addiction: In 99.99%
of cases, a person rarely wakes up one day and makes the choice to stop using
and then just proceeds to live happily ever after going forward. Rather, as
each day passes there are choices to be made about using or not using, giving
in to or resisting cravings, using new coping skills or going back to the old
habit of self-medicating, avoiding negative places or taking risks and going
back to high risk areas and associates. Instead, positive change with addiction
is a process. An eventual positive
outcome is the culmination of many, many little daily choices made day by day,
even hour by hour. This process often involves making some good choices but at
times having setbacks and making some not so good choices, but all the while, still
moving forward and learning from these mistakes in judgement.
So the conclusion is that most people can
understand that physically getting into shape is not as simple as just choosing
to eat less otherwise no one would have weight struggles. So why should we
expect anything different with addiction which can be so much more difficult
than losing a few pounds on a diet for the average person. Addiction itself is
not defined by a single yes/no choice.
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Nice to read this article.....
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