...that makes it so much more of "a hill to die on" than other habits? I mean, common sense says its bad, but when confronted you defend it so much harder than you would if someone confronted you about, say, biting your fingernails?I am aware of the chemical stuff that goes on, but why SOOOO defensive? Is it really a FEAR of losing the high if you admit it? and that if you admit it, then it means your a loser if you can't fix it?
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What is it about addiction...
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I think if you admit it then you KNOW you HAVE to do something about it. Where as if you say it's just a social thing then you can get away with doing it a little here and there and never have to give it up completely. Did that make sense? :smirk:
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Assuming you're talking about non-trivial amounts of drugs like alcohol, you get two results. One is a feeling of pleasure (probably not as big a thing with alcohol as with other drugs), and you get an anesthetic effect (so you don't feel the pain in your life). Fingernail biting may be pleasurable to some people, but it doesn't have the anesthetic effect.When someone tells you to stop drinking, they think they're telling you, "Stop self-medicating!", but you might hear, "Feel the pain!"It will be very difficult to give up a substance habit through sheer will (although it's possible). You need to address whatever it is in your life that's causing the pain and unhappiness that you're trying to get away from.It's a hard thing to fix. You are definitely not a loser if you find it difficult. You are normal. You need to keep at it.
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LOL...Actually, its for me about cigarettes, I will defend the 'so what if I kill MYSELF" garbage as far as I can go in a really sickening mannor, but more for a friend who has other issues.He just got poped with a dui for the 4th time, and gets so out of it that he has black outs.. drives, and could kill people. And sad to me is that it is how my BEST friend met him, best friend was the arresting officer this time. Oh ya, I am confronting the drinking issue, I obviously do better by joking around about it...otherwise, I would disapear off the face of the earth so I could do it alone, then all the sudden re-apear..just alot longer off than if I stay in good contact...so thanx to all of you who pm me and all that
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Cigarettes is a tough one, but I have a friend who has major problems with alcohol. I played "hide the car keys" with her a bunch of times. But she's doing much better now.(I almost said "who's had" rather than "who has"...it's still a big potential problem.)