Good video on urges. Reminds me of a recent visit to the store:
A mother was shopping with her child in a grocery cart. The child was out of control with his emotions and wanted, for lack of a better expression, “To Feel Good.” He was feeding his emotional urge. The mother calmed him right down by
replacing his object of desire with some other toy in her purse. (Presumably something more healthy that the child valued).
The epiphany moment was when I saw myself. I want
control of my circumstances in life and when I don’t get them right away I have a tendency to seek the quick fix of drugs and alcohol in order to regain control over my emotions. When it comes to substance abuse, we are all just big children.
We all want to experience happiness in our lives, we want to be in control, because theperception of control, makes us feel good. Regardless of age, we all seek emotional happiness, control of how we feel. We are all driven to seek the neurochemical reward of happiness. All human behavior is driven by the pursuit of happiness (reward) and that, when we choose a specific behavior, we do so because we see it as our, "best available option for happiness, at a given moment in time." Sometimes, we choose what we think is our best available option for happiness, in unhealthy ways, with substances and other corrupt behaviors. We choose quick rewards, ignoring long term gains. When good values replace our addictions, we have meaning in life. We don't need alcohol or drugs. Galatians 5:22-23 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love,
joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness,
self-control. Against such there is no law.”