adore79

Hi all,

Do you believe yourself to have a personality that is prone to addiction? the addiction may not even be drinking or drugging but maybe bad habits (like me who has been chewing her finger nails since childhood.) lately ive been trying to take stalk of my everyday behaviors looking for any paterns that might be unhealthy. Many people who manage to quit one addiction will replace it with another. It doesnt even have to be an addiction to chemicals: it could be gambling or sex or video games or even exercise- which may not be that bad but....

Quitting addiction is, like many here will tell you, not only about not picking up. changes to your lifestyle and behavior and thinking are needed. New activities are needed. Many things to fill the void that alcohol/drugs filled for a long time.

its a daunting but possible task and I just wanted to write this in case anyone here hadnt thought about it yet, being so new in recovery as they might be and doing all they can to just stay sober another hour or day. i remember doing that and so many times i felt it was completely useless and that even if i did quit life will would still suck anyway. Well it does still suck in many ways but the difference now is that i am sober so I am more capable of working towards making things better instead of ignoring everything and drinking instead. Many things mentally and physically became clear and light to me with some sober time including a huge boost to my self esteem. I figure since I could stay over two years sober that there isnt much left in life that is more difficult, so i can handle it whatever it may be.

Thanks for reading my rambling post!

Dee74

Hi Adore - good to see you - merry xmas!

I gave up a lot of things over the years - only to replace them with other things...

this time, I worked on not filling the void, but healing it

I'm always a work in progress - I'm still a little prone to obsession, but I try to make those obsessions positive ones now, not negative ones

D

Terminally Unique

To be perfectly honest, I am at times very tempted to think so, but looking around at your average recovery group overwhelms such a simple assumption. There are simply too many kinds of people, from all sorts of backgrounds, who become addicted. It can happen to anyone.

Gerbosko

Yes, last week I bought egg nog every single day for a week LOL. Even though I laugh at this, it does show how easily one can become addicted to something. I was told by my mother that the family has a history of addictive personalities.

cuyootoo

This is very true. ???How to enjoy those changes??? I must be changed on the inside to enjoy change on the outside. To rediscover the authentic self that was lost before the nightmare of alcoholism set in, to heal wounds that led me into the trap of addiction to alcohol, to trust people again, to help others along in their recovery, these things will help me to change on the inside and outside and enjoy the change.

I am thinking of that quote, "free your mind and your ass will follow" Sometimes I look through the telescope backwards.

hungryandhollow

This is my first post ever on this site (and my first time actually using an internet forum), so please be kind. I often wonder if I'm prone to addiction, being that I seem to take to myriad drugs depending on my state in life, but as of late I have begin to think that maybe my addictions are more a symptom of my overall character trait of being a hedonist; maybe I'm just selfish in valuing present pleasure over long term bodily/financial/familial responsibility. In college I smoked weed. After that it was percocet. After that it was alcohol. Now its oxycontin. At this point I should probably point out that I have yet to enter a recovery stage. Right now I am on my last bit of oxy I can afford (this addiction is particularly draining financially) and I know that in two days I will be in terrible pain. But I know I have no choice but to quit now. I guess whether I'm prone to addiction or just selfish in pursuing immediate pleasure, the end result is the same. I only wish I could transform my current addiction into a safer, less destructive one, such as exercise.

StPeteGrad

If you told me jamming sand up my butt would get me high you'd find me living at the beach.

I know I have an addictive personality. When I was in high school it exercise - chasing the "runner's high." I chewed tobacco once when I was 18 and quit just 6 weeks ago - 23 years later. I took my first drink and was addicted immediately. I wasn't drinking constantly right away but was always thinking about it.

There is something broken in my brain. I can't fix it, but I can learn to live with it and in spite of it.