Self Help For People
My Observations in the following areas: Human nature, defining sanity, understanding the concept of God, Spirituality or Higher Power, examining old ideas, emotional and physical healing.
This is a chronicle of my journey from where I was to where I am. Where you are on your own journey will determine whether a particular page might be useful to you. I needed to go through each page, to live out and discover the lessons and understandings along the way. The latest additions to this journal will contain my latest experiences and realizations. You can find the latest writings on my other sites. If you started your journey toward self discovery yesterday or last week my latest interests and focus might not be what is best for you - where you are. On the other hand - maybe they are.
I began writing about this exploration of the self while dealing with my addiction and continued to write things down in my life after addiction. There is a wealth of information here concerning drug addiction and emotional addictions that get in the way of our personal health and well being. Always there is one thing more than any other that keeps people from recovering from addictions or moving toward a better life situation. That one thing is fear. More specifically: Fear of the unknown. So a large part of getting started on a self determined path is dealing with fear. Letting go of old ideas.
Whatever keeps us from living a life we truly want, whether it's addiction or environmental conditioning, it won't get better until we change. For the most part I look at things from the viewpoint of addiction recovery. If you're not an addict, don't worry about it, as far as the "content" examined it's all the same. We could simply replace addiction with emotional dis-ease if we wanted to.
What Is Addiction?
Of course any attempt at defining - What Is Addiction - must be considered a work in progress. We could keep it simple for now and focus on the addict and whatever addictive substances or behavior they are addicted to. If we ever experience - "This is really making my life hard and painful, I should stop, but I just can't." - we might as well say we have an addiction - then find out what other addicts have done to recover.
Is there such a thing as an addictive personality? Yes, but it's important to understand how a personality develops. There is a lot on "The Personality" included here.
Addictions|It's Addictive For The Addict
My personal experience lies primarily in Alcoholism, drug abuse|substance abuse so everything I've learned started there.
Is there a physical biological difference between an addict and the non-addict? I would have to say, Yes. If we look at what is considered addictive, why doesn't anyone who uses or practices them get addicted to them? What is addictive to one person is not to another and getting to the bottom of this will be very helpful for addicts. This is all covered here but it's a lot to absorb and takes a bit of time. The first step in ending an addiction takes no understanding of addiction at all. The first step is always detox and withdrawal.
Holistic Detox Method
These days it's almost impossible that anyone wouldn't benefit from practicing some holistic detox. Generally this is done by eliminating processed foods and returning to a natural food diet. Most modern medicines are toxins. The connection between diet and our mental and emotional states should not be ignored. The first step in changing any undesired mental-emotional state should be the elimination of toxins, toxic foods and toxic medicines.
In some cases people will just have to move away from the toxic environment. This is the sad reality of life in the 21st century.
If any addict knew exactly how much physical and emotional pain was "Necessary" in the detox/recovery process most of them would get started today. The problem lies in - Not Knowing. All addicts live in fear of life without their medication. The longer the addict stays medicated the deeper the fear. I spent the majority of 35 years actively addicted. That means, taking drugs, medicating. I had a lot of fear of "A world without drugs".
Fear: Mental & Emotional Health
Here's a big problem with life under the influence of that kind of fear: You stay scared, all the time. When you're not loaded, you're scared. When you are loaded, you're scared. That kind of constant stress is really, really hard. Living in fear - without drugs - becomes mentally, physically and emotionally unbearable. This is why so many people give up on the task of recovering. On the other hand for those who continue using drugs to cope life becomes a living nightmare. Sooner or later it wears us down. We quit, go insane or die.
No one can cope with constant fear and remain emotionally and mentally sound. The good news is this: Even for the long term, hard core, addict - there is a way out. I am the proof. I can tell you that the fear of a life without drugs is far worse than the reality of a life without drugs.
Whether people are in the midst of an addiction, looking for detox, dealing with early addiction recovery, or looking to get the most out of life after addiction it all comes down to dealing with ourselves, our thoughts and fears.
As I remain drug free, continue to write about life after addiction and watch the world around me I find it impossible not to write about things people usually don't associate with addiction.
It's All Connected
What I find is everything is connected and effects everything else. We live in a Symbiotic Interdependent Universe. My thoughts about life have an effect on your life and vise verse. There is no disconnected people or isolated condition. We can never understand addiction without understanding people, society - and life itself. So I use a holistic approach to my own addiction recovery. If you are an addict and want help you can find it here.
Resources available include: Counseling, (basic) health tips, nutrition resources and help dealing with life, people, principles, societies, government, motives, religion and human nature.
"Ours is not the task of fixing the entire world all at once, but of stretching out to mend the part of the world that is within our reach. Any small, calm thing that one soul can do to help another soul, to assist some portion of this poor suffering world, will help immensely. It is not given to us to know which acts or by whom, will cause the critical mass to tip toward an enduring good." By Clarissa Pinkola Estes