Myths - Addictions
There are many myths about addictions.
This is my attempt to clear a few of them up.
One myth that is pretty popular is the one claiming that positive addictions are good for you.
There is no such thing as a positive addiction, addictions are self-destructive and always lead to negitive effects.
Myth number two and probably the biggest is; Certain substances are addictive.
Well this is true if you change that sentence to; Certain substances *can* or *might* be addictive.
Ill explain.
After surgery, patients are sometimes allowed to self-administer morphine.
Morphine is the medical form of heroin.
Yet most people who rely on morphine after surgery, don't get addicted to it.
Millons of people smoked marijuana.
Relatively few who use it, use it to the point of abuse.
Almost everyone has had a drink before.
But few acually become alcoholics because if it.
Or what about sex? 99 percent of us have sex at one time in our lives, and many of us have sex constantly but we dont develop an addiction.
And finally millions of people have experimented with cocaine, crack and other hard drugs.
Many become addicts, but not everyone.
The point is that people dont nessacarly become addicted to a substance because of the substance, but because of their choice.
We all have made a choice about substances.
Most of us have tried one form or another of an 'addictive' substance or activity, but yet many of us remain addiction free.
Although our brains develop addictions because of a dependence created by our brains.
This dependence is because certain drugs and activities produce iregular levels of chemicals that make us feel good.
Then over time, our bodys stop producing it naturally, and then we crave the drug that re-administers it.
Will power and self respect and control are more powerful in the beginning than any addiction.
And we all have the ability to change our behaviours.
Substances don't take you over and make you act in an addictive fashion any more than: Cars make you drive, and books make you read.
Will anyone who uses an addictive substance too much become addicted? Not nessacarly, resent studies have proven that addiction can be hereditary.
We know this does not occur in everyone, any more than diabetes occurs in everyone who eats to much sugar or food.
In many cases, genetics is one factor for determining who develops the disorder.
Addiction can be hereditary.
This myth is slightly true.
It is proven that some people have an 'addictive personality' or have certain personality traits that an addict might have.
We have linked certain characteristics of genes to addictions and have proven that certain genes are hereditary.
Does this mean that addiction IS hereditary? Maybe.
There is thousands of people who have had addictions and their parents have never.
Many people have severe addictions and have children, and the children never form any addictions.
This being said, ill let you decide if addictions are hereditary.
Id like to share a quick story to coincide with these myths.
I took a government personality test once, and the results came back normal.
The doctor explained some things to me, and brought one important part to my attention; I scored high on the addictive tendencies section of the test.
This information was gathered by a computer program, i answered around a 1000 different questions and it calculated the results.
He also warned me of my potental to addiction and advised that i pay close attention to my actions in the future.
Now i completly disregarded this advice, and thanked him for it anyways.
I can honestly say that i have never had a problem with addiction before in my life.
I am young, but have smoked for 3 years(mostly for popularity at school)and quit, as soon as i felt it was harmful.
I have also drank a lot of booze, many nights.
I have been drunk many times but i dont have a problem.
I rarley drink as it is now.
I have also tried coke, and did it regularly for 2 months combined with 'binge drinking'.
This was the 2 months following my 18th birthday.
Since then, i havnt touched coke at all and i probally never will again.
I also have smoked crack many times, and have experienced slight withdrawls and a slight addiction.
Even after smoking crack, i could stop when it was starting to become a problem, and i have never let anything get out of control.
I simply experimented, lived a little and learned.
I now, many years later, havnt done drugs and only drink socially.
I do smoke pot now and again, but not to the point of abuse.
In the future i might run into drugs again, i might not, but my common sense and motivation to live a happy normal addiction free life, will always keep me from having a problem.
In all id like to point out that addiction is scientifically proven to occur in subconscious areas of the brain that is not under conscious control.
Addiction is a brain disorder that has no cure but can be medically treated.
Addicts are every day normal people with a problem no different than MPD(multiple personality disorder), Bi-polar disorder, or any other disease.
Addiction recovery is possible and a positive and productive life can be achieved.
The choice to use drugs is yours initially.
Addiction is avoidable, the choice still remains with you.
Addiction Directory [http://www.
addiction-spot.
com/directory.
php]
This is my attempt to clear a few of them up.
One myth that is pretty popular is the one claiming that positive addictions are good for you.
There is no such thing as a positive addiction, addictions are self-destructive and always lead to negitive effects.
Myth number two and probably the biggest is; Certain substances are addictive.
Well this is true if you change that sentence to; Certain substances *can* or *might* be addictive.
Ill explain.
After surgery, patients are sometimes allowed to self-administer morphine.
Morphine is the medical form of heroin.
Yet most people who rely on morphine after surgery, don't get addicted to it.
Millons of people smoked marijuana.
Relatively few who use it, use it to the point of abuse.
Almost everyone has had a drink before.
But few acually become alcoholics because if it.
Or what about sex? 99 percent of us have sex at one time in our lives, and many of us have sex constantly but we dont develop an addiction.
And finally millions of people have experimented with cocaine, crack and other hard drugs.
Many become addicts, but not everyone.
The point is that people dont nessacarly become addicted to a substance because of the substance, but because of their choice.
We all have made a choice about substances.
Most of us have tried one form or another of an 'addictive' substance or activity, but yet many of us remain addiction free.
Although our brains develop addictions because of a dependence created by our brains.
This dependence is because certain drugs and activities produce iregular levels of chemicals that make us feel good.
Then over time, our bodys stop producing it naturally, and then we crave the drug that re-administers it.
Will power and self respect and control are more powerful in the beginning than any addiction.
And we all have the ability to change our behaviours.
Substances don't take you over and make you act in an addictive fashion any more than: Cars make you drive, and books make you read.
Will anyone who uses an addictive substance too much become addicted? Not nessacarly, resent studies have proven that addiction can be hereditary.
We know this does not occur in everyone, any more than diabetes occurs in everyone who eats to much sugar or food.
In many cases, genetics is one factor for determining who develops the disorder.
Addiction can be hereditary.
This myth is slightly true.
It is proven that some people have an 'addictive personality' or have certain personality traits that an addict might have.
We have linked certain characteristics of genes to addictions and have proven that certain genes are hereditary.
Does this mean that addiction IS hereditary? Maybe.
There is thousands of people who have had addictions and their parents have never.
Many people have severe addictions and have children, and the children never form any addictions.
This being said, ill let you decide if addictions are hereditary.
Id like to share a quick story to coincide with these myths.
I took a government personality test once, and the results came back normal.
The doctor explained some things to me, and brought one important part to my attention; I scored high on the addictive tendencies section of the test.
This information was gathered by a computer program, i answered around a 1000 different questions and it calculated the results.
He also warned me of my potental to addiction and advised that i pay close attention to my actions in the future.
Now i completly disregarded this advice, and thanked him for it anyways.
I can honestly say that i have never had a problem with addiction before in my life.
I am young, but have smoked for 3 years(mostly for popularity at school)and quit, as soon as i felt it was harmful.
I have also drank a lot of booze, many nights.
I have been drunk many times but i dont have a problem.
I rarley drink as it is now.
I have also tried coke, and did it regularly for 2 months combined with 'binge drinking'.
This was the 2 months following my 18th birthday.
Since then, i havnt touched coke at all and i probally never will again.
I also have smoked crack many times, and have experienced slight withdrawls and a slight addiction.
Even after smoking crack, i could stop when it was starting to become a problem, and i have never let anything get out of control.
I simply experimented, lived a little and learned.
I now, many years later, havnt done drugs and only drink socially.
I do smoke pot now and again, but not to the point of abuse.
In the future i might run into drugs again, i might not, but my common sense and motivation to live a happy normal addiction free life, will always keep me from having a problem.
In all id like to point out that addiction is scientifically proven to occur in subconscious areas of the brain that is not under conscious control.
Addiction is a brain disorder that has no cure but can be medically treated.
Addicts are every day normal people with a problem no different than MPD(multiple personality disorder), Bi-polar disorder, or any other disease.
Addiction recovery is possible and a positive and productive life can be achieved.
The choice to use drugs is yours initially.
Addiction is avoidable, the choice still remains with you.
Addiction Directory [http://www.
addiction-spot.
com/directory.
php]
Source...