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Alcoholism Is Always Replaced With Another Addiction — Unless…
A recent comment on one of my articles got me thinking about this — It isn’t a new thought as I have noticed for years that people (including myself) who had given up their alcohol addiction only to replace it with something else. My mom is a perfect example, she became highly addicted to sugar and chocolate when she became sober.
Some common replacements off the top of my head are various food addictions, gambling, exercising in excess, marijuana, coffee/caffeine, TV/movies, sex, cigarettes and work.
Why do we automatically replace the addiction?
What would happen without the addiction?
We become alone with ourselves.
Being alone with yourself, your thoughts, your demons – is highly uncomfortable. It feels like you will regress and go back if you stop going forward and stimulating. Numbing. Using anything to distract you from yourself.
Distract you from coming home, to yourself.
True sobriety, from all addictions, is learning to be present. Being at peace with coming home to yourself. It is full acceptance of what is, and not trying to alter it, numb it, or run away from it.
That’s why often time people who are sober still feel like something is missing.
