The ContrAddiction Thread
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Join Date: Dec 2016
Location: Northwest U.S.
Posts: 778
The ContrAddiction Thread
Let's see what sort of crazy contradictions arise as a result of addiction.
Here are a couple:
It is very common for the alcoholic to claim that he is scared to quit and the idea of quitting forever is extraordinarily daunting, yet, the alcoholic knows, with near certainty, that alcoholism will kill him. You would think that living sober would be a lot less scary than death by alcohol.
Addicts are inherently selfish - the addiction comes before jobs, family and friends. Yet, when addicts attempt to quit, they often struggle with the idea that they need to do it for themselves. The one time where selfishness is healthy, we tend to shy away from it.
And ... the most obvious: we drink to reduce or avoid stress knowing full well that, instead, our drinking simply exacerbates our stress.
Please add to my list!
Here are a couple:
It is very common for the alcoholic to claim that he is scared to quit and the idea of quitting forever is extraordinarily daunting, yet, the alcoholic knows, with near certainty, that alcoholism will kill him. You would think that living sober would be a lot less scary than death by alcohol.
Addicts are inherently selfish - the addiction comes before jobs, family and friends. Yet, when addicts attempt to quit, they often struggle with the idea that they need to do it for themselves. The one time where selfishness is healthy, we tend to shy away from it.
And ... the most obvious: we drink to reduce or avoid stress knowing full well that, instead, our drinking simply exacerbates our stress.
Please add to my list!
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Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Athens, Georgia
Posts: 962
I copied this from a post I saw quite a while back:
The Lies of our Addiction
We drank for happiness and became unhappy.
We drank for joy and became miserable.
We drank for sociability and became argumentative.
We drank for sophistication and became obnoxious.
We drank for friendship and made enemies.
We drank for sleep and awakened without rest.
We drank medicinally and acquired health problems.
We drank for relaxation and got the shakes.
We drank for bravery and became afraid.
We drank for confidence and became doubtful.
We drank to make our conversation easier and we slurred our speech.
We drank to feel heavenly and ended up feeling like hell.
We drank to forget and were forever haunted.
We drank for freedom and became slaves.
We drank to erase problems and saw them multiply.
We drank to cope with life and invited death.
RDBplus3
The Lies of our Addiction
We drank for happiness and became unhappy.
We drank for joy and became miserable.
We drank for sociability and became argumentative.
We drank for sophistication and became obnoxious.
We drank for friendship and made enemies.
We drank for sleep and awakened without rest.
We drank medicinally and acquired health problems.
We drank for relaxation and got the shakes.
We drank for bravery and became afraid.
We drank for confidence and became doubtful.
We drank to make our conversation easier and we slurred our speech.
We drank to feel heavenly and ended up feeling like hell.
We drank to forget and were forever haunted.
We drank for freedom and became slaves.
We drank to erase problems and saw them multiply.
We drank to cope with life and invited death.
RDBplus3
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Join Date: Oct 2016
Location: Europe
Posts: 523
I don't know if I'd call all addicts selfish. Yes, addiction comes before jobs, families and other parts of life but that's not because the addict chose to make it first priority. It's not like any addict I know woke up one morning and decided to make his or her DOC first priority. It's because our bodies and brains get hijacked by the drug. So our body is telling us that we need it in order to survive.
And that's where the fear of quitting comes from. Active addicts can't imagine life without their drug. And for some, quitting without medical help would also end their lives. Learning to live sober often comes with a lot of physical and emotional pain and distress in the beginning and that can seem scarier than death to some.
I'm not completely disagreeing with your post but it think addiction is extremely complex and that's why it's not always as black and white.
And that's where the fear of quitting comes from. Active addicts can't imagine life without their drug. And for some, quitting without medical help would also end their lives. Learning to live sober often comes with a lot of physical and emotional pain and distress in the beginning and that can seem scarier than death to some.
I'm not completely disagreeing with your post but it think addiction is extremely complex and that's why it's not always as black and white.
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Join Date: Nov 2016
Posts: 782
Originally Posted by kevlarsjal 
I don't know if I'd call all addicts selfish. Yes, addiction comes before jobs, families and other parts of life but that's not because the addict chose to make it first priority. It's not like any addict I know woke up one morning and decided to make his or her DOC first priority. It's because our bodies and brains get hijacked by the drug. So our body is telling us that we need it in order to survive.
And that's where the fear of quitting comes from. Active addicts can't imagine life without their drug. And for some, quitting without medical help would also end their lives. Learning to live sober often comes with a lot of physical and emotional pain and distress in the beginning and that can seem scarier than death to some.
I'm not completely disagreeing with your post but it think addiction is extremely complex and that's why it's not always as black and white.
And that's where the fear of quitting comes from. Active addicts can't imagine life without their drug. And for some, quitting without medical help would also end their lives. Learning to live sober often comes with a lot of physical and emotional pain and distress in the beginning and that can seem scarier than death to some.
I'm not completely disagreeing with your post but it think addiction is extremely complex and that's why it's not always as black and white.
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