Addiction has run rampant, but it’s nothing new. Since the beginning of time, countless people have struggled with addiction. While some get on the road to recovery to improve their lives, many end up living in the dark for most of their life.
Many experts say that addiction is so widespread simply because people don’t like to feel pain or emptiness, so they reach for things that will help them feel better. Others assert that the brain is to blame, as its neurotransmitters go into high gear when it experiences a good buzz and starts to crave for more.
Regardless of the scientific explanations, I’d like to pose a few questions: What if addiction is simply your wake-up call? What if it’s your soul’s way of trying to get your attention? Will you set aside some quiet time to listen to what’s truly going on inside of you?
A Time to Tend to the Soul
For me, reaching the point of addiction made me realize that I had been using my substance of choice to escape the deep pain and old wounds from my childhood. I never had the chance to deal with them, but I knew I just didn’t want to feel inner pain any longer. I didn’t realize I had spent decades of my life harboring my negative childhood emotions, stuffing them deep down in hopes that I would get some relief.
My addiction was my wake up call. It was instrumental in my decision to finally stop and tend to a lot of my inner pain, emptiness and old wounds. I realized that my addiction did not help me one bit and the amount of pain it added onto my life edged me on to begin a journey towards healing and recovery. Looking back, I now know that my addiction was my spirit reaching out, begging that I rediscover who I am at my core so that I may finally find the freedom and inner peace I had been craving my whole life.
Starting the Journey to Recovery
If you’re living in addiction, it’s time to take some time to really think about your life. Perhaps you’ve gotten so used to the weight of your emotional burden that you’ve forgotten what it was like to be free. Listen in and pay attention to what your spirit is telling you.
For many addicts, the journey to inner peace begins with admitting that they have a problem, then deciding that they now want something different. However, from my experience, that wasn’t enough to see me all the way through recovery. When I tried to do it alone, I failed time and time again. It wasn’t until I started to reach out for help and harnessed my spiritual strength that I saw progress.
Once you recognize your addiction as a wake-up call, the healing process will likely still take some time and effort. However, it just may give you the opportunity to finally stop running away and allow you to reach a level of peace and joy you haven’t felt in a very long time.
If you or someone you know is seeking help from addiction, please visit our directory of treatment centers or call 866-606-0182 to start the path to recovery today.
