overcoming addiction
i want to share something i wrote in this community a while back in response to
someone asking for help with their 'struggle with addiction'.
i think we are so used to the idea of 'struggling' and 'fighting' with unwanted parts
of ourselves and i simply want to present a new way of viewing things.
my response:
i think your use of the word 'struggle'
itself is problematic.
why struggle?
i think you have a better chance of overcoming your addictions if you are coming from a place of love and acceptance.
i smoked for 25 years and quit 5 years ago. the one thing that helped me so much was reading this one little sentence in a quit smoking pamphlet. it said, "you are reaching for cigarettes not because you want a cigarette but because you want to avoid this feeling of 'craving'. if you just accept the feeling you will not reach for the cigarette." so you see? you can banish the idea of struggle altogether. i would get a craving, watch it arise, feel it dwell in me, in my belly mostly, just under my bellybutton. i would speak to it sometimes too and say, 'hey you little craving. it's ok. you can stay here as long as you need to. really. i created you and i am so very sorry for that. you just stay here and i will hold you, ok? i'm here for you now, don't worry.'
and i would hold my belly and rock with the feeling of craving like it was a little baby in need of love. i never did battle with it. never had to fight it at all. i loved it, i fully accepted its presence in me and as a result it was not difficult to overcome at all.
the cravings persisted for 5 days only. it's unheard of after 25 years of smoking 2 packs a day. but it's because there was no resistance to the cravings, nothing at all, no stories to perpetuate them.
only love.
i hope this helps someone. :)
someone asking for help with their 'struggle with addiction'.
i think we are so used to the idea of 'struggling' and 'fighting' with unwanted parts
of ourselves and i simply want to present a new way of viewing things.
my response:
i think your use of the word 'struggle'
itself is problematic.
why struggle?
i think you have a better chance of overcoming your addictions if you are coming from a place of love and acceptance.
i smoked for 25 years and quit 5 years ago. the one thing that helped me so much was reading this one little sentence in a quit smoking pamphlet. it said, "you are reaching for cigarettes not because you want a cigarette but because you want to avoid this feeling of 'craving'. if you just accept the feeling you will not reach for the cigarette." so you see? you can banish the idea of struggle altogether. i would get a craving, watch it arise, feel it dwell in me, in my belly mostly, just under my bellybutton. i would speak to it sometimes too and say, 'hey you little craving. it's ok. you can stay here as long as you need to. really. i created you and i am so very sorry for that. you just stay here and i will hold you, ok? i'm here for you now, don't worry.'
and i would hold my belly and rock with the feeling of craving like it was a little baby in need of love. i never did battle with it. never had to fight it at all. i loved it, i fully accepted its presence in me and as a result it was not difficult to overcome at all.
the cravings persisted for 5 days only. it's unheard of after 25 years of smoking 2 packs a day. but it's because there was no resistance to the cravings, nothing at all, no stories to perpetuate them.
only love.
i hope this helps someone. :)