Addiction is defined as becoming physiologically or psychologically dependent on a substance, such as alcohol or a narcotic. It can also include foods, and even certain activities or behaviors, such as shopping. The repetitive use of the substance, activity or behavior is typically an escape mechanism that the user begins to rely on far too much, until they no longer have control over it and they have allowed it to become an addiction.

But what is the source?

That can be complicated, I think. On the surface, it is the stress and our need to escape from that stress that becomes a huge factor in the creation of an addiction. We don’t always know how to do that in a constructive manner, so we often turn to food or alcohol or other means to relieve our stress, but all we are really doing is creating a distraction for a brief time. It by no means solves the problem that we are trying so hard to escape from.

But in order for us to have an addiction, there must first be a desire for that substance or behavior, or else why would we turn to it in times of stress? We truly would have no reason to. There would be nothing to be addicted to if we had no desire for it. We simply wouldn’t utilize something we don’t like for those purpose. It has to give us some level of satisfaction in order to create enough of a distraction from our current reality to even relieve any level of stress in the first place.

I believe that it is the two that work together – our stress level, or really our lack of coping with it appropriately, and our desire for the substance – to form the food addiction, the tv addiction, the cigarette addiction, the alcohol addiction, etc. And to be honest, I think that the actual desire is at the source of the addictive behavior, even more so than the stress that causes you to quench the desire.

Well, here’s another perspective…

It’s a well-known fact that using excuses like “I had a bad day at work” or “My spouse made me angry” are a typical part of addiction, so it is often automatically assumed that the stressors a person experiences are triggers for indulging in our addictions.

But what if our stressors were just a “means to an end,” so to speak? A REASON for us to seek satisfaction of that desire? What if the TRUE purpose of one’s addiction were to satisfy that desire we have for the cigarette or that beer or the cookies or candy?

To take it one step even further (and this may blow your mind just a little) …

What if every stressful experience we had was self-created or manifested somehow by us alone, just so we could have a real and valid reason, or rather a justification, in our own mind for fulfilling our desire to indulge in the substance or activity?

So what’s the answer?

An addiction, just like any other problem we might have, can only be resolved or eliminated by understanding the components of it, the effect it has on our life, and finally, by going straight to the source of the problem.

So what is the source? I truly believe the source of our addiction lies in clearing away the source of the desire for the substance or activity. I have done sessions like these for clients before and the source of these desires is always in past experiences that they are still carrying various forms of “energetic baggage,” causing them to be compelled to feed this desire, even when it’s not healthy to do so. It’s often very connected to our past in a way we had never considered before and had no idea that it was driving our choices and actions in such a negative way. Many times, we have been drowning or eating away our problems for much longer than we realized.

And it’s rather fascinating when you look at it from this perspective, because the question is no longer “How do I stop the addiction?” but instead the question then becomes, “Are you ready to give up your desire for it?” Suddenly, we have a choice and a whole new level of control over the situation where before we had none.