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'Simply and Beautifully Woman' Newsletter
Presents:
A Break from Life....
Or Addiction
| June, 2013 |
Greetings!
I'm sorry for those of you who were waiting for Thursday's newsletter! Because of a wonderfully busy real estate season, writing twice a week has turned out to be just a bit unrealistic. I forgot about my need for sleep! So look for a once a week Sunday night or Monday morning edition for this new series on: "A Break from Life... or Addiction?"
Since I last spoke with you, one of our readers wrote to me about her chocolate addiction; another reader asked if I would be talking about food addictions; Lowell and Nancy from Cleveland sent me a note, "An addiction is anything you can't control by a simple act of your will."
Hmmm.... Does that mean my _______? video games, gambling, exercise in excess, computer addiction, shopping, use of credit cards, compulsive worrying and nagging, spending, television, social or night time drinking, prescription medicines, sex, fighting, etc. Regardless of what these behavioral or physiological addictions can be, they have a common thread of causing havoc in one's life (and often others)...and the aftermath of "I can't believe I did that again!"
Thank you! I hope to hear from many more of you about your 'Breaks from Life'... or your 'Addictions'. Your stories will anonymously be woven into this series to bless others who might be struggling or victorious like you or your loved ones.
Sharon
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Definitions - taken from Wikipedia
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Tolerance: is the process by which the body continually adapts to the substance and requires increasingly larger amounts to achieve the original effects.
Withdrawal: refers to the physical and psychological symptoms experienced when reducing or discontinuing a substance that the body has become dependent on.
Symptoms of Withdrawal: generally include anxiety, irritability, intense cravings for the substance, nausea, hallucinations, headaches, cold sweats, and tremors.
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The Beginning of a
Young Wife and Mother's Story,
Written for the First Time, Especially for You.
Substance addiction. "Physiological dependence occurs when the body has to adjust to the substance by incorporating the substance into its "normal" functioning.
This young wife and mother is a regular reader of the "Simply and Beautifully Woman" newsletter. Her story will be the source of our reflections over these next weeks. There is something for all of us to gleam from her story, whether "addicted" or not.
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My swollen eyes opened and I laid there staring out of the window in my room as the light struggled to break through the morning clouds. I was in another alcohol rehab institution and the familiar feeling of defeat washed over me again.
 I had been crying all night, so I was still tired. But I was always tired, exhausted...actually. I had spent a lifetime thinking only of myself, and it drained me. I wondered if I would ever stop feeling sick and tired, but then I knew that would require real changes. The nurse came in, 
"Get dressed honey, breakfast in half an hour and then group" she said with a kind smile.
I was well versed in the process as a three time rehab veteran. I knew the drill well; go over the steps, make amends, develop a post-treatment AA meeting plan, blah blah blah. I had successfully faked my way through it for years now. I actually wondered how long it would take me to convince everyone this time that I got it and that they could leave me alone. But a new thought actually crossed my mind... could this time actual be different? How many times was I going to repeat the cycle? Even those fleeting thoughts made me feel like a failure, but that was nothing new.
To be continued next Sunday.
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Have you ever felt "defeat wash over you?
Have you ever cried all night?
Have you spent too much time thinking only of yourself?
Does your life need some real changes?
Are there behaviors that we do over and over again, usually feel bad afterwards, but do them again tomorrow ...and the next day?
Is there someone you know who is struggling with substance addictions?
Can you share this newsletter with someone that could use some encouragement in these areas?
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