By Shayler Richmond
Recognizing the signs of addictive behavior, developing an understanding of the reasons you become addicted, and breaking the cycle will lift your life out of toxicity.
Be honest with yourself; any habitual behavior can be an addiction. Reframe how you think about addiction; if it isn't adding then it's taking away.
Beyond mere physical exhaustion, you’re tired because you’re addicted to what’s weighing you down, you’re addicted to being complicit in your detriment, you’re enabling the turmoil in your life. You’re feeding what’s draining you instead of combating your destructive habits, which is why you lack substance.
Addiction is allowing your habits to dictate what you need instead of breaking free from the cycle. There are layers to addiction and breaking the chains of addiction is not easy. Addiction is a disease, a mental disorder, that must be faced head on.
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration(SAMHSA) says, addiction begins with experimentation, and is caused by a combination of behavioral, environmental and biological factors.
Refusal to recognize how addiction can affect you and others leads to a high percentage of addicts unaware they even have an issue.
Officials say, the leading cause of addiction is genetics. Simply put, it can be something parents, grandparents or great-grandparents have passed down through generations. We’re addicted to these generational curses.
Why you are addicted is much deeper than you. Ask yourself honestly; what are you addicted to? Trace your upbringing, analyze your surroundings, dissect your fears and you will find out why your addiction exist.
You feel like you know your purpose, or could know your purpose, but haven’t moved any closer toward it, and don’t feel any more complete because addiction is allowing yourself to operate on scraps. You are relinquishing accountability to healthy decision making.
You allowed yourself to walk down a road, and somewhere you allowed yourself to believe you must continue down the same road that isn’t barring any fruit.
It’s a new day; a new year; a new decade; a new relationship and you’re still sad, still angry, still hurt, still empty because your addicted to what’s keeping you in that state.
Addicted to mediocrity.
Addicted to self deprivation.
Addicted to conflict.
Addicted to drugs.
Addicted to mindlessness that presents in habits such as aimlessly living and never challenging yourself.
Addicted to maintaining your false sense of power and control, such as, male dominance, self perfection, manipulating others, and more because you’re unwilling to submit to a power greater than you, and start owning your own power.