Link: http://www.riseaboveaddiction.com

Have you ever been shocked at the power of an addiction to utterly tie someone down? Or have you been astonished at its power to rob everything that is good from the lives of its prey? Perhaps YOU are even now in the strangling grip of addiction. Or maybe your heart is breaking at the sight of your precious loved one trapped by the awful monster. No matter the addiction – be it an addiction to drugs, alcohol, tobacco, pornography, gambling, or even gamming – the nature of the beast is the same. In fact, all addictions are the creation of the self-same dark and subtle beast. To escape the beast (and yes, yes, YES – escape is possible!) you need to understand the nature of the beast. What ever brought you to this site, you should be commended! And trust me, please trust me, you should keep reading.
Addiction is like no other creature on earth. It is subtle and crafty, seemingly harmless at times, but deadly to the core. Addiction often likes to masquerade as your best friend and cozy up to you and tell you with puppy dog eyes that it means you no harm. It will even tell you over and over that you are in control and that even if it were dangerous you could destroy him in an instant. While the addict is busy being deceived however, what I call ‘the great subversion’ is already underway. Behind his smile hides his true intention. He desires for you to feel pain, misery, embarrassment, humiliation, and ultimately he will not stop short of your total destruction. I mean it. Make no mistake – ADDICTION HATES YOU with a passion that is full of rage and furry like no other. Remember that fact. Remember it daily. Remind yourself daily. Remind your loved ones. It is critically important to know his true intentions. While the battle to rise above addiction is often as much chemical as it is a battle of logic and the mind, you must keep his true intentions constantly in the front of your mind to win the battle of logic and the mind.
You will notice I try very hard not to use the words “beat addiction” or “conquer addiction.” I think such terminology plays right into his ugly hand. Saying that someone can ‘beat addiction’ sounds like a one-time victory in which the beast is defeated once and for all. Now, to be clear, I am not a pessimist, and without a doubt, my whole intent is to help those affected by addiction find real recovery and maintain real recovery. But it does no good to give the impression that once someone has control of their life the awful beast will never attack them again. That is his lie! Perhaps there are in fact those who will find ways to arrange their lives such as to never be agonized by the beast again. For true, the beast’s only power is the power we give him. But it is far safer to admit this fact: real recovery takes work, and maintaining recovery takes sustained work. He is always stalking your perimeter looking for weaknesses in your fence or for a gate left open. Once real recovery is reached, you must never be sloppy. Furthermore you must never forgive the beast! That sounds silly doesn’t it? Who would ever forgive such a monster after his hateful violence on the soul? Consider this little tale of two kingdoms.
There was once a beautiful kingdom named the Kingdom of Green Hills. It was one of the most pleasant kind-spirited places on earth. There was peace throughout the land and the people held all of their neighbors in warm and close regard. One of the neighboring kingdoms named Sharp Rocks gained the confidence of the people of Green Hills. Green Hills had even defended Sharp Rocks from its enemies. Green Hills rescued Sharp Rocks from economic demise more than once at great cost to their own people. It seemed there was no kingdom more loved by Green Hills than that of Sharp Rocks. Then one peaceful day without warning the King of Sharp Rocks assembled his people into a vast army and in a premeditated act of war they savagely attacked the people of Green Hills. There was no mercy in the eyes of the attackers. By the time the people of Green Hills were able to defend themselves and repel the invaders, great destruction had already been done. The survivors suffered almost unmentionable injury. They vowed in bitter anger and pain they would NEVER trust the people of Sharp Rocks again. They vowed such betrayal and treachery would never be forgotten. For a short time they tightened their borders and protected themselves. Unfortunately, it seems, their only weakness was that of a short memory. Within a few months, the people of Green Hills relaxed their security and began again to trust completely the people of Sharp Rocks again. They were certain the people of Sharp Rocks would never attack again. But sadly, the people of Sharp Rocks attacked again and with more savagery and horror than the first time.
It does seem silly. Who would forgive such treachery? Such offenses between two nations in real life would not be so quickly forgotten. And neither should they be so quickly forgotten with addiction! The nation who was betrayed would never trust the offending nation again, or at least not for many, many years. And yet many facing addictions are quick to forget how badly deeply their addictions hurt them and they turn right around and trust the beast again. Such is the subtly of the beast. Beware.
The truth of addiction is this: you must live everyday with the pointed tip of your outstretched sword at the neck of the dragon; ready to strike it if it so much as moves. If you remember anything you have ready today it is that. Live your life as far from it as you can, but never be fooled, to maintain recovery, you must sustain effort! This is why I try not to use the term “beat addiction.” You must Rise Above Addiction. You must live above addiction.
All of that said, I hope everyone reading this will lift up their heads and smile. Today is a special day. There is hope! You can live above addiction! Families can find hope and consolation. Now where do I start, you ask? The fact that you’re here shows you have already started! For so many that is probably the hardest step.
Next you need you need to ask for help. That includes admitting that you cannot control this part of your life. You cannot and should not trust yourself, and that is okay. If you have not already appealed to a Higher Power to help you through this, now is the time. Any attempt at recovery and the strength to maintain recovery will meet the best success if you seek God and involve Him. The same is especially true for families and friends. You will find strength and wisdom and be able to provide help far beyond your own if you seek God in your life. (more about how to find God later, but if you cannot wait, contact me) You will need to turn your life over to someone you trust, your family a friend, a bishop or clergy member, an addiction treatment center or rehab center. All of this depends on the type and degree of addiction, of course. Finally, it is absolutely essential to seek professional help, from something as simple as calling a quit smoking hotline, to something as involved as inpatient drug rehab.
For all types of addiction check back daily for new posts. There will be more specialized posts to come. Feel free to register to receive email updates when I update my blog. You can also add our RSS feed. Also feel free to leave comments and send me feedback about topics you want to see in the future. Stay tuned, this is going to be good…
www.riseaboveaddiction.com
James Snow

Have you joined the Addiction Forum yet?