As your speeding down the road of life, it’s important to treat it like we actually went to driving school for such. There will be times where we increase or lower our speed. There will be unforeseen accidents that turn into metaphorical 18 car pile-ups. There will be bumpy and smooth paths at times. Despite wherever you may roam, you will be following the GPS of destiny. However, this life will lead you to nowhere if you ignore the signs.

We will feel inclined to take detours down the road, but it is vital that we stay on course. Temptations like drugs and alcohol will be cause for the airbags to go off. The substances may provide a seemingly pretty scenery, but it is only shortly into it that most any addict will realize they are lost. This chemical-induced detour only led us to a dead-end cul de sac of despair.

If we had paid any attention to the warning signs or had asked for directions, maybe we wouldn’t have wound up here. Oftentimes, most addicts and alcoholics will drive right into the misery of substance abuse without any recognition. When the time to make that u-turn comes, it’s recommended we turn to help. The 12 steps and the fellowship are the learning tools we use to curve the alcoholic obsession dwelling within. The steps therein lie the exact directions on how to avoid self-medicating into destruction. It is here that we not only turn the car around but turn our whole world around.

Driving Into Oblivion

Okay okay, enough with the metaphors. Really though, self-medicating is a prominent issue around the world that feeds the belly of alcoholism. Many addicts sprout up in the middle of the night innocently self-medicating to cope with the stresses of reality.

Let’s face the facts, life can really be a pain in the rump. Seriously. There is no pause button or any fairness divided among the near 8 billion people attempting to coexist on this little blue marble. Problems often stack up upon each other like a failing game of Tetris, and from an existential point of view, everything is temporary. However, all the philosophical blunder aside, life is something that is absolutely worth every second. We often forget how short this long life really is as we begin self-medicating with therapeutic intentions. Unfortunately, intentions are always misconstrued if alcoholic thinking is involved.

Reading the Signs

In all actuality, nobody in their right mind chooses to be lost. The same idea applies to becoming an alcoholic. We all want a purpose of some sort; a destination of arrival for the things we’d like to achieve. Of course some desire more in life than others, but ambition or lack of, we all deserve that little slice of happiness. We are all searching for less strife and more relaxation. Sadly things don’t always pan out the way we built the expectations.

Addicts have a great way of needing instant gratification. When the good things in life don’t come to us as quickly as we desire, we are prone to turning to other methods. If the peace of mind won’t arrive now, we will begin self-medicating for that longed effect. However, the chemicals often end up doing much more than the pharmaceutical therapy that we are searching for. Self-medicating has created a slew of problems that spawn substance abuse all over the world. Some of the signs you may be self-medicating include:

• Turning To the Substance When Discomfort Arrives
• Worsened Mood When Not Using It
• Constant Anxiety Over Next Usage
• Problems Are Piling Up In Correlation
• Loved Ones Expressing Concern

These are all minor symptoms of self-medicating- but are not limited to. Self-medication is an idea derived from alcoholic thinking that just awakens the beast of alcoholism. This is where the perfect recipe for devastation lies. Problem piling up is a side effect, sure, but really everything that comes of self-medicating is a newly manifested issue.

Overnight Professional

You see, self-medicating allows us to justify everything going on around us. It is the beginning of an obsessive state of mind commencing to take over. As addiction takes its hold, the problems will only worsen. So being the alcoholic thinkers we are, we convince ourselves that more will fix the problem. Wrong. Wrong wrong wrong. More of whatever it is that we are self-medicating with will only turn bad from worse and eventually into ugly. Why would more gasoline put the fire out? The logic of an active alcoholic would love to rationalize that one.

It is only when we hit that overwhelming rock bottom, by others or our own doings, that we can truly see the error of our ways. Once we have accepted the idea that self-medicating is not helping but hurting, it is then that we can open our eyes to the hands reaching out to provide help. Addiction is a disease that will consume every aspect of rationality as we struggle to keep our heads above water; self-medicating is the shortcut there. This unhealthy state of mind and even an unhealthier way of living will hypnotize us into believing we don’t need help. If only this was anywhere near true. It’s up to us to accept the warning signs and find help when the time comes, otherwise, it’s only trips to empty nowheres from here on out.

There Are Other Ways

Things don’t always turn out the way we envisioned them. Alcoholic thinking causes plans to go astray. Before we know it, we often find ourselves drowning in the struggle. Breaking down the problem at hand and finding a solution is the only way to move on. Understand and accepting our need for self-medication is when true help can begin. If you or a loved one has been struggling with getting a firm grasp on self-medicating and/or sobriety, contact us. Our teams of specialists are waiting by to help figure out what options are best for sending your life in a comfortable direction that you can proudly stand behind.