THINKING ABOUT YOUR ADDICITION

Modern philosophers would tell you that you are not thinking about your addiction unless you are thinking about thinking about your addiction.

Thinking about your addiction is like quality control, thinking about thinking about your addiction is like quality assurance, if that helps.

Why bother with this distinction?

Because you can reduce your anxiety coupled with addiction.

I will give you an example.

A person who uses drugs spends most of their time thinking about getting their next fix. No amount of idealization about cutting back or how they are being victimized by society will negate the behavior.

This is what Zig Ziegler termed “stinking thinking.”

If instead the addict thought about the destructive nature of what they were doing when they used drugs or alcohol they could hope to reduce their anxiety through understanding and change their behavior.