View Single Post
Old 12-28-2016, 11:44 AM
  # 22 (permalink)  
Gottalife
12 Step Recovered Alcoholic
 
Gottalife's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: New Zealand
Posts: 6,613
Greed: noun, overwhelming desire for more.
Synonyms include gluttony, selfishness, excess and craving.

Without giving it too much weight, greed or selfishness seems to be a well recognised characteristic of the alcoholic. It may be different for addicts, I wouldn't know.

Many years ago a well respected member of the medical community described the 12 steps of AA as a very good means of turning "greedy self lovers into generous other lovers". Quite a shocking choice of words, but medical people can be like that. My medical file contains similar words, like grandiose, arrogant, squalor, self centred. Not nice reading, but it was all true, and the truth is not always comfortable.

In fact, avoiding the truth had become a full time job for me. Unwilling to face it, I wanted life to be one long party. And of course every time I drank I had an overwhelming desire for more. This definition of greed fits me quite well.
Gottalife is offline