Many of us with addictions and mental and emotional health issues have “inner demons” we wrestle with, that cause us extreme mental and emotional distress over the years. Our inner demons are the difficult thoughts, emotions and beliefs we’ve developed, that can often morph into obsessions, complexes, neuroses and phobias. They are what keep you up at night, what you find yourself obsessing about and feeling tormented by, the things that make you feel bad about yourself and bring you painful emotions that you can’t seem to resolve, even after years of trying.
Our thought patterns become thought addictions, and we often develop behavioral addictions or compulsions to try to cope with them. At the root of all of it we can find our subconscious fears.
Our subconscious minds store our emotional memories, including the fears we developed after traumatic experiences. As we’ve been living with these fears, we’ve been reinforcing them by giving them our attention and energy over time. We perpetuate our toxic thought patterns and compound their painful impact with our addictive behaviors.
Healing our inner demons means facing them, not trying to run from them or avoid them with our addictive distractions – our substances of choice, unhealthy relationships, compulsive behaviors, etc. Healing asks that we sit with the fears that come up, sit with the pain they bring us, along with the physical sensations of fear and anxiety we feel in our bodies. Many of us share some common fears – fears of judgement, rejection, abandonment, loneliness, inadequacy, inferiority, failure, etc. The more we sit with them and face them head on, the more we release our resistance to them. By accepting them, we can calm and neutralize the negative energy that has been accumulating in our minds, hearts and bodies. We can decrease their power over us.
Our addictive behaviors cause us to direct our energy towards avoidance, escapism and distraction. We can start directing our energy towards healing our minds instead. To do this, we can reprogram our subconscious minds by finding affirmations that resonate with us, that we can use to instill new belief systems for ourselves. “I am safe. I am secure. I am loved. I believe in myself. I have faith in myself. I love myself.”
With time and repetition, we adopt these new thoughts as second nature, replacing the old ones that used to torment us. The more energy we can give to healing our minds, the more inner peace we’ll feel. Mental and emotional peace are so important for our recovery and our happiness.
Joy and clarity are waiting for you on the other side of your fear! Call (800) 871-5440 for information on how we can help you.