Addictions have plagued society throughout history, as is evi-
dent from the Greco-Roman philosophers’ call for moderation and con-
demnation of bacchanalian excesses to our 21st-century preoccupation with alcohol, drugs, food, sex, and gambling. Explanations for addiction often have consisted of blaming individuals for their excessive engagement in these behaviors; but is not that truth.The term addiction and the companion label of addict usually includes a strong physiological
craving, withdrawal symptoms, and the need for more of the drug.

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The central defining elements of addictive behaviors involve the compulsive and out-of-control nature of current behavior patterns and the level of difficulty encountered in changing them.

Guilt has a huge role, it serves as a purpose if it gets us to change our ways, but too often we don’t, and then we carry an unnecessary burden around. Other bad habits may impact your
work and social life—avoiding the spotlight, not being assertive, procrastinating,
staying stuck in a bad job or relationship.

Why in the world can’t you stop?

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According to the psychology, human being find pleasure on this bad habits. Freud had to invent the death instinct (Thanatos), a primal force within us that drives us to destruction. That’s an idea
that has generally been abandoned for lack of evidence.

So inability to do the right thing when it’s obvious wasn’t bad enough,
there are also many self-destructive habits that we’re not even aware of—driving
carelessly, being thoughtless, not listening, neglecting our health. A lot of this
unconscious self-destructive behavior gets played out in our relationships.

The trick in overcoming self-destructive behavior is not so much to
strengthen the conscious self so we can “control” ourselves better, though that
helps sometimes. Rather, we must train the automatic self to do things like make
wiser decisions unconsciously, ignore distractions, withstand temptations, see
ourselves and the world more clearly!

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So, escaping from self-destructive behavior patterns is a big challenge. But
there’s also big news in science that is cause for optimism: the idea of ‘the plastic
brain’, the recognition that our brains change and grow physically in
response to life experience. New brain cells are constantly being formed; new
networks between cells keep growing as we learn new things.

Why we do things that hurt us remains one of the greatest mysteries of the
human mind. It seems so contradictory; most of our actions are motivated by
things that give us pleasure, pride, love, a sense of mastery. It’s called the
pleasure principle, and it explains a great deal of human behavior.

It’s vitally necessary, if you want to control your own self-destructive habits,
that you understand the scenario that’s got you under its spell. But just
understanding it is not sufficient. You have to learn new skills and habits that
will be more effective in helping you be who you want to be. These skills are
mindfulness, self-control, confronting fear, freeing yourself from mindless guilt,
and others.

Don’t be afraid of new challenges, just try you best each day, so you can’t regret it later!

See you soon ,

Sal.