Obsessions and Compulsions
Addiction is about obsessions, compulsions, powerlessness, and unmanageability.
Obsessions are the focus of your attention. It’s the song stuck in your head that you can’t get out, despite all efforts to try to remove it. With alcoholics it’s thinking about drinking when you get home from work “I can’t wait to have a glass of wine when I get home. It’s going to be great”. It’s obsessing about weight loss and all the ways you can lose “those extra pounds”.
Obsessions are being on the phone during your kids dance or soccer game; missing out on the present moment.
Obsessions are the like the song that gets stuck in your head that you can’t get out!
Compulsions are the inability to stop once you’ve started. “I’ll just have two drinks when I go out”, but reality is that you had 4-5. It’s eating a whole pizza when you only wanted a couple of slices. It’s exercising for 1.5 hours when your body was tired after 45min.
Compulsions: One is too many and a thousand is NEVER ENOUGH
Compulsions are our obsession with more and feeling like it’s not enough.
Recovery teaches us about balance and awareness. Simply start with becoming aware of your obsessions and compulsions.
