(Notes from FB Live Oct 3 2018 ~ Click to Watch)

Addiction is so hard to explain!

I try to do a study of some sort every year to learn more about me, expand my skills and abilities and move closer to my quest to find contentment. For the past 2 years I have been studying a book that works with overcoming addiction based on the Buddha’s teachings.

I have learned so much about addiction and as a result have received massive healing and growth. It was through this study that I realized I addiction is so much more than substance or gambling or shopping or what we commonly associate with the word “addiction.” Addiction can also be negativity or gossip or youthfulness! In fact a good definition is “any mental or bodily habit that has a compulsive quality to it and causes us to suffer.”

When we are addicted, we heap upon ourselves unnecessary suffering, and often associated with this are feelings of shame. And to make everything worse, people who have either not experienced addiction or who have not been close to someone who has an addiction have a very difficult time understanding what it is like.

I remember my girlfriend struggling to understand why someone with an addiction can’t “just say no” and not do it risk everything being taken away or losing someone they loved simply because they wouldn’t stop doing whatever it was they were doing. She was genuinely wanting to understand as she realized there was a truth she couldn’t grasp and it was bothering her.

That is when in my search I stumbled across the idea of eating a box of Ex-Lax and “willing” myself not to poop. For me it is exactly what it feels like. I have never been so delighted! And it still makes me smile.

When I shared the concept with my friend her eyes flew open, mouth dropped as comprehension flooded her understanding.

Addiction is a complicated life threatening condition and requires education, plan of action and loving support. I am eternally grateful to have found a way of explaining so simply and so thoroughly.

30#addiction #friends #feelings #laxatives #suffering #buddha #recovery #healing #compassion #growth