Breaking Addiction Takes More Than Just Willpower

Addiction is a one big problem we are having in our world today, it happens to peopl in different ways. There are those addicted to drugs, habits and even thoughts that are affecting lives negatively. And if there's one thing that's difficult to break, it is addiction, especially the bad ones.

Yeah, I believe there are good addictions but somehow we don't give credit to people who have somehow built good addictions or habits around themselves. It's not encouraged enough so the bad addictions are popular and everywhere. It's a sad reality in our today's world.

Some hours ago, I came across a post as I was scrolling on Instagram reminding me how social media, in the aspect of doomscrolling have become the latest smoking (a new addiction). This one is even more scary and damaging because it is not seen as an addiction easily yet.

Many are engaged in it without realizing how much damage it is causing to their health on the long run, same for other bad addictions ranging from drugs to habits, especially bad sexual habits. As much as people want to make some bad habits look good, many knows how bad it is.

The problem is, we know the bad in what's happening to us but we don't find the courage or discipline or even the mindset to put a stop to it individually. Annoyingly, these addictions started out little and full of fun and enjoyment until it wasn't any longer but causing serious problems.

I remember a guy in our old neighborhood who let smoking got the better part of him, he even upgraded what he smokes and that made him have mental issues. It wasn't a good sight at all to see, I could see how difficult it would be for him to find a way out of the situation he was in.

Addiction is not a funny or easy place to be, there is the desire to continue and expenses to face even for the few who are trying to stop it but can't seem to. Personally, I don't have serious addictions that can't be controlled but from others' stories, it's easy to say it's hard to stop.

But I have to come to understand that nothing is really beyond our individual capabilities depending on who and what we let into our mind's world. We all have a mind of our own and that is the place where we choose what goes in and out of it, it is also where addictions begins.

The tops on the list to overcoming addictions is having a mind that is decided to stop it, an external support system, intentional self control actions and having a strong reason to go through the journey of overcoming something you once only enjoyed doing. All of that makes it not easy.

But thinking it's beyond individual capabilities, I'll disagree with that. The individual that can start an addiction can end an addiction, it just requires more to end it than to start and that's where many are failing because they don't want to do the work or I'll add that they don't have a why yet.