HOW TO OVERCOME ADDICTION

Addiction

This is one of the major “assassin on parade” taking down our youths gradually physically, spiritually, morally, financially, academically, emotionally and socially or in any other ways you might think of. It gives a little-time pleasure then destroys someone by degrees from the inside (Spirit and Emotion) to the outside (Physical). Addiction is neither genetic nor hereditary, it is neither a curse nor a blessing, it is neither destiny nor fate, it is a learned process from the surrounding basically an environmental factor. IT IS A HABIT!

Addiction, according to one of my dictionary here is a “habit or practice that damages, jeopardizes or shortens one’s life but when ceased causes trauma”, There we are… there is nothing really benefiting about addiction, in fact “Every form of addiction is bad no matter whether the narcotics, alcoholic, morphine or idealism” Carl Jung quotes. It is not a good choice to make at all, no matter how you try to stop addiction it’ll surely leave some marks on you which may never be erased, even if erased, it’ll still leave a trail behind, we all know the saying that “wounds heals, but the scars still remain the same”. What you are addicted to will do nothing than kill you!

It imprisons YOU! It is like swallowing a live CROCODILE, it eats you from the inside not from the outside, it first affect your thinking, your emotion then affects your physical outfit, your look, your decency even the way you talk to others. ADDICTION leads to OVERDOSE then probably DEATH if not taken care of at the early stage. Examples of addiction includes drugs, smoking, alcoholics, playing video games, watching movies, watching of Pornographic videos and among others just to mention few.

OUTCOMES OF ADDICTION
Let’s hit the nail on its head and go straight to the results and consequences of addiction. Listed below are some of them which are generally collected not specifically stated, It is not a probability; two or more of them will surely affect you once you are a victim of addiction.

• It kills the spiritual man (once the spirit man is dead, what do you think is left of the physical man?)
  • It leads to overdose and probably death (incase of drug, alcohol and smoking)
  • It belittle someone physically
  • It destroy your potentials
  • It hijack and snap your dream from the neck
  • It drops the bars of your self-esteem
  • People will stop respecting you
  • It turns someone to a subject of ridicule
  • You become less important
  • It’ll make you lose people who are of great important you
  • Your health status will deteriorate
  • You become untidy even though you put on your best robe (applicable to drug addiction,   alcohol and smoking)
  • It wrecks you financially, you will want to spend the last penny on you to satisfy the feelings when it comes
  • It can lead to stealing and probably killing

CAUSES OF ADDICTION
People were not created with addiction, it is a learned process, I can say addiction grows from temptation. Once you fall into the temptation and you taste little, it’ll be very difficult for you to spit it out. “Temptation is much easier to avoid than it is to resist” Rev Richard C Whitcom says. Falling into addictions grows from LIKING IT to WANTING IT to NEEDING IT and lastly CRAVING FOR IT… It is better to avoid it than try to resist it later: The following are some causes of addiction.

o Loneliness
o Emotional Instability
o Helplessness
o Broken Homes
o Bad company
o Pressures from peer group
o Joining Illegal groups
o Trying to practice what you watch on TV
o Trying practice what you listen to in Music
o Trying to copy others
o Trying to get help where there is not help

HOW TO CONQUER ADDICTION
Although addiction is a hard habit to curb once it imprisons you, there is still a way out, the earlier the better. It can still be conquered through persistence and determination. Below are some of the ways to get out of the cage of addiction.

The first and best way of lording over addiction is to get rid ofv the cause. If it’s a person cut the connecting cord, if it’s an environment, change it. No matter what the cause of the addiction is, kill it.

1. Encourage yourself when you are emotionally down
2. Read motivational books
3. Be yourself, don’t try to join them when you cant beat them
4. Respect yourself, keep your self-esteem
5. Never look down on yourself
6. Whenever you are alone, do things that will make you comfortable, read, if you can’t, walk around, and if you can’t sleep.
7. Walk with people who can change your life for good
8. Attend Seminars, Bible studies
9. Visit a doctor or someone who can counsel you
10. Listen to good music; Gospel, motivational and inspirational music will be better
11. Read your Bible
12. Pray without ceasing
13. Talk to people about your feeling