Once and Addict, Always an Addict

Now it is important to understand, that as a disease, this is not something we can remove by simply talking ourselves out of it. A therapist may be able to help us discover why we became addicted in the first place, but that alone is not enough. Now that we have these pathways ingrained in our minds, all the understanding in the world won't change the fact that we have this disease, in the same way that understanding diabetes won't take it away. And as the saying goes: "Once an addict, always an addict".

But as scary as all this may seem, it is really not so bad. Someone who has an iron deficiency for life can lead a perfectly normal life, as long as he takes his daily iron pill. And their are many techniques that can be used as "our pills" every day, to keep the disease in check.

Also, there are many levels of this disease. The less times we acted out, the less defined the neuron pathways will be in our minds, and hence, the disease will be at a less advanced stage. This is vital to understand, and it should be a powerful incentive for us to everything in our power to stop these behaviors now. Because every single time we act out, we are making the disease worse and harder to deal with in the long term.