Ripple Maker

Well I've been waiting for an opportune time to write this and since I know a video I recently posted is going to be broadcasted on several major news outlets tonight. I figured some people might wonder into this blog. 

Before you read there's a couple things you should know about me. For starters, I'm not the best speaker, writer, or even promoter. Hence why I'm using a 15 seconds of fame on a news outlet to talk about something serious. Anyways, I've been working as a nurse for the last year and before the NURSE LIFE I worked in IT for almost a decade. For those who don't know what that is, it's basically computers. During those love/hate years of IT I volunteered in the inner city mentoring high school guys, leading small groups, making a fool of myself, and walking through addictions with friends and family. In high school I myself was on a blazing fast trail of addiction that consisted of porn, ecstasy, prescription pills, weed, excessive alcohol, stealing, and selling. At 19 I was caught in a drive by shooting when a.45 caliber bullet missed my heart by what can only be described as "micro"meters! To this day, I'm so grateful my life didn't end that day, instead since then I've been on this journey of renewal. Something I want to go a little deeper into later. Hopefully to this point I have your attention and at the very least convinced you to hear me the rest of the way out (insert praying hand emjoi)

When we think of addiction, we tend to think of it in the context of drugs, alcohol, gambling, and even pornography. You know, the ugly stuff! But what about food, work, hobbies, SOCIAL MEDIA? These are the more palatable cravings we have. Meaning when you hear them, they're less inclined to have negative feelings with it. But what do all these have in common with one another? All addiction roots itself as a coping mechanism because all addiction disguises itself as form of comfort to avoid stress. Like the saying goes, "numb the pain". Think about it. Pain pills help make a person comfortable by reducing inflammation and producing a euphoria, porn produces arousal and fantasy which both can make a person comfortable for at least a few minutes, and what about something we all can relate to in the south, comfort food? Any body hungry for a meat in three?! You see at the end of the day we're all addicted to something. But some things are more acceptable than others. This is one of the things I tell my patients and their families who are in the dark fight of heroin and meth. I feel it gives them the freedom to not be ashamed anymore. Just to know we all fight addiction in some way brings a little hope. 

While the world struggles to answer the opioid crisis I firmly believe there's not much of a difference between someone who is overweight, watches porn, or addicted to heroin. As long as the root cause of doing these is the same. Call it a spirit of addiction if you will. When life gets hard I tend to say with my best Nick Saban voice, it's how we chose to respond to adversity in our life that will determine our success. As funny as it sounds, its true. When we let our circumstances dictate how we feel we become like a wave tossed back in forth in the ocean.

All kidding aside, my prayer is you will begin to recognize that all addiction roots itself as a form of coping with stress and when your stress levels rise the temptation to negatively cope with it increases. No one can avoid stress all together because we don't live in a perfect world. My pastor always says, you're going to have trouble in this world. "Well pastor, please be more positive!" He always responds, "I'm POSITIVE you're going to have trouble in this world". It's funny but true. Jesus said it 2,000 years ago and it still holds true today. Your see stress is the place in our life where there is the most friction and yet the most temptation. But for the most of us are struggling for our lives in addiction because we fail to recognize it. 

Think about it this way... think of it in 5 phases. The first phase is curiosity, the second experimenting, third - Social (recreational), fourth - adaptation, and fifth - addicted. Not every addiction starts with curiosity but every addiction starts in one of these phases before the fifth phase of addiction is reached. I can name several twenty-somethings that when they turned 21 the first thing they did was go to the bar. Social right? Then what about that Friday when you've had a long day at work, rather a long week at work and now instead of it being social its a place to unwind as we call it. Then every Friday becomes a trip to the bar. I'm convinced most all addictions start out this way. We're unaware of our tipping point, we cope in the wrong ways and in its wake we find ourselves not being able to go without. 

I hope I'm not conveying everyone needs to just toughen up and deal with it when they've had a long work week that seemed to never end. Actually just the opposite, we need to deal with the stress but do it in a healthy way. Instead of running to a bar for instance, hang out with a good friend, call the folks and go to dinner, take your spouse out on a date. If you don't have anybody at all, be bold and start putting yourself in a place to make new friends and don't settle for just any friends. Find the good ones who want to be around you. They're out there I promise. It may take some time but keep putting yourself out there. If you have a hard time relating to others, be patient give it time. Be open to getting to know people with a different background than you. Be willing to grow and don't isolate yourself. 

I hope the little I shared encouraged you. I know I'm barely brushing the surface on addiction. But I do hope what I shared was helpful and gives you some understanding on a very complicated subject. There is so much more I want to share especially if I know what I'm sharing is useful and making a difference for people. Please email me or leave a comment on any topics I can go over. I have many more areas to touch, especially one of my family's own personal struggle with drugs and gambling.

God Bless,

Jason