We are, on a whole, a society of addicts. Have you ever seen the AT&T commercial with the little kids and the girl states, “We just want more!”? This is the battle cry for our addiction-consumed society. Whether it is drugs in the form of alcohol or cocaine or in such behaviors like overeating, gambling, pornography or shopping, we just can’t seem to get enough.

Why is it so hard for me to stop using ________? This question has been asked by probably millions upon millions of people over time.  There has been research done on addiction for decades.  While there have been many advances made in the understanding of addictive disorders like drug addiction, alcoholism , and sex addiction, to name but a few, many people still struggle to quit.

Last week, I wrote about the costs of drug addiction.  This week, I’d like to focus on the rewards of addiction recovery. For many active addicts, their drug of choice is kind of like their best friend. The drug addict and the drug have this kind of love-hate relationship often seen in the best and worst of partnerships. So it’s no wonder that when the addict tries to let go of the drug there is often a great deal of difficulty.

Addiction comes in many forms.  Often when we think of this disorder we think of its impact on the individual.  There are many harmful effects associated with addiction: poor health, legal consequences, and psychological problems to name but a few.  For most individuals who are in active addiction their lives are ruled by the relentless desire to get more of the substance despite how bad things become. But addiction goes far beyond the problems associated with the individual addict.

In one of my recent blog posts, The Best Way to Quit Using Drugs, I discussed various means in which an individual could try to arrest his/her addiction.  In response to the article, I had two readers comment with opposing points of view. One raised the point that treatments like Suboxone (Buprenorphine) and Methadone have been used to help treat addiction to opioids.   The other reader had a more abstinence-based response and stated that one needs to address his/her addiction by kicking the habit “cold turkey.”

This video provides simple, easy to follow tips for addiction recovery including, having a belief in one's recovery, reaching out for help, and replacing unhealthy behaviors with healthy ones.

If I were to take a poll of 100 recovering addicts and ask them what method they used to get clean I would likely get a number of responses.  And that’s the point. The best way to quit using drugs is determined by the addict. What works for one individual may not work for another. The method you take to quit using drugs is best decided by you.

Jails, institutions and death.  These are the ends of addiction.  And as far as the death part is concerned, it doesn’t always mean physical death. Have you ever watched the TV series, The Walking Dead?  Well, that’s what addiction can do to a person, metaphorically speaking.  The addict is devoid of any real kind of life source and is simply feeding off of others to maintain his existence.

Addiction is typically seen as being a bad thing but is it possible to take the negative aspects of addiction and transform them into something positive? This video explores this idea. Watch

When I look back over my time in addiction recovery, it would seem that this process was linear. In other words, it would appear that there was some kind of flow that provided me with a sense of well-being and confidence that I would no longer have to worry about picking up a drink or drug again. But this couldn’t be further from the truth. The reality, for me, is that recovery from addiction rarely occurs in a straight line.