Does everyone battle addiction?

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Depends on how you define addiction… I have never gotten into the usual vices like smoking, drinking, drugs o anything like that… But at one time it seemed like I could not get through day without drinking a soda or two… I did eventually get away from that…

Now it seems I can not get away from watching too much tv or going to bed especially late.

Other than that I am just fine… I believe we are all creatures of habit, whether or not it arises to addiction is debatable.
 
TEPO said:
That’s amazing. You see, I was under the impression, through another one of my own wild theories, that everyone had the same ‘addictive potential’ and that maybe people are able to pick and choose what they are to be addicted to.

Say for example I was a terrible over-eater and was extremely overweight, I could choose to ‘swap’ my addiction for an equal amount of another addiction-like say smoking for example. Either addiction is equally unhealthy, but say for example I chose a ‘positive’ addictive quality…? I’m wondering if there is a way to measure addictive potential to see if one horrible habit is worth the same as a positive and healthy one. Or if maybe a really bad one is equal to two small bad ones and one large good one.

Perhaps there is a way to create a chart that can measure and display ones own addictive potential and then create a brand new recipe of choice…

But after hearing your story, I’m left wondering if you just have unnoticed addictions, or if your addictions are all positive good ones so you don’t consider them addictions, or if your genes just have a lower addictive potential. In any case though, it’s refreshing to know that there are people like you out there. I’m also curious what the doctor noticed.
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Interesting. It happens that my maternal grandfather was an alcoholic, and I have a paternal uncle who is one. Though I have had a few drinks over the last 34 years, I actually don’t care for most of them.

In reflecting on this years ago I decided that there may be a biochemical reaction my body has that is related to relatives on both side having a drinking problem. In other words I got a double dose of some gene or something that has to do with alcohol metabolism, but instead of landing up with a drinking problem or addiction I have a revulsion to it. This results in no desire to drink…like the opposite of addiction. I literally have no desire to drink.

As for the reaction I had in the ER, I actually don’t remember much of it. I recall not being able to talk all of a sudden, and that my speech was confused. This happened directly after they started IV steroids, epinephrine and some other drugs to stop the allergic reaction. I also started having jerking movements I could not control. It all scared the wits out of me and I said so. This is when the doctor mentioned I would never have an addiction problem. ???
 
I think we could say that just about everyone suffers from one of these in one form or another:
Lust
Greed
Gluttony
Envy
Anger
Pride
Sloth

You could practically take any of the seven deadly sins and break it out into smaller and smaller chunks. Either way, these are just some and then it goes on. I doubt there are many people who aren’t addicted to some sin. Some sin that they have an extremely difficult time not doing. If so, then you’re addicted.

Breaking away from these sins is not easy. All of these sins can probably be summed up by selfishness. Is this something that we all suffer from?
 
TEPO said:
Ah , but thistle, you have over 18,000 posts here on CAF. Could that be a sign of addiction? Not saying it is -but it ‘could’ be. Couldn’t it?
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No it could not be!!

I was also employed from the age of 18 until I retired. Under your thought process that would mean I was addicted to working.
 
thistle said:
No it could not be!!

I was also employed from the age of 18 until I retired. Under your thought process that would mean I was addicted to working.
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So then it’s not possible to become addicted to helping people then? According to your definition then, addiction can only be a bad thing. Is that correct?
 
TEPO said:
So then it’s not possible to become addicted to helping people then? According to your definition then, addiction can only be a bad thing. Is that correct?
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Yes. Addiction is a negative thing. You do not get “addicted” to helping people.
 
TEPO said:
I was just curious if addiction is a problem for many people or not. It seems that this topic is rarely discussed here on CAF, so I was just wondering if it was something we all don’t like discussing -because we’re in battle with it, or because we don’t face any problems with it because we’re beyond that…

So the anonymous question remains in the form of a poll. Does everyone battle addiction in some form of another or not?
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I believe everyone has some kind of addiction that they have to overcome and for most people it doesn’t have anything to do with drugs or alcohol. There are many different kinds of addictions and everyone has has at least one.
 
thistle said:
Yes. Addiction is a negative thing. You do not get “addicted” to helping people.
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You CAN get addicted to good things, but it’s just not called an addiction. People can get addicted to reading the Bible, to prayer, to going to mass, but those are not called addictions. Most humans are creatures of habit and we get addicted to lots of things just in our daily routine, but it’s not called an addiction unless it’s something negative.
 
"The dictionary definition of addicted is a very general one: ‘applying or devoting oneself habitually.’ This definition could even include ‘good’ activities, although the term is commonly applied only to negative behaviors. The Latin root is addicene, ‘to give assent, assign or surrender’ - in ancient times it was used to describe someone (usually an enemy) who was captured and kept in bondage or slavery. This is a good description of the modern addict as well - he or she is a slave to an attachment. A person can be considered addicted, then, when an ‘overpowering, repetitious, excessive need exists for some substance, object, feeling, act, milieu, or personal interaction.’

We see, then, that while traditional usage applies the term addiction only to habitual use of narcotics and the like, by definition it can also be applied to other behaviors to which we ‘give assent’ on a habitual basis and which have the power to ‘enslave’ us. These are our hidden addictions."

From *Healing Life’s Hidden Addictions *by Dr. Archibald D Hart. This is the broader understanding of addiction which I accept, that leads me to side with those who conclude that everyone battles, or has some propensity for, addiction to some degree. Anyone who considers themselves to be free from, or immune to, addictive behavior should also consider themselves to be very blessed indeed!

From, The Freedom to Love, by Fr. Emmerich Vogt O.P.:

“Its never enough. This is the basis of addiction - a prevailing craving for more. We were created by, and directed toward the Infinite. God alone can satisfy human longing because God alone is infinite… Ultimately, addiction is idolatry - the attempt to find fulfillment in finite things. When we attempt to satiate our inborn desire for God by false substitutes that ultimately cannot fulfill, we suffer codependency and addiction. The way out is a life of virtue, and virtue in its most concise definition is rightly ordered love, which alone leads to happiness and life - eternal happiness and eternal life.”
 
Skye_Ariel said:
You CAN get addicted to good things, but it’s just not called an addiction. People can get addicted to reading the Bible, to prayer, to going to mass, but those are not called addictions. Most humans are creatures of habit and we get addicted to lots of things just in our daily routine, but it’s not called an addiction unless it’s something negative.
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If its not called an addiction its because it is NOT an addiction!
 
thistle said:
No it could not be!!

I was also employed from the age of 18 until I retired. Under your thought process that would mean I was addicted to working.
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I was addicted to work too… I was obsessed with the thought that I did not want to go hungry and did not want to get tossed out of my home…😃

I overcame that when I retired.
 
Hello.

Wish there was a “maybe” category in the poll. I couldn’t answer the question with only a simple “yes” or “no.”

When I saw the thread title all I could think of was that addictions really didn’t get proper labeling/attention/methods of recovery until AA became recognized and popular along with recovery programs and the 12 Steps. Kept sort of thinking that addictions weren’t really recognized as addictions until all these various 12 step programs came about.

Glad they’re around, that’s for sure, because I doubt I’d be posting here if it weren’t for these 12 step programs.

So -->just my opinion–> I don’t think there were any addictions, at least labeled as such, until the 1950’s.

Oh well… just my :twocents:
 
wcknight said:
I was addicted to work too… I was obsessed with the thought that I did not want to go hungry and did not want to get tossed out of my home…😃

I overcame that when I retired.
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Obsession and addiction are two different things.
 
I had a friend who was addicted to talking on the telephone. She would call me and we could spend 3 hours each night for years and years. She would pop a beer into her husband’s hand and my husband would be watching ESPN and we would just gab. It got to where I got tired of her putting everyone she could think of down. Speaking of all their faults. Then I told her stop talking about everyone and take a look at yourself. End of friendship. I guess I got addicted to the phone ringing at 7 pm every night. I had other things to do, but thought it was my duty to ‘be there’ for her. What a waste of time. She has since found others to call.
 
Anyone who spends too much money unnecessarily needs to go to Spenders Anonymous. There is an emotional attachment to the credit card. You have
to be sensible or go broke.
 
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