Addictive genes ?

[Guest guest]

     We all have the genes to become addicted--it's a part of ourgenetic ma=

keup.     Pleasurable things cause our brains to produce chemicals thatget u=

s high. We like this feeling, so we seek it out, more and more.This process =

doesn't even require a substance like alcohol--gamblingand sex can be very p=

owerful addictions.     There is a good series on this modern research on th=

e MSNBCsite under " addictions " .     This can not possibly be a " disease " , be=

cause it's totallynatural to all humans, and many animals.     Why then do s=

ome become addicted, and others don't ? It's amatter of abuse. If we do a pl=

easurable thing too much, our brainsability to produce the chemicals that ge=

t us high is thrown out ofwhack. It takes more and more of the pleasurable a=

ct to produceenough brain-chemicals to get us high, and when we asren't high=

, thechemicals drop so low-below their normal level, that we feelmiserable,(=

withdrawals), and then we are " hooked " .     This mechanism has been very wel=

l tested and documented, andit is changing the recovery " industry " .      It =

may be difficult for some to accept that they are thecause of their own addi=

ction, through abusive, excessive usage ofpleasure-stimulation, but this is =

neverteless what the science shows.     This process can indeed be reversed,=

and the brains chemistryreturned to normal, but this takes abstinance and t=

ime. We mustrecognize that during abstinance, our thoughts may turn to thoug=

htsof using again, and we must learn to short-circuit these thoughts,dis-arm=

them, if we are to stay abstinant.      I, personally, prefer the Addictive=

Voice RecognitionTechnique of RR, because it worked so very well for me, th=

o Irecognize there are many other ways of maintaining abstinance. I likethe =

AVRT method because I'm dealing with my own thoughts, not a " higher power " , a=

" disease " , or some other intangible thing. Mythoughts are mine, I have to o=

wn them. I may have accepted thethoughts of others, but this choice was stil=

l mine. I can read allthese different theories, but whether to accept or rej=

ect them isstill my option.      At first,I didn't think it was possible for=

a person tochange their thoughts, but a little practice showed me it waspos=

sible.For example. I had my own views on what " fairness " in life would be.Whe=

n I'd run into a circumstance where it didn't fit my version of " fair " ,then I=

'd go into feeling $hit on--anger, frustration,depression, the whole nine ya=

rds. When it dawned on me that myversion of fair was irrational---It was wha=

t I WANTED " fair " to be,rather than the reality that " fair " means many things =

to many people,and that I would have to look at the circumstances of each in=

stance,and try harder to understand them, and realize that " fair " doesn'treal=

ly exist as an absolute.     This changed my thinking. Then, it changed my f=

eelings,because I wasn't feeling $hit on anymore, and over time, away wentth=

e anger, frustration,and depression.With these out of the way, I was less te=

mpted to drink and use as ameans of " drowning " the pain. I still had to resi=

st the urge to drinkand use just because it feels good, and this is where AV=

RT came in sohandy. I still use AVRT, tho it is almost automatic now after 1=

1years of abstinance.      As far as I'm concerned, my addictions to drinkin=

g and methare long cured. The XAers deny this, telling me to prove it by tak=

inga drink, but why in the world would I even experiment with somethingthat =

so ruined my life before ? No thanks. To me,the proof that I'mcured is that =

I DON'T drink and use anymore, and if that doesn'tsatisfy the XAers,tough. I=

've achieved what I wanted, and could givea damn what anyone else thinks.   =

  Sorry to bore you with my story, but I thought I'd put in afew words in su=

pport of AVRT, because it worked so very well for me,whereas 18 YEARS of XA =

left me with a worse problem than I hadbefore. Later;Bob