Our time in addiction changed the way that we think. Our brains became so accustomed to drugs and alcohol that we began developing uncontrollable cravings. Often, we found out the hard way that, no matter how many times we swore we would not drink or use again, we managed to convince ourselves to pick up another drink or drug. Addiction is a threefold disease composed of a spiritual malady, a physical allergy, and a mental obsession. The spiritual malady is the internal discontentment that causes us to seek relief in drugs and alcohol, the physical allergy is defined by our inability to stop using once we put a substance into our body, and the mental obsession is what brings us back to drinking or using no matter how firm of a resolution we have made to give up substance use. The mental obsession, for someone suffering from the disease of alcoholism or addiction, is as natural as breathing. We can hold our breath for a time, but inevitably, our body will make us breathe. We may be able to stop using drugs or alcohol for some time, but seemingly no matter what we do, we will pick up another drink or drug. The idea of a “mental twist” is rooted in this obsession. Our addiction wants to be satiated, and we will find a way to convince ourselves that one drink or one drug won’t hurt us. We know from experience that this is not the case. Every time we have used drugs or alcohol, our lives quickly devolve into unmanageability and chaos. For some reason, as a result of our addiction, we find a way to twist our thinking into the conviction that this time, unlike every single other time, we will be able to drink or use without consequence. The Big Book of Alcoholic Anonymous presents a story of the mental twist in action. A businessman named Fred describes, “I went to my hotel and leisurely dressed for dinner. As I crossed the threshold of the dining room, the thought came to my mind that it would be nice to have a couple of cocktails with dinner. That was all. Nothing more.” Soon, these “couple of cocktails” turned into a binge: “I have a shadowy recollection of being in an airplane bound for New York, and of finding a friendly taxicab driver at the landing field instead of my wife. The driver escorted me about for several days. I know little of where I went or what I said and did. Then came the hospital with unbearable mental and physical suffering.” As men and women suffering from the disease of addiction, it is easy to allow our thinking to twist into the belief that a “couple of cocktails” won’t hurt us. From experience, however, we know this is not the case. Picking up a drink or a drug happens for us as naturally as breathing, which is why the only way to overcome addiction and alcoholism is through engaging in a strong program of recovery that helps us build up a defense against the first drink or drug.
Your story can be one of permanent sobriety. There is a solution to alcoholism and addiction through the process of recovery. Oceanfront Recovery, a treatment facility in beautiful Laguna Beach, offers a variety of treatment methods and techniques, including 12-Step meetings, to give you the tools needed to flourish in sobriety. For more information about treatment options, please call today: (877) 279-1777
