Addiction
Addiction affects people in many ways. It can slowly grab a hold of the important things in life and push those aside. Feeding the addiction takes over the top of the priority list, while everything else takes a back seat. Over time, addiction affects various and many aspects of one’s life, eventually becoming the only thing that defines who they are. This article will discuss 4 ways that addiction can affect your life.
4 Ways Addiction Can Affect Your Life
Addiction affects the addicted person and those closest to them lives in profound ways. Often, one does not even realize addiction’s toll on everyday things. Here are 4 important, but not all, ways that addiction can affect your life.
- Health – physical and mental. The first and most important way addiction can affect your life is your health. The list is endless in how your health can be impacted. Alcohol causes liver disease and can cause damage to other internal organs. You can overdose on drugs and alcohol. Accidental overdose is a prominent factor in many addiction-related deaths. Sex Addiction creates a high risk for sexually transmitted diseases while Porn Addiction can induce erectile or other sexual dysfunctions. Mental health is also greatly affected. You may be depressed from the addiction itself or other factors in your life. The addiction often provides a temporary solution to the symptoms of your mental distress but does not make them disappear. Additionally, the chemicals ingested may be adding to your depression or other mental health conditions.
- Loved ones. Relationships with friends and family are heavily impacted by addiction. Trust is lost, bonds are broken, and an overwhelming amount of stress is created for those around you. People that care about your health and wellness now must endure the most of your addiction from the outside looking in. They become caretakers and always carry the burden of worry for your safety. The opposite effect can also be true. Your friends and family may just check out to protect themselves and relieve themselves of this enormous issue.
- Career and Livelihood. Addiction costs money. The purchase of drugs, alcohol, or any other addictive substances will zap your bank account of your savings. Your job or career is also in jeopardy. Addiction hampers you from effectively carrying out your job responsibilities. Your prospect of obtaining a new job is limited, and you may be fired for inferior performance, tardiness, or absenteeism. Your addiction becomes who you are in a sense. If you are not able to address the problem, your livelihood is at stake.
- Passion and Hobbies. Imagine that you are an avid reader. You love books and read several each month. Now imagine that your addiction gets in the way of this. You have just lost or at least put on hold the thing you love. If you carry this one example over to all your hobbies or the things you are passionate about, you see that the addiction changes who you are fundamentally.
Help is Needed and Available
Addiction is something that people need support overcoming. As seen above, it can and will overtake your life in about every area. The positive thing to remember is that help is available. Proper treatment from trained professionals can break the hold of addiction through therapy and other forms of intervention. It is up to you to recognize that you need help, and then take the first step in seeking it out. The experienced team at Illinois Healing Center for Trauma and Addiction is available to start the healing process. Click here to contact IHCTA today.
Health and Wellness
Addiction affects your life in ways that are hard to imagine. Things can get out of control quickly. The positive news is that treatment and help are available. Your goal should be overall good health and wellness. Get help to achieve this goal today. Once you start on this journey, the things that were affected in a bad way will begin to heal.
