Many of us struggling with addiction find ourselves dependent upon a specific substance or behavior, or a certain combination of them. We often don’t stray too far from this combination or veer too much from it because we develop a comfort level with it, we grow accustomed to it, we know how it affects us, and we feel content with how it makes us feel. We like how much release and relief it provides, how much it allows us to escape our difficult thoughts and emotions, and how much it helps us to distract ourselves from whatever we want to avoid thinking and feeling. Sometimes, though, we begin to experiment with new drugs and addictive behaviors and add them to our rotation – what are some of the reasons behind why we do this?
Sometimes we experiment with new drugs because we no longer feel as though we’re getting the high we want and need in order to feel as detached as we want to be from our feelings, to feel zoned out enough that we forget where we are and how much pain we’re in. It’s quite common for us to not be able to reach the same level of high as time passes, and since we’re desperate to get back to that elusive feeling of euphoria, since we’re desperate to escape our pain, we’ll do anything we can to retrieve those feelings, including trying new drugs and then other ones once those no longer do it for us.
Our pain can feel so overwhelming and so debilitating that we want nothing more than to escape it, and when one drug can’t do that for us, we’ll experiment until we find one that does. The sad truth is, though, the more we experiment with harsher drugs, and the more we consume, the greater our chances for overdosing, even accidentally.
The key to stopping these patterns is to finally confront our deeply rooted pain, all the issues we’ve been so afraid to face, all the traumas we don’t want to remember. When we can face ourselves and our truth, along with everything that is inside of us, we no longer need to run from ourselves and use drugs and addictive behaviors such as gambling or sex to escape our pain. It’s so much easier said than done, but the hard work of finally being honest, upfront and courageous with ourselves can ultimately eliminate our need for the drugs we’ve grown so dependent on.
The community of Riverside Recovery has personal experience with addiction and the feelings of hopelessness and disconnection that come with it. We’re here to help you reclaim the life you love. Call (800) 871-5440 today.