The Addiction Cycle

image

How many of us struggle with addiction?  I will be bold and say the number must be 90% or above (no research in that number).  I refer to addiction as anything that we can’t live without or obsess over–including tobacco, caffeine, sugar, drugs, alcohol, sex, bad relationships, negative thinking, impulsive behavior etc—I personally have kicked my diet mountain dew habit (it only took about a year) and like everyone else, I struggle daily with overcoming more unhealthy habits.  It certainly isn’t easy!   I am honored that my cohort addiction specialist, the infamous Mr. Jim Ryser, has privileged us with his own story to help us understand how diet, nutrition, thoughts, and mindset can heal addictive behaviors.

 

Here is Jim’s personal story that he chose to share with our followers that are empowering themselves to overcome disease–

 

“I wish I could say I “beat” addiction, but I can no more do that than stand on my toes unaided today.  I have myelomeningocele.  Long story short, I have damage to my spinal cord that resulted in neural connections being cut due to the original birth defect.  There ARE no connections so it is physiologically impossible for me to stand on my toes unaided!

As to my addiction, we have assumed in society that we can change unaided too; telling a drug addict not to use is the same thing as saying “Just don’t breathe!”  The addict has a compulsion to use and a craving once started that makes it impossible to stop on the basis of self-will.  There is no connection just like with the nerves!

I have been fortunate to have stopped using drugs aberrantly.  The thought process of the disease never goes away, but it can be managed.  I found that out after I got sober and gained 50 pounds.  My addiction switched seats on the titanic in many ways.  So – for me, addiction is less about substance and more about the thoughts and the spiritual malady that goes with it.  Moderation is not part of the addict’s vocabulary.  With help, however, I have been able to stay sober for the past 14 years.  I have also lost the weight and am continuing, a day at a time, to manage the unmanageable.  Having a proper diet helps keep me on task with my pain pill addiction and chronic pain because I learned in proper eating habits I might sacrifice a “feel good” with food (sugar) that results in a crash that makes me feel bad in the long run.  Today I have learned to slow down, do the RIGHT thing, and be rewarded over the long haul (and more consistent haul) with good health and overall good feeling.”

 

Please visit Jim’s website http://www.jimrysersongs.com

You may want to purchase a copy of his latest release “Lubricate my Mojo”

 

 

This post inspired many of my patients when I put in on my site.  You may remember Jim Ryser and his great hits back in the day.  However, his story is real!  He is an example to be followed.  If one person is helped from this post, I have accomplished my goal.  The following reference is to my dear friend Dee.  She has been enduring the weight loss journey first hand for all my AngelaMD readers.

ADDICTION

A few posts ago-we shared Jim Ryser’s success story of overcoming addiction and empowering himself to teach and counsel others.  If you missed that post you can see it HERE.  The cycle is so true.  I don’t think I can honestly think of anyone that doesn’t have addiction to overcome.  Negative thinking, food, chemicals, exercise, self-abuse are only a few that we encounter daily.  Dee has been struggling with her issues with sugar and she writes—

 

Dee writes:

I’ve been contemplating addiction the past few days, considering the cycle of the way that people deal with emotional discomfort by masking pain through the consumption of _________ (fill in the blank). I have filled my blank in with food. Last night I became so angry at a situation in my home that it took everything in me to not eat or drink. Food (and chemicals) distract us. Even if these crutches of ours are not mind altering, they are always mood altering.

It is easy for me to look at that circle of addiction with alcohol or drugs because I am thankfully not addicted to those things. I see that people feel pain, use things to not feel pain temporarily, physical effects wear off, pain comes back, need for another drink/dose. The routine never stops until the issue is worked through and dealt with in a more healthy and productive manner.

But then I look at my addiction, which is food, and because this is closer to home, it’s hard to see as clearly how to break the chain. One technique that I think works for many people is to write down their emotions and food-related impulses. This one for me last night was clear as could be. I was about to go to sleep and didn’t feel the least bit hungry. After the chaos subsided a bit, I walked into the kitchen for the sole purpose of finding the worst possible food choice on hand to consume quickly and mindlessly. Thankfully, I realized the irrelevance of how eating would make me happy and I turned myself around. What did make me happy, this morning, was seeing an overall seven pound weight loss on the scale for the month of August.

This long-term reward will ultimately be more gratifying that a bag of Doritos would have been last night.

For more pearls from Dee visit her site HERE

 

The cycle is real and we all have our own demons.  This Natural News Website is a gateway to improvement.

About the author:

Angela DeBord Henriksen, MD received her undergraduate degree in Biology from Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana and her MD degree from Indiana University School of Medicine.   She completed her residency training in Internal Medicine through St. Vincent’s Hospital in Indianapolis.   Dr. Henriksen currently has a private practice at IU Health after serving as a hospitalist there. 

For more information visit her site

 

Angela Henriksen MD