14 Aug How I Fought Addiction and Grabbed it by the Neck!

I couldn’t sleep that night. I had to find some stuff. I called up my friend, but he ran short of his supplies. I went to a street nearby where I hoped to find something but the street was barren when I had reached. I saw a man approaching from far. I ran towards him and, quite literally, begged him to give me something. He asked me to drive down the road, pointing towards it, and keep on driving unless I find a red house on the left. He said I would find whatever I want in that house. I immediately got into my car and started driving. Almost an hour after driving, I couldn’t find any house, leave alone a red house. I kept on driving for the next 3 hours and I still don’t remember what that place was where I had stopped. I couldn’t drive anymore. My arms were sweating. Some weird kind of allergy on my neck was irritating me. I couldn’t see properly and I felt myself dizzy. It was already morning and as the first ray of sunlight fell on my face, I saw a young boy passing by. I still can’t figure out why I went up to the boy and started beating him. I was so furious. I could have killed that boy if I hadn’t passed out then.
I was an addict. My survival was on the tiny packet of white powder that my friend used to leave at my apartment every day. I woke up after a few hours to find myself in a small clinic. The young boy’s father had brought me there. I started crying furiously. I had everything that I wanted. A good job, good friends, wonderful family, yet I was feeling so helpless then that I had decided to end my life. I couldn’t believe that my addiction had brought me to this. I kept on blaming myself.
I spent the next few months with my parents. I used to get those fits, that urge, and I used to beat myself up, trying to kill myself. After a few weeks, my mother took me to a nearby meditation centre. I used to hate that place, the people and their conversations but I kept on going because I found some relief during the 20 minutes of meditation every day. I could introspect peacefully then. I soon realized that I am not the culprit but the drugs were. I soon started gaining confidence that I could fight it. I spent hours at the meditation centre, meditating all by myself. I used to only observe my breath and feel good that my body is responding well. I could feel the love of my parents. I would only concentrate on that moment and experience the comfort surrounding me. Forwarding to 8 years since then, I am doing well. My company had kicked me out so I started my venture with my father and we’re minting great money. I teach meditation to young kids every morning and that has become my reason for survival today.

Addiction is very dangerous. This is because if you do not deal with it when the time is right, you will have to face some major consequences. Addiction is not always about cigarettes, alcohol, or drugs. You can also get addicted to anger, unhealthy relationships, chaos and other negative emotions like these. Although these addictions will not be as harmful as drug addictions but still, they have the potential to cause some serious damage. Actually they will cause a great deal of emotional damage. They weaken the human experience. Some, like me, even try to kill themselves.
Well, killing yourself is not the solution you should know how to fight it. It is easier said than done. This is what comes in people’s mind when you suggest them to fight addiction. Although they are not completely wrong, but ending your life can never be the solution. Life is like a roller coaster. If it goes down, it will rise up too. Do you know that people get addicted to watching television series and movies too? This is also a bad thing. How much time gets wasted which otherwise could have been spent on some productive activity? Well, you would not consider ending your life in order to get rid of this addiction, would you?
No matter what kind of addiction you are suffering from, the best solution is meditation. Addiction is very powerful and hence you need something more powerful to beat it and there is no powerful medicine other than meditation for getting rid of addiction. Wondering, how?
Believe it or not, but meditation has some amazing healing powers. It identifies the actual cause of addiction and helps to overcome it. One of the common reasons why people start drinking too much or even start taking drugs is because they are depressed or bored or lonely. Meditation helps in reducing depression and also in the regulation of your moods and disorders. Not just this, it increases the frequency of gamma waves. These waves are associated with deep concentration. When you meditate regularly, your negative emotional state, which you call stress reduces considerably. Meditation also improves your emotional intelligence. You will soon start realizing that it isn’t you who is to be blamed and punished for, but the object that is driving you to that state. It will help you to discover your true self as well as your true happiness.

About the Author: Tim Benett

Tim is a resident of Pennsylvania and runs a restaurant chain that offers exotic Asian food and teaches mindful eating to the visitors. He also teaches meditation and mindfulness to school going kids at his home every day.

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