Addiction is a crafty beast. People who live with it, especially those in recovery, know this all too well. The road back to a healthier life is littered with traps and obstacles. As humans, we look for comfort and safety. As addicted people, that search tends to lead down dangerous paths. We look for shortcuts. Even in recovery, our brain is still addicted and wants to return to addicted thinking and actions. That means that rather than dealing with addicted thinking and actions, we simply transfer the behavior from one substance to another.
What is Addiction Transfer?
Addiction is about more than the substance. It is about how we deal with stress and how we think about the world. It is also about how we think. Addiction is not simply limited to a specific drug. People with addiction might have a drug of choice but we will use anything to achieve the high. If we are addicted to heroin, we will also drink. If alcohol is our drug of choice, we might also take benzodiazepines. The point of addiction is not really about what we take but more about why we take anything at all.
Transfer happens when we swap one substance or activity for another instead of living compulsion free. Some people in early recovery turn to food or sex or risky behaviors. The pleasure center of the brain is looking for the overload of dopamine and other chemicals it has grown accustomed to. Just because something is not a drug doesn’t mean it is good for you. Most things in excess have negative consequences. If we do not control how we eat, we can develop obesity. If we engage in unsafe and compulsive sexual behavior we can contract various infections or unplanned pregnancies. Compulsive behavior seldom leads to happy outcomes.
In order to truly recover from addiction, we need to address the behavior and the reason behind it. We need to look clearly at what we are doing and why and this can be tricky. In early recovery, we learn about distraction to get is through the rough moments. Distraction is a healthy and effective alternative to using but if we overdo it, we still damaging ourselves. Avoiding addiction transfer, we need to be mindful. We cannot make excuses for ourselves. Our behavior is the one thing we can control while our thoughts and feelings come and go, we can choose to face them and move forward.
Getting Help
Addiction is not only dangerous, but it is also wily. It can trick us. If you have a habit that gets in the way of your life and happiness, you might have an addiction. If you are ready to live a life free of compulsion, then call Fort Worth Recovery today at 817 382 2894 or visit us online.
