How Could I Have Done What I Did? (And How to Get Out of This Mess)

Suspended? Arrested? Caught cheating? Woke up in the Emergency Room after a super-binge? “How did I get here?” you ask. Not just, “How did I end up in the Emergency Room?” You know that. But, “What cycle led me here?” I definitely do not speak to you in judgment, but in compassion. We’ve all done things that we later regretted, to a greater or lesser degree. Many people have walked the path of despair, the path of embarrassment, shame, or disgrace. And, if you’re like me, you don’t want to feel so out of control. You don’t want to let down those you love. The one advantage to being here at the bottom of life is that you may be able to see what you couldn’t see before. You may be able to engage in self-reflection that will be life-saving. Assuming that this bottom-of-the-rung-of-life status is due to some type of out-of-control activities and not to something that was done to you, there was probably some barrier or hurdle that you had to remove or weaken in order to enter an addictive space you never meant to enter. Without even thinking about it, we all have certain barricades in our minds that protect us from total destruction. In fact, when therapy clients come to me seeking help with an addiction, there are usually more vices that they are not hooked on than on which they are. Their addiction to alcohol may be wrecking their life, but an assessment may reveal, for example, that they are not addicted to drugs, food, sex, gambling, cigarettes, shopping,...
Source: World of Psychology - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Tags: Addiction Alcoholism Relationships Self-Help Substance Abuse Infidelity Recovery regret Source Type: blogs