A thought on addiction

When it comes to addictive behaviours such as alcohol, drugs, sex, gambling, pornography, binge eating, video gaming, exercise and so on, there is often a thought, or should I say lie, that is easy for many people to fall prey to. This lie can function at a conscious level or a sub-conscious level. This lie can perpetuate the addictive behaviour. The lie can perpetuate dependency. This lie can feed the addiction. This lie can convince many people of something that is simply not true. This lie prevents progress and recovery from the addictive behaviour.

This lie that many people fall prey to is thinking “I need it”.
I need alcohol. I need drugs. I need sex, I need to gamble, I need to watch pornography, I need to binge eat. I need to play video games.

This lie can keep a person stuck and trapped in an addiction. This lie can feed into a person feeling helpless and experiencing a sense of powerlessness to an addiction.
Exposing this thought as a lie can move a person a step closer to overcoming an addiction.

If “I need it” is a lie, then what is the truth?
What is the truth that can move someone towards freedom from their addiction?

The truth is “I want it”.
We can often deceive ourselves thinking that we need our addiction, when the truth is we want our addiction.

When it comes to addiction, shifting from need to want is shifting from a lie to the truth. The truth will move you in the direction of freedom.

The next time you contemplate an addictive behaviour, ask yourself the question, do I need it or do I want it?