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What Are We Up Against?

It is a shame that so many of us focus on a symptom and not the underlying disease. As was stated in another article, the symptom is simply the "acting out" of this disease we all seem to have. It is a disease that has been called many things, i.e. addiction, depression, or ism. While many of us may be disposed to a certain substance, whether it is genetic or a result of our upbringing, we must examine why we seek to change the way we feel, not how.

The Old Switch-a-Roo

I have met people who, and I myself have, dealt with one addiction only to switch to another. From alcoholic to workaholic, from sexoholic to eat-o-holic, from poor-me-oholic to ain't-I-great-o-holic. These things that we abuse are not important, why we abuse them is. We want to feel different than we do. We feel empty or out of place with the world. We usually describe a hole or void that exists within us and somewhere along the line we discover something that fills it, but only temporarily. We find our lives spiraling out of control, trying to find the right dose to sustain that "normal" feeling, but soon our actions and choices catch up with us. Our lives ,as they say in the 12 step programs, have become unmanageable.

We then may choose to admit there is a problem. We are humbled by our lack of power. That we have been overtaken with whatever addiction it is that plagues us and we understand that only a "higher power" can remove it. It doesn't matter what higher power, just one greater than ourselves. We begin to feel better, our lives and relationships seem to be improving. We are becoming spiritual and more in tune with life. We make amends and seek forgiveness as well as to forgive. We are so close to finally filling that void, but for some reason the sadness remains. We have conquered the alcohol problem so why are we eating so much? We have quit gambling, but why are we having such meaningless sex with strangers? We aren't working as many hours, but why are we so obsessed with sports, or the news, or celebrities?

Let's Call It What It Is...

There is a simple rule at work within us. Once we take something away, we replace it with something else. Anything can be abused...even the good. It is possible to eat too many vegetables. The only solution to this disease with many names is to replace it with the only thing you truly need. But first, lets identify the disease. We are all infected. When people use the expression "only human", they indirectly refer to this disease.

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