Why do become become addicted to things? Addictions can be to substances or activities. I can attempt to explain with with a lot of neurochemistry and how the biology of some brains have over or under expressed receptors for neurochemicals or how certain neurochemicals are over or under produced and that these imbalances drive some people towards addiction. The biochemical explanantion would make it hopeless to break out of addiction and external chemicals are necessary to restore balance. Medication can be remedy for a small percentage of people.
I suspect that most people become addicted to something because they need an escape from reality. The numbness results from addiction gives one a temporary respite from the pains and pressures of the real world. It would be great if all I had to do was to close my eyes and everything would disappear. The world would not matter, there would be no problems because I do not see them anymore.
The search for such ephermal peace makes some people so desparate that they will try anything, just to get back to where things did not matter anymore. To live like a person in nature, where all needs and wants are provided without asking. A few minutes of a mind altering substance does not solve any problems because eventually, everyone has to come back to live in this reality. The need to stay in the altered state becomes the goal because the pain of reality becomes unbearable. When does it stop?
Although addicts do not want to harm themselves, ultimately, they do harm themselves. Their quest is no different than that of anyone else. All of us are searching for some kind of paradise, an Eden, so that we can live there forever. Numbing the pain cannot bring you there, because paradise is place where there is no pain, there are no deadlines. Each of us has to make an earnest attempt to find heaven, and it is not by numbing the pain of everyday life. There is something out there, beyond what we know and see. A life that is longing to be.
I suspect that most people become addicted to something because they need an escape from reality. The numbness results from addiction gives one a temporary respite from the pains and pressures of the real world. It would be great if all I had to do was to close my eyes and everything would disappear. The world would not matter, there would be no problems because I do not see them anymore.
The search for such ephermal peace makes some people so desparate that they will try anything, just to get back to where things did not matter anymore. To live like a person in nature, where all needs and wants are provided without asking. A few minutes of a mind altering substance does not solve any problems because eventually, everyone has to come back to live in this reality. The need to stay in the altered state becomes the goal because the pain of reality becomes unbearable. When does it stop?
Although addicts do not want to harm themselves, ultimately, they do harm themselves. Their quest is no different than that of anyone else. All of us are searching for some kind of paradise, an Eden, so that we can live there forever. Numbing the pain cannot bring you there, because paradise is place where there is no pain, there are no deadlines. Each of us has to make an earnest attempt to find heaven, and it is not by numbing the pain of everyday life. There is something out there, beyond what we know and see. A life that is longing to be.
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