It is commonly thought that if your work or health is not being adversely affected by your behavior, you must not have an addiction. That is not the case. Career and health are generally the two last things to go. After all, you need to work in order to support your addiction, so you will give your job everything you possibly can. The human body is surprisingly resilient to abuse, and it may take quite a while to start telling you it has had enough. The nature of this condition is that by the time you recognize the full blown addiction, it is too late to simply decide to stop the addictive behavior. You will need help and support from others to begin the process of recovery.

Be honest, and ask yourself the following questions:

• Are you concerned about some of your behavioral patterns?
• Are you worried about your alcohol consumption, drug use, gambling, or sexual activities?
• Do you use alcohol, drugs, sex, or gambling to help you feel better and relieve your stress?
• Do you feel that you need substances to “help” you manage your everyday responsibilities?
• Have you tried to stop any one of these behaviors, only to realize that you were unable to stop?

If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, you may have an addiction. Although you may not have been successful at stopping before, there is hope for you. Lots of hope. Addiction is such a powerful condition that you will need outside help, as it is practically impossible to truly recover from addiction without appropriate intervention and treatment.

Think about it.

• How many times have you decided that you’ve had enough and that you want to stop your using or harmful behaviors?
• How many times have you remained abstinent for a significant amount of time?
• How long afterward, though, did it take for you to get right back into your old ways?

Although abstinence is a prerequisite to recovery, simply willing yourself to remain abstinent will not work. The only way to truly stop your addictive behavior is to change your various aspects of your life. You will need to create a different life for yourself than the one you are currently living. As someone struggling with addiction once said, “The old me used to drink and the old me will drink again!”

In your current life, you need alcohol, drugs, or sex to function. You need these things to allow you to feel comfortable in your own skin. It’s no wonder that every time you try to stop, you revert back to your old behavior. How long can a person allow himself to feel as bad as you feel when you are not using? I don’t just mean physical withdrawal pains; I’m referring to how you feel emotionally when you are abstinent. That is why true recovery entails creating a life wherein you do not need chemicals or negative behaviors to help you feel okay with yourself. Such work always requires the support, guidance, and insight of others.

I encourage you to make an appointment so that we can assess your situation and develop a treatment plan accordingly.