A common question is ‘why me?’ Why don’t all people suffer with addictive behaviours? After all, we all have habits which we enjoy but when does a pastime become an addiction or indeed an actual problem?
Most people enjoy some kind of vice; be it that glass of wine in the evening, occasional cigarette, guilty shopping spree, a flutter on the races or that cheeky ‘livener ‘on a night out so when do these pleasures stop being a pleasure and become problematic?
The answer to that in simple terms is that genuinely happy people have fewer addictions.
It is true that statistically a high proportion of young people will use alcohol or recreational drugs from the age of 16 – 30 on a fairly regular basis, however the proportion of adults aged 32+ using the same substances is much lower. Typically this is when people tend to ‘settle down’ into long term relationships and begin families of their own. When the fundamentals of happiness are not there then addiction is a real risk.
The excitement that we get when we want to do something is produced by dopamine, a natural brain chemical (very like cocaine in its effect). This raises our emotional levels so that we want to take action. The warm feelings of satisfaction we get after doing something; eating, laughing, having sex, or achieving some new understanding or skill are produced by endorphin, another natural substance (which is similar to heroin). Working together these chemicals keep us interested in doing the biological functions that preserve the human species, and stretch each one of us to learn and achieve.
In a well-balanced life, a reasonable amount of natural reward is felt by the human every day, but in a life where essential emotional needs are not met and abilities are not stretched, the rewards do not come and life feels flat and meaningless. This kind of life is rich territory for addictions to flourish, as every addictive substance or behaviour either stimulates a reward mechanism or provides a chemical reward directly.
Addictions can be beaten. Addiction can be overcome without necessarily becoming dependent on a recovery group and without having to consider yourself as an ‘addict’ for the rest of your life.
To get away from addictive behaviour it is necessary to understand two things: the way these reward mechanisms work, and the way life should be lived in order to receive the natural highs that make addictive activities less attractive. Take a look at my FREE download ‘The 7 secrets to overcoming addiction’ found on the homepage of my website to learn more!
Nicola Beattie, www.axeingaddictions.co.uk
