Am I Addicted?

I had the opportunity to sit in on an follow-up clinic for Drugs and Alcohol services today.

I wanted to hug each and every person when they walked out of that room. I felt sad for them. I thought about all the beauty and joy there is in life and how they were missing out on so much because of the extra strain placed on them by addiction. You can argue that it was self-inflicted but either way, these people have become victims to something.

On the radio this week I heard an interesting story about the increase in couples reporting problems and seeking help as a result of 'violent adult material' they had been looking at with their partner and how that had led to violence in their relationship. I was so grateful for the messages I hear as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints about the dangers of "just looking" at something that drives away the spirit and ultimately our humanity. These things are emotionally and psychologically as addictive as drugs and alcohol. The thing that was really ridiculous about the news story was that it emphasized, at the end, just to reassure that the milder version of such things can be a part of a healthy, normal relationship!
Just when I thought I was starting to hear something over the static!

Joking, at the beginning of the day today, the doctor asked us the question:

"Are you addicted to anything?" 

I don't think he expected me to seriously consider my answer. But I did. 

I think perhaps all of us have experienced some form of addiction if only because we've all been guilty of doing something that we know is unhealthy for us but that we feel at a loss to stop. Perhaps it's a behaviour like envy or impatience. Maybe it's procrastination and time-wasting.

What is addiction like: 

I don't think I've ever seen anything that hit me as hard as a description as this. It was a dance performed on "So you think you can dance" a few years ago. I'm not usually into these things but I stood amazed at the way they moved and perfectly (I.M.O.) portrayed addiction. 

A few weeks ago I taught a class to the Young Women in my ward on Drug Abuse. In the class there was a quote from Marvin J Ashton asking what causes "a strong, lovely, vibrant young person to allow a chemical to control his or her behaviour?" - Indeed, what causes any of us to allow our behaviour to be dictated by laziness or indecision or impatience or boredom rather than standing up and being counted? 

I don't have the answers, so I won't pretend to. It's just something to think about!