If you have been struggling with an addiction problem, many excuses can be used for remaining as you are. All these excuses do is take away your power. What you need to understand is that all the people who have managed to break away from addiction also had plenty of excuses for remaining as they were; the difference is they did not allow these excuses to keep them trapped forever.
So long as you remain focused on excuses, you have no real hope of breaking free of addiction. Below are just some of the excuses you need to let go of.
I Am Worried About What My Friends My Think
If you quit using alcohol or drugs, you are probably going to be on a different path from your old drinking and drug-abusing buddies. They might mock your determination to build a sober life, and they are also likely to try to talk you out of it; this is because your willingness to change reflects badly on them. It is true that these people may take your sobriety badly, but so what. What about all of those who are close to you that are being hurt by your behaviour and would love you to change?
If you continue to drink or use drugs, it is going to keep on negatively affecting your life and it is likely to kill you eventually. Does it sound reasonable that you would continue on this path because you are worried about what your friends might think?
I Am Worried That I Might Be a Hopeless Case
One of the negative impacts of addiction is that it robs you of your self-esteem. This means that you can compare your situation unfavourably to those around you. Your low self-esteem may mean that you believe that those individuals who do manage to break away from alcohol or drugs are somehow better than you are; they have something innately special about them that you don’t have. This kind of thinking is plain wrong; the only difference between you and these people is they have taken action to change their life. There is no reason you cannot take the same action.
These days the term ‘hopeless case’ is not really relevant. There are so many different recovery paths that there is an option to suit almost anyone. It could be that you have just not yet found the right recovery path for you. If you feel determined to escape this problem, there is almost certainly going to be an option that will work for you.
I Can’t Function Without Alcohol or Drugs
If you have been using alcohol or drugs as your main coping strategy, it is understandable that you might struggle without these chemicals. This is why it is such a good idea to enter a rehab programme. The whole point of these facilities is to give you the opportunity to develop new and effective coping strategies for dealing with life. It is possible to also learn these strategies without entering an inpatient rehabilitation programme, but it can be far more difficult; in rehab, you get to learn and experiment in a protective environment.
The excuse that you can’t function without alcohol or drugs only apply to right now; you can choose to learn new coping strategies that are going to not only allow you to cope with sober living, but to also help you find happiness.
I Don’t Have the Time/Money to Go to Rehab
If the only way that you can break away from addiction is to enter an inpatient rehabilitation programme, this is what you must do. You have to make the time, and if you are really short of finances, you need to consider one of the free options. If you worry about taking the time off work then you need to remember that you might not have work for much longer by continuing on your current trajectory. Addiction is considered by many to be a life threatening disease; would you use the excuse of time or money to avoid cancer treatment?
Life without Alcohol or Drugs Is Going To Be Boring
The fact that you are addicted to alcohol or drugs mean that you are living in a type of prison –denial is preventing you from seeing this reality. The idea that sober living is boring is a myth. You are like somebody who is staring out of a prison window but mistakenly believing that it is those outside who are behind bars. When you become sober, you are going to once again be open to a world of possibilities. The most likely scenario in recovery is that you are not going to have enough hours in the day to do all the things you want to do.
I Don’t Deserve a Life Free of Addiction
As we’ve already mentioned, addiction robs you of your self-esteem. This not only deprives you of your confidence, but it can also trick you into believing that your current situation is the best you can hope for; you may even believe that your current level of pain is some type of penance for past wrongs. These ideas keep you trapped and are completely wrong. You deserve to enjoy a good life away from alcohol and drugs just the same as anyone else.
I’m Too Young to Give up Alcohol or Drugs
This is one of the most common excuses that people have for not giving up alcohol or drugs. They believe that there is some magic age when becoming sober is going to be somehow better. What this person is really saying is that they are too young to begin leading a happy and fulfilling life; this type of thinking does not make sense. The best time to break away from addiction is right now. Plenty of inspiring people have managed to break away from addiction at a young age – Drew Barrymore broke away from addiction in her mid teens (long before she was even legally able to drink).
I’m Too Old to Give up Alcohol or Drugs
The idea that people are too old to give up alcohol or drugs is another common excuse – it is often given by the same people who once used the ‘I’m too young’ excuse. Even if you are in your seventies or eighties, you still might have a couple of decades in front of you so why would you not want to enjoy these years as best you can. Even if you only have a few weeks left to live, it would be worth becoming sober just to enjoy them.
Addiction is a Part of My Personality
It is true that addiction is part of your personality now – but so was nappy wearing when you were a baby. You can move on from your current situation and change your personality. It is going to be possible for you to become somebody who is happier and more fulfilled. Your personality is going to change over time anyway, so you might as well try to guide this process in a positive manner.
