High Time To Quit The Addiction Cycle

by SusanANSYupdated on May 5, 2024January 12, 2022

Guest Post by Alex

Hello, it’s Alex here. I’ve noticed that when someone is a drinker or smoker, they may have a genetic reason for doing certain behaviors. It may be an action they had no real desire to start but may have been predisposed if that gene was a dominant one in their DNA profile. Is it an addiction?

My girlfriend (decades ago now), had a brother whom I’ll call “Steve.” It’s through Steve that I first became aware of what I’m labeling addiction cycles.

Food, Smokes, and Mary Jane

When I was over at her house, sometimes Steve would come over to visit. After he left, she would comment that Steve would go back and forth over several months between different behaviors. One time it would be food, then it would move to cigarettes, then to marijuana, back to food, and so on.

I was not aware of this genetic link before then, but it made sense: If someone has that “addiction” gene, it doesn’t matter what that addiction is. A person with this addiction gene, like Steve, finds it much easier to get “hooked” than say a “regular” person. (Calling all regular people out there to raise their hands!)

Going From One Bad Habit to Another

In some cases, as with Steve, the addiction can transfer itself from one substance to another. The person is in a constant state of addiction, hooked on something until it becomes too expensive, then moves on to the next “hook.”

In this case, the person may acknowledge he has a problem, but he is unable to kick the habit completely (addiction), and merely TRANSFERS that addiction to something else, thinking/hoping that habit-hopping will solve the problem.

Thanks, Alex, for your contribution to A New Sober You.

I’d like to add here that in order the stop the addiction cycle, you first have to realize you’re in an addiction cycle. I also somewhat agree with Alex that the likelihood of you following in the footsteps of a parent if they were addicted to substances, is high.

Addiction Cycle Picked Up At A Young Age

Maybe it’s NOT all related to the addiction gene, per se. Maybe you learn by watching when you are a kid. Parents try to send the message of, “Do what I say, not what I do,” to them. How can they learn what being sober is, if their parents are constantly high? Yep, mixed messages come from mixed drinks.

As Alex points out, Steve would go from one ‘drug’ to another, ditching the current habit for another that was either more appealing or didn’t cost as much to feed.

That’s why dieters have a hard time. You know you have to have food to live. So that’s one addiction that’s admittedly hard to handle. However, I believe that kicking addictions (other than food) is far easier. Those darned urges get in the way.

Look, you do need food to live, but you don’t need alcohol, cigarettes, marijuana, etc. to live. They’re anti-life in my humble opinion.

If someone shared this post with you and you want to quit your addiction to alcohol, mosey on over to A New Sober You and check out our eBook that’s on Amazon called “Life’s Better Sober” which takes you on a 66-Day journey to sobriety.