ActiveRecovery

Willpower is defined as the ability to exert control or restrain impulses. People with addiction struggles are often described as lacking in willpower when in actuality most addicts are endowed with plenty of the stuff. It takes an enormous amount of sheer determination to survive a life filled with the daily struggles of addiction.

Addiction has been classified as a disease, a chronic mental disorder. A person diagnosed with schizophrenia can possess all the willpower in the world and they will still be schizophrenic. The disorder is not caused by a lack of willpower. The same is true of addiction. To assume that because someone is an addict they are lacking in willpower is a mistake. The disease of addiction has nothing to do with willpower. Willpower will not cure addiction. Willpower, like any other form of human exertion, is a finite resource and is prone to depletion. Attempting to use one's finite reserves of willpower to fight a chronic illness is impossible as the illness is an ever-present condition faced against or ever-depleting stores of willpower.

Treating addiction is more about accepting, firstly, that it is an illness and thus requires outside help. It's about finding the support and tools that will aid recovery. In that regard we can assuredly use our willpower.

We weren't sitting still in active addiction, we were out there working it. The same applies in recovery. It's not about sitting on our asses waiting for it to happen. It requires our active participation! There is work to be done.

The good news is that you don't have to do the work alone. I'm here to help you navigate the path to freedom.

Finding and understanding the meaning behind the things that we do can be lifechanging. If we can't find meaning or purpose in some of the things we do on a daily basis then maybe its time to make some changes?

It's quite easy to get caught up in the hustle-bustle of daily life and all that needs to be done. Getting through the day's to-do list without having a meltdown is often the goal. We spend so much of our time and energy on WHAT needs to be done: work, chores, meetings, social media posts... the list goes on and on and on.

How much attention do we give to the WHY behind the what? Why do we keep doing all those things on our to-do list? Is there a good reason behind why we're so stressed out and busy every day? Having food on the table and a roof over the head is definitely a good motivator to put in effort at work every day but is it enough to bring a real sense of contentment?

My feeling is that most of us have alot to deal with, a massive list of responsibilities and a ton of stress that comes with it. We don't feel like we have time to ponder the deeper meaning of life. We're busy, we're stressed and we want a quick fix of something to make us feel better when we have a gap. We scroll, we swipe, we binge on series or wine or whatever we can find. None of these fixes has brought me any real lasting contentment. Temporary relief at best.

Wanting to carry a message to people who struggle with mental health issues has given a sense of purpose to how I spend my time on social media and the type of things I post. I feel far more contented when I have this sense of purpose in the back of my mind.

It's important to take some time to ask ourselves why we do some of the things we do to figure out whether those things give meaning to our lives or are they just fixes...