Advancement or Death Sentence?

Addiction is so widespread, so rampant these days.
I don't believe it's simply because we're so virtually
well-connected (that we now are privy to statistics
we didn't have before) that we know this....in fact
just the opposite.

I think our advancing compulsivity and cross-addicted
nature as a society, our relentless feeding of habits,
is being fueled in large part from over-exposure.

Over-exposure to information, as our brains are
only capable of dealing with and processing so
much.

Overly easy access to anything we want, any
hour of the day or night. Temptations exist and
secrecy abounds in a tech-savvy world of cell
phones, computers, Internet hookups, and secret
connections.

A lot of rhetoric and lip service is given these
days to the technical overload of our modern lives,
but the harsh reality of these legitimate stresses
and continued pressures is building. There's a
double threat; increased exposure to negativity,
temptation, and vice, and the emotional and
physical isolation of overuse of technology
(addiction to computers, online gambling, pornography,
television, and other mood-altering escapist tendencies.)

Like with all addiction, the vehicle for the 'cure' is a
part of the initial problem!

The threat is not merely burnout (which, in itself,
leaves one open to addiction and further compulsivity,)
but rather the residual effect of the information, the
lifestyle, the sped-up living.

We were not meant to do everything.
We were not meant to understand everything.
We were not meant to know the amount of information
we are exposed to.
We were not meant to go-go-go, non-stop, always on,
never disconnected from things.
The technological dependence of our times has
accelerated and aggravated both extremes of this muddled
issue; hyperconnectedness, and disconnectedness.

Our minds and psyches have not had ample time--
just like our society--to adapt to the rapid-growth techno
changes that have occurred.

Life has become more complicated than it always was
as a result of how much we can do in a moment's notice...
no impulse control, no edit button, no erase on our clicks
and typings. Instant gratification has overridden the thoughtful,
reserved, consideration of mulling things over...waiting til
the time is right....considering the importance of something.
Considering repercussions.

High stakes, high speed, high on being in the mix;
we're addicted to the race and the thrill and the excitement...
when we're on top. And when we're not, the fall may hurt us.

And of course, for many, life is also just plain harder.
Economic woes have hit a great many people; joblessness,
homelessness, loss of status, greater number of divorces,
increased violence...it's all cyclically bound to and resulting
in a greater number of addictions and addicted persons.
Dominoes, baby.

The more we see, the more we're desensitized to it all.
The more isolated we become, the easier it is to use.
It's a given that as things grow and change and expand, the
greater the number of choices will be acompanied by a
greater number of bad choices.

Even the things which assist us can be abused, and
we should always be wary to be moderate in all things.

*********************************************

Recovery is Living

Tips for Staying Clean

and Enjoying Life

Worried about down time or spare time

being a burden or a problem?

Volunteer

Plant a garden...just for fun

Do yard work

Bake dessert..and deliver it to someone

Take a walk

Ride a bike

Tutor a child

Enjoy a meal

Write a letter

Read a book

Try scream therapy

Punch a punching bag

Swim

Take a proper lunch break

Watch a funny movie

Listen to inspirational music

Hold a door open for someone

Speak to 5 strangers today

Smile every time you see someone

Let go of worry

Feed a stray

Speak your mind

Opt out of drama

Own your choices

Follow a dream

Try something new

Challenge yourself

Take a class

Trust yourself

Watch the sun set

Life doesn't have to be lived as some kind

of cosmic chess game or high stakes

power play. We needn't be solemn and stark

and eternally wounded.

There are good, bad, and in between days.

Nobody feels like they're doing everything right

or that they have all they want.

There is no such thing as perfection

and there is no need to prostrate and repress.

I am alive, and I can enjoy my life as it is.

There is so much that I can do to stay busy,

and not give in to addiction.

I can also relax and enjoy quiet time

without doubting myself and ruminating.

***

What we think we see...

"Re-framing" is the technique wherein people in

recovery learn to adjust--rethink--the way they

look at things. Relationships, data, drugs, the world;

everything we see through our old eyes is suspect

when we have had a history of considering and

assessing things from the point of active addiction.

The problem is that a person with an addictive

personality shares some pretty outrageous points

of view (denial, paranoia, juvenile behavior,

compulsivity, etc.)

which can either be prolonged or heightened

(or both) by using.

These 'stinking thinking' thoughts can also become

frozen in time at roughly the place a person was

when they started using.

Add to this that addictive behavior--and drugs/

alcohol themselves--can intensify and rewire the brain

to more significantly consider wild thinking,

and induce new ways of incorrectly interpreting the world

around us.

(Thoughts experienced under the influence can

resonate more strongly than thoughts considered

under normal circumstances, just like thoughts

that constantly or repetitively cycle can form a

groove--and even cause enhanced neural sensitivity.)

So, once sober/clean, the need to learn a new way

of viewing things is necessary.

It starts with questioning what we know,

versus what we think we know.

Do people really ostracize and malign us,

or are we oft-putting with our brashness

without even realizing it?

Is everyone untrustworthy, or are we

unwilling or unable to trust due to bad experiences?

Reframing is rewiring the brain to see that

not all of our deeply held beliefs and opinions

may be correct or justified.

Do you really need a drink in your hand

(or in your gut) in order to chat or date or fuck,

or are you just scared of talking to people

and in need of facing that?

Do you really have to have a drink when everyone

else is having one, or can you do what is best

for you, regardless of what the crowd says

or thinks?

What we steadfastly held true

could all be otherwise.

"Free your mind; the rest will follow."

***

Faulty Logic

The idea that we can adequately or

romantically address the needs of the average

addicted person by 'treating' them with

the volatility and parasitically dire

source of addiction

is like using a chainsaw

to perform brain surgery.

In our affected, unclear, craziness of

choosing active addiction, of listening to the

"This time will be different" or

"I don't have a problem" lies that

we tell ourselves in order to get what we

think we want,

we can overlook all reality, signals,

and lessons in favor of self-destruction.

The 'cure' is truly worse than the pain.

If we start out from a place of being whelmed,

 hypersensitivity, vulnerability, pain

resounding endlessly, too much of this world

weighing down on us, pressures and stress and

fear, sensory overload, and all the rest

that can lead us to want to check out for a

while and avoid responsibility...

what can we possibly think we will gain by

opening up Pandora's Box and adding

fuel to the fire?

Using is a way of turning over our life's reigns

to catastrophe.

When we learn to care about ourselves

and our lives, we realize that active addiction

is not a harmless, victimless crime.

***