Interrupting Addiction

Interrupting Addiction

"How did I get here?"  Have you ever said that to yourself when walking or driving somewhere?  It's an experience that many people have.  They get in the their car or start walking somewhere, look up and realized they have just arrived.

Minutes or even hours have passed.  Yet, it feels like barely a minute has gone by.  

Often you aren't aware of the state of mind you are in until the exit sign or destination jars you from your trance.  The brain has a way of creating a trance like state that makes it feel like we teleport through time and space.  

Pornography addiction (like all addictions) can also create a similar trance where the addict, after acting out, asks themselves "how did I get here?"  One minute they were working on something and the next they are acting out, not even noticing at which point they slipped into the trance. 

In the beginning of recovery from sex and pornography addiction it seems like acting out 'just happens.'  It's as if the sex addict drives past the "this is not a good idea" exit and plows into the center divider, or drives into a ditch.  Rather than at the "exit sign" the addict only breaks out of their trance once the damage has been done.  The damage in this case being STD's, divorce, financial ruin, getting fired from a job, intense shame--just to name a few.  

There is a way to slow down the process and see the events, emotions, thoughts and decisions that lead to the moment of acting out.  One way of slowing down the process is to learn about your "triggers."  Triggers are often responsible for firing the addict into a trance-like state that leads to acting out.  By learning your triggers you can interrupt addiction.    

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