Addiction isn't embarrassing

I continually assist people in conquering their addictions to...well, anything. and because that's what I do, one of the biggest issues I encounter is the ridiculous thought that a person needs to be embarrassed or ashamed of their addictions. I see this mentality from society, from my clients family members, from the legal system or even from casual conversation with people who have half-formed opinions about addiction that they cobble together from various sources. I'm here to tell you that to preach shame and embarrassment or, even worse "sin", as something that is intrinsic to being addicted is freaking ridiculous. It's brutal, it's harmful and it needs to stop. Here's the reality behind addiction: Humans are custom made to become addicted. Our nervous system creates chemicals that feel amazing and it uses these feelings to encourage useful behaviors. That's your dopamine and serotonin system at work. Unfortunately, some people realized this fact decades ago and created entire markets, legal and otherwise, to profit from absolutely ruining peoples lives by encouraging addictions to certain chemicals and behaviors. In this sense, addiction is no accident and it's certainly no indication of weakness or wickedness on the part of the addicted person. If you find you're addicted to something, anything, I want you to understand that shame and embarrassment about where you're at will hold you back from recovering your power. It will keep you from reaching out and from working on what you need to work on. So I want you to NOT feel shame or embarrassment about being addicted to something. I want you to get upset, rightfully upset, angry even! You SHOULD feel anger at the tobacco industry, the alcohol industry, the problems in our world that lead people to drugs or sexual addiction.

This is a perfectly justifiable anger and I want you to use it to make the choice to permanently seize your power back from these groups that make addiction so omnipresent. And when your anger is pointed in the right direction and you're ready for that change, give me a call and we'll get started.