Garbage In, Garbage Out

I’ve trashed my home,
I confess, I’m a hoarder,
Full of dusty memories,
I’m not a good boarder.

I’ve trashed my body,
By drinking, until drunk,
By taking bad drugs,
And eating food junk.

I’ve trashed my life,
And broken a nice family,
And hurt the kind spouse—
Who gave me a chance.

So if you talk to me,
And all you hear is the noise,
It’s because…
There’s trash in my brain,
Shutting up a sweet voice.

I’ve trashed my heart,
And the reason I hurt,
Is because…
I’m waiting for a caregiver,
To sweep out the dirt.

You’d Be Surprised How Bad of a Person You Are

Commentary: The addict remembers the positive experiences associated with the drug or activity, and during times of stress, this memory motivates the individual to take the substance or repeat the behavior. Ironically, his family remembers the negative experiences—the suffering and the fear that the abuse will never stop.

“You often hear that pot leads to harder drugs. But I think alcohol is what leads you to everything because it takes away the fear. The worst drug experimentation I ever did was because I was drunk and didn’t care.” — Chris Cornell, frontman of Soundgarden (1964–2017)

Addicts want something after they have stopped liking it, even if they realize its harmful effects. They tell their doctors: “I hate this drug, and it doesn’t even give me much of a high anymore. It’s just that somehow it seems like I can’t be without it. I keep hoping that my next high will be a good one, like I remember from the beginning!”

The brain is tricking the addict. The reason the high was so good initially was that the drug acted as medicine for whatever illness was afflicting the individual (stress, anxiety, depression). Now, with a different condition—addiction—a different therapy is required.

“Desire for pleasure is much more powerful, than the memory of pain.” When we’re feeling exhausted and our resistance levels are down, we can deceive ourselves into believing that we deserve a little illicit fun in our lives. But there’s a reason, why it’s called a guilty pleasure—you will be punished for it—it could be immediately or become a long-term addiction that haunts you and your loved ones.

“While we can’t control the feelings and thoughts that pop into our heads, we can control what we do with them. Bricker’s work using acceptance and commitment therapy in smoking cessation programs suggests we shouldn’t keep telling ourselves to stop thinking about an urge; instead, we must learn better ways to cope. The same applies to other distractions like checking our phones too much, eating junk food, or excessive shopping. Rather than trying to fight the urge, we need new methods to handle intrusive thoughts.
Use this 4-step method to handle unwanted thoughts that can derail your focus.
Step 1: Look for the Discomfort That Precedes the Distraction, Focusing In on the Internal Trigger
Step 2: Write Down the Trigger
Step 3: Explore Your Sensations
Step 4: Beware of Liminal Moments”
Excerpt from How to Disarm Internal Triggers of Distractions