The Logic of Addiction and How May You Escape It
Addiction comes in many forms, from eating, scrolling, gaming, porn, and drinking, and usually ending with drugs. As someone who has been addicted to a few and lost them for good, let me share my views on it.
To escape addiction, the first step is to recognize why you have it in the first place.
The psychology of addiction is based on a simple fact.
ESCAPE
- Depressed and need something fulfilling: Eat
- Bored with 9–5: Play games.
- Don't have a girlfriend: Watch porn.
- Want it at the workplace: Smoke
- Bored with life: Drugs
- Need more drama/entrainment in life: Watch Movies/Series
Do you see the common thing in all these cases?
Yes, it's ESCAPE. Life has put you in such a position that escape seems the easier way out instead of facing your problems, fears and insecurities. The wall between your challenges and everyday life becomes so damn high that you want to hide away in a corner from everyone and everything.
Addiction also has other reasons, such as genetics, but for most of us, I believe it's Trauma or Depression.
But how to escape or never develop it in the first place?
That requires something big in your life, much better than the escape you get from addictions.
What could be that something big?
That depends from person to person. Let's take the example of a 9–5 software developer.
This software developer has nothing much in life. Somehow wakes up at 10 am and goes to the office. Spends 6–7 hours solving JIRA tickets and the rest drinking tea. He comes home around 8 pm, and scrolls to Instagram/Facebook till 10 pm. He eats the delicious Large Chicken Biriyani from his favorite Biriyani Restaurant, then more scrolling/gaming or watching porn and then somehow sleep around 3 am before having a round of Chicken Popcorn. And the cycle repeats for five days.
At weekends he somehow spends his day in loneliness since he doesn’t have many friends or even barely steps out of his home.
One day a colleague asked our software engineer friend to smoke after lunch. Our software engineer unwillingly goes, cause why not. He smokes for the first time and is appealed by the hit. He doesn't want to develop a smoking habit since his life is already pretty fucked with his BMI lying in the obese range. But after a bit of time with his colleague, he started smoking. It has become a habit for him. Now he requires that hit at home as well, and next thing you know, he's buying cig-packets every other day.
What will happen to his lungs or throat is another story, but, our software engineer has developed three bad habits, one after another.
Our friend missed one essential thing in this world, and that is this world. He lived in his own world, escaping from everyone and everything. He never put effort into making bonds or achieving something significant. He couldn’t become the person in whom he could feel pride, and hence he couldn’t face himself and sought the most accessible escape.
BUT WHAT ELSE COULD OUR FRIEND HAVE DONE???
Find something so big that his escapes would seem small and meaningless to him.
- He could challenge himself to build six packs and put in mental and physical effort.
- He could challenge himself to build a side hustle.
- He could challenge himself to get a girlfriend.
- He could challenge himself to read.
- He could challenge himself to learn a new instrument.
There are so many things in this world to do that our friends should never need an escape with the help of addiction. All he had to do was put a little effort in the right direction to have some patience with his challenges.
- Instead of seeing that fancy gym and passing away, he could have got a membership there, and say if he gets a lean muscular body after some time, he would never think of eating heavy again.
- Instead of giving in to the craving, he could have cooked himself, and after a few cooking's, he would be so good at cooking he won't order but cook his favorite dishes himself.
- Instead of never talking to that girl, he could have asked her out, maybe they would wind up together, and he would never resort to porn again since he would have a fulfilling life.
- Instead of just scrolling, he could have found a friend who knew guitar and gone to their home to learn some stuff. Then maybe I did a few collaborations and made a fortune from YouTube by uploading those videos. (Everyone likes music).
This would make his life so big and fulfilling that he would never need any addiction. Cause he would have so many things to see and experience.
I recommend that this software engineer friend go out of their comfort zone and see the world. The big and wonderful world with all the opportunities and possibilities and live life to the fullest.
“We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm and adventure. There is no end to the adventures that we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open” — Jawaharlal Nehru
Cheers :)
