“Peale says that an addiction exists when someone’s attachment to a person or a sensation lessens his appreciation to deal with other things in his environment or in himself. The person becomes increasingly dependent on that attachment as his only source of gratification. ” Source: Looking for love in all the wrong places: Overcoming romantic and sexual addictions. Jed Diamond. G. P. Putnam’s Sons. NY
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When I was depressed all I could think about was the fact that I felt I was going crazy. I could think of nothing else other than the misery of my pain and the isolation of my self from everything around me. My feelings of depression were truly inescapable and my dependence on the negativity of my life and feelings kept me imprisoned and isolated. And the one way that dealt a blow to my circular thinking of doom and gloom was to force myself to get my body moving with the result that my mind gradually and slowly followed suit. It was like I was defrosting the frozen windshield of my mind so that I could establish a way to see where I needed to go.
SOURCE: Depressed Anonymous, 3rd edition. (2011) Depressed Anonymous Publications. Louisville.
Hi Jay
And yes, I did think I was losing my mind and going insane. Unpleasant feelings can grind us down to powder that is for sure.
But the good news for many of us, no matter what we are addicted to, there is the rise after the Fall. Been there and done that. But I just believe now that no matter what happens to me, I can always talk to someone and get hopeful that I will get back up on my feet and start living again. It takes work and time, like the saying about Rome–it wasn’t built in a day–accumulated.
Jay, keep on keeping on and let’s hear from you again soon.
Peace
Hugh