Addiction as a way to cope with pressure
Adriana Diniz e Nailson Elias
Brasil
The word vice (from the Latin “vitium” means “flaw or defect”) has several meanings in the dictionary, but as far as human vices are concerned, we can consider it to be: serious imperfection; natural disposition to practice evil and commit actions contrary to morals; superficial, harmful, or reprehensible tendency or conduct, capable of performing something indecorous, harmful, and/or reprehensible.
We are going through a period of planetary transition, in which, according to the teachings of Spiritism, planet Earth will cease to be a World of Atonement and Proof, where evil prevails, and become a World of Regeneration, in which people who inhabit it are more inclined to goodness. The time of transition, however, is characterized by a period of intense turbulence. It is as if the planet were undergoing a major renovation, in which we have to repair its entire structure, i.e., foundation, plumbing, electrical, roofing, and other areas; can we imagine the mess?
Anyone who has ever gone through remodeling while living in the house, knows that it’s not easy at all, and there is the added stress that during the remodeling, the worst things in the house will appear: rusty pipes, burnt wires, clogged drains, leaks, etc.
At this moment of the planetary transition, it is natural that the pressure on a large number of people who inhabit the planet increases, especially the most sensitive ones, who end up feeling insecure when facing day-to-day difficulties and responsibilities, such as work, family conflicts, bills to pay, difficulties in relationships, studies, health problems, loss of loved ones, among other factors that are part of our daily lives.
Many people end up trying to escape from reality, and as a defense mechanism, go in search of an immediate pleasure. Much is said about alcohol, drugs, and psychotropic drugs, which are very noticeable addictions because they usually change people’s behavior drastically. However, it is very difficult to perceive other types of addictions, as harmful as these ones, which have gradually led countless people to dependence, generating an existential emptiness that they try to fulfill by obtaining immediate pleasure through electronic games, social networks, and even considerable healthy habits, such as sports practice or volunteer work.
How to recognize whether or not I have an addiction:
Everything that we do in an excessive or exaggerated way, that harms and takes away the balance of our professional, family, and or social life, can be considered an addiction. To identify whether or not you have an addiction, it is necessary to understand and evaluate if the habit you have is somehow damaging your physical or emotional health, how you are influencing the lives of the people you live with, if you are not doing your responsibilities, and if you are running away from reality as a defense mechanism to avoid certain sufferings. At first, it seems that the pain diminishes and the person even feels good. But we all know that running away from reality is not the best way, because the problems continue and only tend to get worse.
The ideal is to find the strength to face the situation. Difficult moments are part of life and are responsible for the formation of our personality, maturity, and emotional balance. Escaping from reality to avoid facing a certain situation, such as the loss of a loved one, illness, dismissal, the end of a relationship, or being unhappy with something through addictions, only harms our life in every aspect.
The first step to get out of the vicious cycle is accepting the problem and recognizing that you need both spiritual and professional help. Addiction is dependency and many times people stop with one type and seek a replacement with a different addiction. For this reason, constant spiritual treatment and professional help and follow-up are so important.
Besides this, we cannot forget the spiritual company that we attract. Similar attracts similar, and the tendency of the spiritual “friends” is to make it difficult for the person to get free of the addiction because they also nourish themselves with the fluids and sensations that are provided by the addiction.
About the Authors:
Adriana Diniz and Nailson Elias have been spiritist workers for over twenty years, performing their activities in Children’s Education, youth group, mediumistic work, among others.
