Reflection About Addiction

1090 Words5 Pages
I find the topic of addiction intriguing as I can relate to it through my own life experiences. I came across a number of alarming facts, some of which were close to my heart. My grandad was an alcoholic and as I child I used to go down to the pub with him without my parents knowing just so I could be around him. I even stole out of my dad’s wallet to get money for us to go to the pub! The saying “once an addict, always an addict” is one that I believe, even if you give up one addiction there is a good chance you’ll replace it with another. Our group chose to focus on the addiction of alcoholism, as it was something we wanted to understand better. From past experience, whether directly or indirectly we know how easy it can be to drink excessively…show more content…
Bad habits by themselves are not addictions however if we’re not careful they can take hold of us and turn into addictions. Reflecting on my own life, I can honestly say I’m addicted to tea. I find it difficult to start my day without a cup of tea. I enjoy the feeling it gives me and couldn’t imagine going through a whole day without a cup. If I don’t get it, I start to feel agitated and grumpy and I never seem to wake up as quickly as I would like to. Tea provides me with an outlet during the day, a means of escape from my children, even if only for five minutes. It helps replenish my seriously lacking energy reserves and gives me some space to breathe and think. The caffeine hit only keeps me going for a short period of time and then I’m back to the kitchen again for another cup. I know I could easily get a glass of water to replace the tea but it just wouldn’t be the same. I want the feeling tea brings me. “When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change” (Dr. Wayne W. Dyer,…show more content…
As a trainee counsellor the topic of alcoholism is one I was very much eager to explore. Drinking is socially accepted in Ireland and a way of life for many people. But the impact of this heavy drinking ranges from mild anxiety and depression through to cases of dementia and schizophrenia. Binge Drinking or heavily episodic drinking is one that I experienced throughout my twenties. I never liked the taste of alcohol but the feeling it gave me was one that I felt I needed. I was shy with low self-esteem, lonely and living in another country. I found that drinking relaxed me and gave me the courage to talk to boys. I had a lot of fun being social but I didn’t know when to stop. As I am small in stature I couldn’t hold my drink, which didn’t help the situation either. It only took a few drinks to get me drunk and then I usually wouldn’t remember the rest of the night. I always woke up the next morning with a terrible fear and had to ask friends to fill me in on what had happened the night before. It wasn’t fun having to go to work the next day and face up to my colleagues who I’d been out with the night before. For many years this was a vicious circle and I felt my life was going nowhere. Eventually I decided to move out of London to distance myself from the drinking scene. I opted to live in the countryside where I could get to know people and not be a stranger in a big city.
Open Document