I am ENTITLED to substances, drugs, and/or alcohol...
-because it gives me the shortest possible route to euphoria.
-in order to temporarily forget my rotten past.
-because my current living and working conditions are well-below others.
-because I made a few little mistakes, yet I have to face consequences that far outweigh my actions, and that is not fair.
-to help me temporarily numb my physical or emotional pain.
-because I am too powerless/diseased to do anything about it.
-because “everybody” else entitles themselves.
Do you self-prescribe to one more of the above entitlements? How would you feel if any of your loved one’s lived their lives according to one of the above entitlements? How do you feel knowing that your hard-earned tax dollars go to imprisonment and/or treatment of people that believe that they are entitled to their choice of any of the above?
Thinking of all the positive people in history, all those that we would make positive role models of… did they live their lives according to entitlements or did they make their own way? A life, ultimately, that one could be proud of.
Now consider your life, after addiction. Let’s assume what most people in the grips of addiction assume: a mundane life, a boring existence. The absence of negative consequences that you self-inflict, and afflict on all those around you with drinking and drugging aside: what can be expected from a clean and sober life? Some products of the ordinary life to consider: better relationships (whether significant; or with friends, co-workers, and everybody else you come in contact with, however trivial), children, pets, productivity, participation and involvements, and just experiencing the world through clean and sober senses. The list would be endless; however, according to history textbooks, ordinary. I am not saying that your life couldn’t ever take a turn for the extraordinarily positive (and the possibility of this happening to someone clean and sober, versus addicted, is many-fold higher). Also, maybe in the small world around you now, contrasting your currently addicted lifestyle with anything clean and sober might be seen as somewhat extraordinary.
How many people, on their deathbeds, would say that the best part of their lives happened during their alcohol and drug-use years? I bet, with few exceptions, that they would claim that addiction would clearly mark the worst years of their lives. The value of retrospection is that you can truthfully evaluate life before, during, and after addiction; including the totality of all experiences, positive and negative.
I appreciate your feedback, especially by email!
My email: betteraddcare@yahoo.com
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