So what is an addiction again?

So, why do we get caught up in addictions?

NEXT WEEK’S TOPIC – WHY ADDICTIONS? PART 2

I use your comments to write my blogs, so please keep them coming.  Here is your question to answer for next week's blog:

Explain the buzz (high) you get from your addiction.

If you do not have an addiction, talk to somebody who does and tell their story.

Thursday, Aug 9, 2007 - 10:27:46 PM
my addiction is looking at porn. I start looking at it 2 years ago. I was flipping the channels and saw it and could not turn it off. I don't know why people get addictions but it mest up my life other peoples life and addictions is not the way to do it.
- david aka bc

Thursday, Aug 9, 2007 - 10:27:36 PM
I think that many people have some sort of addiction, whether it be food, drugs, alcohol, etc. but I think people become addicted to these things because it takes their mind off of what is bothering them and sort of takes them to a place where they can in a way "escape" from their ordeal.
- abbey

Thursday, Aug 9, 2007 - 12:52:00 AM
my opinion on why people are addicted to certain things is because they are in a deep need for something; a relief of stress, love, or a couple seconds of happiness. whatever they are addicted to solves their problems temporarly.
- Natasha

Thursday, Aug 9, 2007 - 12:51:44 AM
Dawson, im just going to be flat out honest here. I used to be the straight A student who was the best player on the girls volleyball team, but somehow got into the wrong circle of friends, so as u can imagine i found my addicition as much as any other teenager have. As i was reading your blog i was thinking about what i get from it or my "buzz". Its just like they said its just a numbness that helps you forget the things that go wrong in life, i mean right when it happens your numb you dont remeber hardly anything you see things in different colors and in different places then where they really are and what ever it is your trying to forget is totally erased or at for that moment it is its and indiscribible feeling and i can understand why I and people like me do it.... but ull be happy to know im going into rehab for it on 8/12/07
- Gabby

Thursday, Aug 9, 2007 - 12:50:50 AM
Addictions: Sex & Alcohol It comes about through a need to escape. The memories flood my mind, the pain in my heart is unbearable, the blood in my vains grows hotter and pumps faster it seems. I MUST get out. At first...relief, the ability to breathe, freedom, sanctuary. Then suddenly...fear, insecurity, shame, guilt, doubt, hopelessness, suicide, greif, emptiness, sadness, anger. It's the never ending cycle of desperation-freedom-entrapment-desperation-freedom-entrapment- desperation-freedom-entrapment.
- Sarah

Thursday, Aug 9, 2007 - 12:49:34 AM
dr.mcalister i hve a huge anger problem and im going to counsling for it but it dosent semm to help.The reason i have this problem is from my dad and what he did to me about 2 yrs ago i dont want to say what happend but if u hve any advice for me plz help me
- jason kegarise

Thursday, Aug 9, 2007 - 12:49:22 AM
hey...my addiction is/was cutting. i have been cutting on and off for 2 years now. i don't really get a hight from it, but it numbs my emotional pain so i do it anyhow. some people seem to get a high from cutting, tho, and i don't really get that. by the way, i haven't cut in 3 weeks!!! thanks for your amazing show. keep up the good work.
- Katie

Wednesday, Aug 8, 2007 - 1:25:24 AM
my addictions were x and coke. but my main pref was x. My addictions for x became worse and worse each time i tryed it. i was to the point i had given my mother to my son for my so called party life and i was rolling everyday. i would eventually get to the point where i couldnt feel them and had to take more.. my parents were always mad at me and i was always moving around its how i handled my problems to get high as H*** and forget about everyone but the ppl i was with. It got to the point i would come over to my mothers house high and tell her i wasnt. As of today she tells me she knew because i became mean and would come yelling back at her when she would yell at me. My mother and i were never close until about a mnth ago so from age 16- 21 i was into drugs alcohol. and anything i could get my hands on.. after awhile i wanted to exsperice other drugs so i tryed coke, shrooms, acid,x, pot, .. i began to like the halusinating drugs because it made my life feel totally different, i didnt have my mother or my son or my brother or my cousins to deal with anymore.. my dad never really would say much but i know now why.. It was very hard for me to change my life but going to jail for the last time made me see how preciouse my life really was.. and that was for my son.
- christina

Wednesday, Aug 8, 2007 - 1:24:15 AM
dear dawson, I am commenting on your blogs about addiction. my name is christina, and im 21 yrs old. I live in south carolina. i listen to your show every sunday night. An to be honest, i have had many addictions in my life i have been clean once before now an went back to my so called addictions again b4 going to jail for a mnth an a half for fradulant checks. I am now clean as of may 27th 2007, i have a 2yr old son that i had left more than once starting when he was 3 mnths old. i now have began to see how preciouse he is and stop putting my addictions before him. At the time i was doing drugs running away from home starting at 17 and moving to different states running from my problems... after all the mistakes i have made just because i couldnt stand adults telling me what todo and how to do them and not having a social life i decided to make my own rules and leave more than once. i would come back about a mnth or 2 out of every year because i wanted to get my life together but i would end up leaving again. and being gone for more than 6 mnths and not contacting my family unless i was in jail or needed help.. finally my parents got fed up with it when i moved to charleston and left my son for the 5th time. and was locked up for 10 warrents i had in columbia. i served a mnth and a half and i think that was my biggest life lesson. my parents would only talk to me once a week and said i was old enought to handle my own problems. yes i admit i have an addiction and i may have it for the rest of my life but its up to me to make the right decition and be a mother to take care of my son. I know i may be rambling back and forth.. but i have done alot more than the things i have told you.. i still have some issues with wondering why i was chossen to be a single mother and go through the things i have.. i made all my decitions and have to take the consequences. i listen to your show every sunday night because i hope to hear someone come on with my same issues.. i have yet to hear about the grl who wasted her life away from 16-21 until she decided it was time to give it all up. My parents are very hard to live with, but i know now they have there reasons for what they do and how they do them.. i want to thank you for your show.
- christina t

Wednesday, Aug 8, 2007 - 1:18:13 AM
i have an addiction like no other
- brooke

Tuesday, Aug 7, 2007 - 11:47:28 AM
I have been looking at porn for about 6 months to 1 year. It first started out as just viewing it every once in a while, but now it was beggining that i would look at it every day. I'm trying to stop but, its like fun and it feels good to look at it.
- Kelvin

Tuesday, Aug 7, 2007 - 11:47:13 AM
My addiction is a result aquired from college. I loaded myself down with work, college and becoming a new parent. I had to balance too much on my daily schedule so I started using ice. Ice is a form of crystal meth. At first it was great. I started smoking ice and made all of my stress disappear. It made me feel like I could do anything. This was great because my major in college was Computer Information Systems. It made the wheels in my head turn so I could write software like a genius and never get tired. When I graduated, it became a social drug and when I would use I would acomplish many tasks sometimes simultaneously. But the come down was terrible and left me feeling like the drug was my only motivation to do anything. Since I graduated college I have had many jobs but never really put down the habit. I have had two children and a wife, house, cars and throughout it all We used ice. My ex was able to walk away from it but I haven't been so successful. I lived in 2 different houses since then and even dated and lost my potential soul mate. My ex wife won't even talk to me anymore and I had to move back in with my parents and start all over again. With my past haunting me everyday I tend to see my failures everywhere I go. I've lost everything several times and as a result, I became depressed. So depressed that I wish for and end everyday. But it got worse. I started shooting the drug and that bumped my addiction up to full time. Now that I have nothing and no money it seems the only way I can escape is through shooting dope. I am getting to the point where Iam scared that there is no turning back. But I still don't want to quit. I am really scared. I know it is not going to end well. I have never in my life been a theif but it is becoming more and more a regular task everyday. I don't know what to do. I don't know where to turn. Tonight was the first time I listened to your show and I think you can help me. I am so scared I am going to end up dead or in jail. I used to have so much potential but now I have no friends and no life. I don't want to confront my parents because I have f***ed up so many times. I think this would really let them down. I hate my life as a junkie!! And when I am not using, I sleep all day long and can't get out of bed. I need help...please i'm so scared
- Chris

Tuesday, Aug 7, 2007 - 9:44:30 AM
My addiction is cutting. I've been cutting about 2 years now. When things would get rough I had my razor to calm me down. I never really did get a high from it, I just used cutting as a way to replace my emotional pain with physical pain. It got my mind off of things, it was easier for me to breathe. But after the first cut I would feel horrible because I'm trying to stop cutting so yet again I turned to my razor to give me a quick fix. I guess seeing my cuts and my blood made me feel alive. That always reminded me that everything was real and it wasn't just a nightmare. The pain kept me going, when I felt pain I knew I wasn't dead yet. I've not picked up my razor for about a month now and hopefully I wont ever again.
- Nikki

Tuesday, Aug 7, 2007 - 12:58:55 AM
i love this blog, its so cool. and my addiction is cutting..yeah i know its a bad one but its the only thing that helps me get through the long days. and the high i get from it is amazing. i dont know about other people who cut but my high feels like im flying, and im invincible, then when i come down..it hurts. but keep doing what ur doing dawson, i love ya!
- Ashley

Monday, Aug 6, 2007 - 11:41:31 PM
First of all, i was reading all the comments here, and i cant exactly throw them out, because its how some people feel, however i was a little upset at the thought that some people are so niave. Im 19. I used to cut, i used to cut a lot. I didnt do it for attention, or whatever. I did it because i hurt i need relief from what i felt was wrong in my life, it worked for a while and then when the high was gone from it the pain was still there. I then moved to smoking pot, and drinking... I was brought up in a not so good family life, however i do believe that people choose their own actions to a point. I chose to cut. but once i started i just couldnt stop. And then i got up enough courage, enough will power to do so. Smoking pot tho, and drinking completely different story. I've been living on my own pretty much since i was 14. I've moved 8 times in the past 2 years... Recently i've moved in with some friends because my other living situation was good. I had to quit my job and completely get away from it. I just really disagree with some of the comments that you shouldnt turn to drugs are alcohal.. that you shouldnt get addicted to them. Well dear, im sorry to say, but once you start for some people you cant stop. My addiction started in about 10th grade. I hung around the wrong people, plus my mother did drugs. She never did them with me, but she was heavely involved. My thought was hey, shes doing coke, and pots not half as bad as that. and now 5 years later, i cant stop. Will i do anything other pot. no way. no way at all. How ever for example friday night, i found out my gf had sex with another girl. I freaked out. I felt like i NEEDED to get high, or get drunk. When i get high, or drunk. I get this ease. this feeling that nothings wrong.. that my body && heart are numb to all things around me. That i dont hurt anymore... but when the buzz wears off its still there. I realize i have a problem. I need to stop. But how? how do i make an effort too, when something makes me feel that good? When i dont smoke tho, i feel even more depressed. I cant get out of bed, i sleep all day... I cant seem to get a job and keep it. And i cant get a good job because all the ones that pay good drug test. Right now it is 11:50. I have not done anything today, and im going to make the concious effort to stop... i Just think that the reason why so many people get addicted to things in the first place, is because they need something to complete something thats missing in their lives, whether it be love, or happiness, or other things... I have learned tho, that you cant find happiness from anything or anyone but yourself. you decide what makes you happy, you decide what you do everyday.. But i do wish children growing up now adays had more positive role models in their lives, parents, grand parents, friends, siblings, even in holly wood everythings all messed up.. well , im not sure if any of this made sense... But, i just wanted to respond to your topic, and i listen to your show every sunday dawson. I have tried to call several sundays, but i can never get threw to anyone.. You've helped so many people.. keep on keepin' on. && God Bless you.
- Kayla

Monday, Aug 6, 2007 - 11:34:58 PM
For a month and a half I used crack. The high, short-lived, gave me the feeling of being separated from my body, and out of control. I've always enjoyed that feeling. I am now in a 12 step program. Check out Cat Stevens "Trouble" for my thoughts on what addiction does to you.
- tricia

Monday, Aug 6, 2007 - 11:32:46 PM
Is myspace considered a addiction??
- Ashley

Monday, Aug 6, 2007 - 11:03:26 PM
Everyone gets addicted for a reason, obviously. Mine is because it makes me feel loved. I've always been extremely easily addicted. I'm addicted to my boyfriend. And while some people may say that's a rediculous and nonqualifiable addiction, I very much disagree. An addiction is an addiction. Whether it's something that doesn't seem harmful (like an addiction to brushing your teeth more than "normal") or something that's extremely harmful (like drugs). If it causes you to act in ways different from your own; if it's something that you become obsessed with and look to for relief; it's an addiction. And it's unhealthy. I'm obsessed with him, and I let him do whatever he wants because I know that he'll stay with me if I do. And then I can satisfy my addiction. It's gotten to the point where he's proposed marriage many times, and I'm right on the edge of saying yes. I'm seventeen, and while marriage seems a bit scary at this point in time, I think it would be worth it. Is it love? Or an addiction? Haha... I don't know. And I really don't care either way, because it's wonderful.
- Claire

Monday, Aug 6, 2007 - 10:54:55 PM
i know what its like to know someone that has an addiction... my friend smokes pot and is only 12 years old! its really hard to watch because i know its soooo bad for him! everyone has tried to get him to stop but he wont... hes addicted
- maddie

Monday, Aug 6, 2007 - 10:54:21 PM
Addiction is a a bad habit if you make it a habit. My boyfriend is a drug addict and he admits it and he can`t leave it because his dad gives him weed. I`t`s tearing me apart and our kids.
- Ms.Blacky

Monday, Aug 6, 2007 - 10:53:47 PM
Let's see...I've been addicted to cutting for about 3 years now on and off; I have no idea why I started in the first place but ever since I started, I've always gotten that buzz. Whenever I got it the first time, I felt that I had no worries in the world for once in my life, and I loved feeling that way so I kept doing it. But after a while, I got really tired of it which is the point I'm at now, but I can't stop. The buzz that I once loved has become my worst enemy...
- Katie

Monday, Aug 6, 2007 - 10:46:21 PM
Hey dawson, I feel like i have an addiction to cutting and sucide b/c i get this buzz or high that says oh i feel this way so i am going to cut myself until i die, or oh i have this feeling and it will make this feelings go way. then they just come back again.
- Stacey

Monday, Aug 6, 2007 - 10:45:36 PM
This is a comment for why addictions?(week 2): My friend does dance and gymnastics so she is all about weight. That is her addiction. She probably eats about 1000 to 1200 calories a day, maybe. Still she exercises a lot because of food. She has told me that she does 70 crunches everytime she eats. She is about 5ft 6inches and weights about 108. She looks very unproportioned. like broad shoulders and tiny tiny waist. Its kinda weird. I consider this an obsession/addiction. When your reading the back of everything you eat to see how much you can eat soo you dont eat too many calories. I love your show and your doing a great thing Dawson.
- Amber

Monday, Aug 6, 2007 - 10:44:58 PM
hi im from chickasha and i know someone who does have an addiction to dope and he wont stop and he says shootin it is the best feelin ever because it goes staight to ur vains but i beleive he is only killing him self and theres nothin i can do because he wont get away from it and get help... please god please help him from the suffer and give him hope befor its to late thanks mindy from chickasha ..............
- mindy

Monday, Aug 6, 2007 - 10:44:38 PM
I'm Chelsea ... and my addiction is cutting. It isn't something I'm proud of, and I never will be. I've been doing it for about five years now. The feeling I get from it ... is just ... its a temporary feeling of elation, and that's the feeling I chase. That's why I keep doing it, even though I know I need help. I've also had to stop taking my medicine for depression and whatever else is wrong with me, because i recently became addicted to some of my medications.
- Chelsea

Monday, Aug 6, 2007 - 10:43:37 PM
There's something about cutting that gives me a sense that, at least for the moment, I can focus on something else. It's like when you have a headache and you rub your forehead, like a distraction. To stop one pain, you have to begin another. And emotional pain, being lonely, feeling like nothing will ever work out, that's worse than any physical pain.
- Jessie

Monday, Aug 6, 2007 - 11:25:09 AM
i think people turn to drugs and the likes because they just went through something that hurt them alot and they are searching for support. they dont have any where to go so they do drugs and the drugs or whatever sooth them but when they try to stop they cant, thus an addiction
- Marshall

Monday, Aug 6, 2007 - 3:18:31 AM
My names Megan & I am addicted to drinking & smoking weed. Im 15 & am an acholic. I guess i just love the felling & the high I get. I just forget about everything else that is going on in my life & just kind of have a good time. i love the show & always listen<3
- Megan

Monday, Aug 6, 2007 - 3:18:05 AM
Hey my name is Megan. I just talked to Dawson last night live on the show. I am 16 years old & addictied to weed & I am also an alcoholic. I just moved to Texas from California because I was making wrong choices. I was drinking & smoking all the time. I almost got expelled from my high school. I would go to parties & then go to school the next day. I also got into "slanging" or as all tennagers call it selling weed. I went from a straight A' amzing kid. To straight F's. I kinda forgot who I was. I smoked so much weed that eventually I stopped getting the high that I wanted & had to start smoking more & more weed to get the high that i once like. It was not a good thing. So my mom finally got up the courge one day to take me out of school & move me out to Texas. I went right back to straight A's & got involved with sports again. But then I started going back to drinking. I miss my freinds so much, I mean I've grown up with them. So they would call me at a party & all my frends would want me to come back to california & visit them. This made me start to drink again. I wanted my life to go to the way that it used to be when i thought that i was happy. But the thing was that i wasnt really happy, the drugs just made me numb to my feelings so I thought i was happy. So I had been listeneing to this show on kiss fm & i wanted to call in so many times & get help. Dawson just seemed to understand everything that the world was going through & after listening to a couple people i realized that everyone has problems & that i wasnt alone. So I was sitting in my room last night & I finally just picked up the phone & called him. I couldnt take it anymore & i KNEW that he could help me. I mean I heard him literally help thousands of people a night. He helped me realize everything i was thinking. It was like he could read my mind. He told me all the things that i knew in my mind that i needed to hear even though i didnt want to realize it. In three words i can sum up what ive learned in life...it goes on. Who I am now isn't who I was before. Who i am, and what i'm capable of doing, has always managed to surprise me. And it will surprize you. If you know you have an addiction or a problem & you dont think that you can talk to anyone. Call Dawson. Trust me he can help. -Megan
- Megan

Monday, Aug 6, 2007 - 3:16:17 AM
hey my name is Renee. I have never ever did drugs or alcohol. I may have had hard times with my life and i believe that drugs and alcohol shouldnt be a pain reliever to people that use it. I went through alot and i never touched anyofthose. If its easy for me to not do drugs or alcohol then its easy for you.
- Renee

Monday, Aug 6, 2007 - 2:26:07 AM
im addicted to cutting. im 13 and ive been doing it for three years off and on and i guess i do it because it takes my concentration off whatevers buzzing me and numbs it sorta. i know its stupid but ive tried to stop and it just hasnt happened. & i love your show i listen every sunday
- Maddie

Monday, Aug 6, 2007 - 12:57:33 AM
Hey my name is Callie, and my addiction is smoking pot. I have been smoking now for about five years and it is something that is affecting my life. I havent gone a day without smoking in about a year and to me is something to help me and ease me from my problems. I dont really have any girlfriends that smoke, so i tend to hang out with a lot of guys and they have just become the people i turn too, because i don't hang out with my girlfriends as much anymore. My parents don't know, but i am high around them all the time, and it has started to take over my life. I go to college and i just want to get clean so i can get a good education and continue to do the things i love. I know that these people i hang out with are not people i should be around, but they are they only people i have to turn too, and i leave to go back to school in about 3 weeks and i wont be around them, and i am going to try my hardest to quit, and to do the things in life i was made out to do...
- callie

Monday, Aug 6, 2007 - 12:29:00 AM
hey my name is brandy.. i just wanted to say..i have never tried any drugs ..or alcohal or smoking... and i am verry pleased with my life.. i cant see how some one could just throw away there lifes for a little bit of fun there are other ways to have fun.. i play my fav. video game with my friends or go to the park.. i wish that no drugs ever exsisted it would make life so much easier for all those who do suffer with addictions
- Brandy May

Sunday, Aug 5, 2007 - 11:46:14 PM
My drug of choice was pain killers. To me they killed the emotional pain not the physical pain. When i took them i felt as if every bad thing was gone, i felt as if i owned the world. I was invincible. In the end i had nothing, i lost everything and everyone. I tried selling them so i can get money to support my addiction. I brought 20grams to school. I got expelled and ruined my 10th grade year. I've now been sober for 3 months and counting. I hope i never go down that path again.
- L. P.

Sunday, Aug 5, 2007 - 11:45:37 PM
I don't have an addiction, but my older brother does. His 3 months, long distance, girlfriend just broke up with him. He is getting really depressed, but I thought he was work through it reaally well but now he's cutting, a lot. He says noone wants to listen to him, but I do. The way he feels trapped everyday makes him want to cut. All because it is his choice. I really want to help him, but if I tell my parents he may never talk to me again. We've always had a tension filled relationship, but now he seems so on edge. Thanks for your show it really makes me think and it's nice to know their is an environment where I or any other teen can talk about anything. Thank you.
- Mory

Sunday, Aug 5, 2007 - 11:39:02 PM
I have a dad who's an alcolic he's been left by 2 girlfriends hes got kids with and now being divorced and this has been going on for 18+ years. He drinks he says cause he can control it and feels impowered.
- Stacy

Sunday, Aug 5, 2007 - 11:38:49 PM
I love your show, because I relate to the problems. I think I am addicted to food. I am scared to death, because at the doctors my doctor said I was gaining weight rapidly and fast. At 180 pounds at 13, I'm scared because even though I'm dieting and and excersizing it feels like I'm not losing anything. My doctor says that I must be overeating when i only eat one meal a day. My dad is even pressuring me by making my scheduals with diets and packed with excersizes and making me see dieticians. I'm still not losing anything and my doctor says I am really close to having diabetis. I'm becoming really stressed and my whole summer has been based about this and I feel as if I cant take it anymore. Can you help me?
- Angela

Sunday, Aug 5, 2007 - 11:34:55 PM
my freind has an addiction. and being around people who have addictions its not that much of a shock to me but after hearing this i just cant get it off my mind. If it was like drinkin or drugs i could help him. im a christian and i love lord christ. he is my personal lord and savor. and lieing is one of the ten commandments. thats why this bothers me so much. i cant seem to get my freind to stop lieing. intill i started praying. i told him to listen to your show now he treis to tell the truth. thank u
- joshua

Sunday, Aug 5, 2007 - 11:34:29 PM
ok..i dont have a addiction but i really really need somebody to talk to..i have alot of problems in my life right now and i just want to talk to somebody but i canit cause i have nobody to talk to..so PLEASE help me dawson..please..just email me * k.thank you samantha
- samantha

Sunday, Aug 5, 2007 - 11:30:53 PM
Dawson you are an awesome person. your changing the world single handly one step at a time. thank you for all you do. it takes real love for someone to dedicate their life to helping others. your a great person
- Anna

Sunday, Aug 5, 2007 - 11:25:56 PM
i love your show...im listening right now and it just broke my heart when the girl was talking and she said he dad raped her practicly all her life and she told her best friend and her best friends told her mom...and now she wont even go 2 court...that was just so sad...and i loved the advice u gave her...
- alyson

Sunday, Aug 5, 2007 - 11:23:38 PM
i am addicted to sex. i am so ashamedd
- Katrina

Sunday, Aug 5, 2007 - 11:20:03 PM
ive liked this guy for 3 years...and i went over 2 his house the other day and we made out alot and he asked me out and then he wouldnt answer me calls..so me and my friends went 2 his house and he was hanging out with his friends trying 2 show off and broke up with me...if felt like he broke my heart..so now my friends hate him...but the bad thing is i still have feelings for him....
- morg

Sunday, Aug 5, 2007 - 11:19:46 PM
hey. i love your show....it makes me think about how stupid things are before i do them....
- morgan s.

Sunday, Aug 5, 2007 - 11:19:42 PM
Addiction is a disctraction, it helps you avoid thinking about the mess your in. I listen to your show all the time and it helps me piece together what I am feeling, and what I should learn from the people on it. Thank you so much for helping me learn that it is so much better for me to stay out of the horrible situations that so many people get themselves into!!!
- Lia

Sunday, Aug 5, 2007 - 11:19:15 PM
i love all that you've done and how you've helped so many people. I'm actually listening to it right now. Just thank you so much for all of your help
- Rachel

Sunday, Aug 5, 2007 - 11:19:08 PM
My addiction is cutting i gues i went to cutting because i felt that that was th only thinig i could do to control my emotions and feelings because i feel that no one listens so i dont know what to do so i went to cutting but my boyfriend made mepromise to stop but like you said an addiction is and addiction and it hurts everyone...but i know i cant offically STOP becuase i just cant i just dont know what to do. it's been about 4 weeks since i last cut. i know when ever i run into a problem i want to go to my razor then i think of my boyfriend who stop for me but i know that i can slip up but i need help
- Faith

Sunday, Aug 5, 2007 - 11:12:28 PM
I am addicted to cigarettes! I have been smoking since I was 13 and have tried many ways to quit smoking. Cold turkey does not work at all and causes alot of stress, Patches last for awhile but still puts the addictive drug in your system, Nic. gum is the same way. The only system I have not tried is the medication that is perscribed. If the med's did not cost $150 a bottle I would try that way but Money just does not happen to grow on trees for me.
- mark

Sunday, Aug 5, 2007 - 11:12:07 PM
um this really helps expecially kids with parents that have addictions to pills other drugs and alchol!! so thanx once again dawson
- Whittney

Sunday, Aug 5, 2007 - 11:11:57 PM
When people are given a drug there also given a shovel. Every time they use there drug even though there not trying to they dig deeper and deeper every time. The more they use the drug the deeper there hole gets and the harder it gets for them to climb out of there hole and stop the addiction. At least thats what I think addiction is. . .
- Rusty

Sunday, Aug 5, 2007 - 10:48:28 PM
i had some emotional issues a few years ago with my mom so i lashed out by smoking. unfortunately i got hooked and battled my up hill battle to quit alone. its really tough so if you are addicted to something get in a group.
- maggie m

Sunday, Aug 5, 2007 - 10:45:23 PM
well im glad to see that your talking about this with teens too. some people i know (parents) dont even know teens can have addictions. last year was hard for me. i went from homeschooled to a school, my bff got raped...she had been molested as she grew up by family members and when she started to get "normal" that happened. then in december a guy i had grownup with he was like my big bro committed suicide. it was really togh. then to top that all of my grandpa died and the guy that told me he was in love with me, attempted sucide, told me he would never do it again, and then the girl that had cheated on him and made him want to kill himself came back into the picture and she was pregnant. so i was depressed and started cutting myself. it only lasted for 2 months but i finally saw what it did. it calmed me. it so wierd to say that now bc im totally against it but it did. i got help from friends. and im totally okay now. so i just wanted to say tha dwason, you are one of my heros. i respect you and i know your a wise man. youve helped me through a tough time b/c that guy that i talked about who attempted suicide lust came back into the picture. im not totally sure what to do but ive got an idea thx to you. ~gabi
- gabi

Sunday, Aug 5, 2007 - 10:31:18 PM
I used to be obsessed with sex. I feel like such a sl*t. But I havent had it in the longest time. It's been a month now. I'm glad. I had to get an abortion a little while ago.
- Raven B

Sunday, Aug 5, 2007 - 10:23:51 PM
Addictions, I think can be easily grown out of. I know people go through a lot and most people make bad choises. I wish I could be a friend to anyone that needs one...
- Caresse L

Sunday, Aug 5, 2007 - 10:07:26 PM
i think that people have addictions cause they FEEL like they have know one and that one thing that they do is the only thing that they FEEL that they can count on to take their mind off what is bothering them.
- tracy

Sunday, Aug 5, 2007 - 9:58:42 PM
My addiction was Coke but I have not done it in two years.My dad was the one who got me to try it and I know that sounds bad but he is not a bad guy. Anyway When I snorted coke I felt as if I could do anything. I would want to get up and go out and have some fun and when I was off of it I hated myself everything about. I never wanted to stop but I knew I had to because of the anger inside me when I was coming down and had no more left it really scared me. I struggle with it so much because I could have it at my finger tips in a flash and my Dad still does it sometimes. I live about a mile from him and sometimes when I can't deal I want to get some but I have not in a while. I started cutting myself when I was 10 my parents drank all the time and after I was raped when I was 19 it got worst but I have recently stopped. But when I do cut it helps so much the pain inside the hurt I feel I can't talk about because and I am surpried I am now but I guess it is because I can't see you.
- Tina

Sunday, Aug 5, 2007 - 9:34:52 PM
dawson the reason people have addictions is because it makes people feel better about themselves.
- haley

Sunday, Aug 5, 2007 - 9:26:53 PM
hey daswon i have something to stay ok i was talking to my mom and her friend about having sex im a virgin so i keep on thinking am i ready or what please answer my question on the air bc im scared to call in im 15 i need yo know should i ruin my life by getting a guy to love me for me or having a boy haveing sex with me i need siriouse help
- bethan

Sunday, Aug 5, 2007 - 8:36:38 PM
i have been addicted to alot of different things. first it was cutting. i loved the way i forgot about everything when i was cutting. i focused on cutting and only that. another addiction was prescription pills. vicodin oxycotton and xanax mostly. when i get high i feel great. its the only time i feel good about myself. i can escape the craziness of life and i dont have to face reality. they made me happy. false feelgoods i guess but they worked for that short amount of time and that was all i needed. i still struggle with them but im getting away from all of it. im finally doing good in my life and i dont need drugs or cutting to be happy. i still relapse every once in awhile but i have family and friends that care about me and help me through the tuff times.
- becky

Sunday, Aug 5, 2007 - 6:59:12 PM
Dear dawson, I wanted to thank you for your post on addictions. As a former person addicted to alcohol, i would use drinking as a mean to escape my issues. I would close off and become irrational and I would purposely get drunk to numb my feelings. Only when I went to rehab to face my issues of depression and drinking did I realize the consequences of my actions and how it was affecting my friends, family and my life. I still deal with addictions all the time. My boyfriend, is a long-time addict of video games to escape his problems and to avoid confrentation. Unfortunately, he doesn't acknowledge that he has a problem and will spend more than 4 hours a night sometimes playing World of Warcraft. Not only do addictions hurt, they tear apart relationships and block the door to communication.
- Lindsay

Sunday, Aug 5, 2007 - 6:10:43 PM
My addiction was cutting... umm I think I finally broke my habit but only time will tell. For me it was a sense of relief to feel physical pain rather than emotional. Once you start this habit it's hard to break like anything else. But the one thing that sucked, was the 'high' didn't last very long and if you thought about it for awhile the urge to cut went away unless the problem was still there. Kinda like a roller coaster as Sandy said (below). It was a guarantee way to satisfy my desire to ease the pain.
- Jenn

Sunday, Aug 5, 2007 - 2:08:28 PM
i do not have an addiction.. but i know people who do.. and they say they do it cuz it makes u feel good.. and they like the feeling.
- kelly

Sunday, Aug 5, 2007 - 12:44:28 AM
My addiction WAS cutting. The buzz, or high you get from cutting is so intense. The best way I can describe it, is when you're on a roller coaster, and before you take off, they pull you back and you hear the click, or a shift of the coaster and you know you're seconds away from an incredible [but short] trip. as it lets go you feel as if your breathe is a few steps behind you. Sadly, it felt amazing. The sting is shocking;breathe taking. A sea of shades of blues drown me in my thoughts, and after its over, you exhale. People can't really understand how much of a head rush it is. People who cut have different highs, not everyone has the same high, maybe a similar one, but not so much the same as the next. I was angry, worthless, and irritated. A razor blade was the easiest thing to turn to. Even though I haven't stopped completely; it's almost like I never think about it. Only once in a very long while, will I get an urge.
- Sandy

Sunday, Aug 5, 2007 - 12:44:08 AM
Hi, Im a long time listener and I subscribe to the podcast too. I live in Orlando Florida and catch the show every sunday. I just wanted to say thankyou so much for all the help you give to teens. I listen to the advice and give my friends the advice if they ever come to me. and if i cant help them, i always give them your number and website. Thankyou again, Mike R. Orlando, FL
- Mike R

Sunday, Aug 5, 2007 - 12:43:51 AM
hi, my mom has a addition of drinking coffee i think that is because of cafine
- star

Sunday, Aug 5, 2007 - 12:43:39 AM
I was addicted to Crystal Meth for 6 months. I quit cold turkey and havent used in 6 months. Your blog has helped me relize that I can NEVER use Meth again.
- Randi

Saturday, Aug 4, 2007 - 10:04:39 PM
I guess some would say I am "addicted" to hurting myself. I'm not really sure though, because I still don't understand this high that other people talk about. I just started because I was so angry at everyone around me and I was about to sock them. I do have self control and I knew that socking people at school was not a good idea. I had gotten a warning for punching some kid, suspended for venting angry thoughts on paper, and most of my teachers despised me. I don't really fit the stereo-type of everyone else in my classes. So anyway, I just snapped and that first cut just seemed to work. I guess I was just happy that I had finally found a way to at least partially vent my anger and not get in trouble. I knew that if the people who pushed me over ever found out, they would feel horrible, and that hurts more than my punch ever could...not that I would ever let them find out. So, now whenever I feel angry, sad, depressed, bored, even when I'm not feeling anything, I just find some way to hurt myself. It just provides this feeling that makes me so relieved and joyed knowing that I can still feel anything other than the emptiness that has engulfed me...if that makes any sense.
-

Saturday, Aug 4, 2007 - 9:16:20 PM
I've started shooting up heroin since I was 15 years old. I guess I did it because I wanted to have fun and experience it. My first time felt really good and it made me feel really numb. I actually lost my virginity when I was on heroin but its kind of sad because I dont know who it was with. Anyways I quit cold turkey when I turned 19 because I realized I didnt want to spend the rest of my life living at my parents house. I wanted to go to college and make something out of my life. -vicky
- victoria

Saturday, Aug 4, 2007 - 9:15:48 PM
i think that your blog is so true and it really speaks to me because i was addicted to lortabs and cutting my self but i heard your show and it made me realize that cutting myself and taking drugs was not wroth the chance of lossing my life
- francis

Saturday, Aug 4, 2007 - 9:15:09 PM
Coming from experience, when someone cuts it feels good (so to speak) at the time becuz you don't want to deal with the emotional pain that your going through so you replace it with Physical pain. Which then takes your mind off the other things your going through at that time. The problem with cutting is the physicall pain doesn't last long, or any other addiction. It's just like drugs or alcohol, it feels good at the time becuz you don't have to deal with the emotional stuff, it takes your mind off of it. It messes with your mind thinking that if you do this you won't have to deal with it anymore, that your mind is just kind of deadend to it until the next time, which is why people keep going back to it.
- Jenn

Saturday, Aug 4, 2007 - 5:46:22 PM
I have been a cutter for over 3 years now. I was clean for 6 months, but relapsed the other day. I was so stressed out about school starting soon, and work, and church stuff, and a lot of other things, and I couldn't think straight. So I cut. Cutting is kinda the opposite of a high, for me, at least. Cutting calms me down (so I guess it's kinda like a high). AS soon as I felt the pain on my wrist and I saw myself bleeding, everything seemed okay for a bit. I could think straight again, and I just wanted to keep cutting so that reality wouldn't come back. The sad part is that I knew how wrong the whole situation was. I knew that cutting would only provide a temporary relief, but my miond was so set on making myself feel better, even if it meant bleeding for a short high. It's totally sick, but the blood reminds me that I'm still alive, and that maybe it will be okay someday. I can't focus on anything else while I"m cutting. It's me and my razor and the blood. And it's a good feeling. The scary part is coming down.
- Amanda

Saturday, Aug 4, 2007 - 3:40:36 PM
At first, drinking for me gave me a nice buzz, an "escape" if you will from reality, a place where I could laugh, and feel OK about myself. But at the end, the "high" wasn't pretty, if I even got drunk at all, I needed acohol just to make me feel somewhat normal, and when I drank to oblivion it was a very scary place, lonely, sad, self hatred.......thank God I haven't had to live that way since 12/03/04.
- Beth

Saturday, Aug 4, 2007 - 3:40:06 PM
addictions make people feel so werid i bet but all around the world people can help.
- yasmin

Saturday, Aug 4, 2007 - 3:39:41 PM
Ive seen so many people around me that are addicted, and that I have talked to, and the buzz or high the you get from your addiction is the temporary relief, because the buzz or high doesnt last long, it wears off, and is a escape from reality and the real world. When the buzz is gone theres no escaping. People turn to addictions because of past trauma and life changing events and things there trying to hide from in there life from a day to day basis. Some also turn to it because of being with the wrong crowd, or they were brought up around it also. Thanks for all that you do Dawson I always listen to you and comment your blogs and read them!! Love always, a loyal listener, Brittney
- Brittney D

Saturday, Aug 4, 2007 - 1:18:54 AM
I am a cutter (self mutilation), it is very hard for me to explain the high I get but i will try. Its just sense of relief, I dont like myself or people around me and most of the time I wish they were gone or even something bad to happen to them. At this point I want to hurt them so instead of hurting them i hurt myself considering that I myself can controll it. Maybe I just have not found the answer on why i myself cut. Im not sure but i also think its because at times i really want to die but then I dont so to see the cuts and blood on my arm wrist etc. gets me closer to that point but i know im not totally there. Im really tring to write this out but im sorry i dont think i can explain a high. Can why really explain a high???
- Donna

Saturday, Aug 4, 2007 - 1:17:56 AM
I don't know if this is an "addiction", so to speak, but I do know that every day, without fail, I go to my room and stay there the whole day, to escape the days when my mom yells at me. I don't know what to do. I feel sad all the time, and I try to escape my primary abuser.
- Kim

Friday, Aug 3, 2007 - 5:45:21 PM
That made alot of sence. I can't wait to read part two.
- Chante

Friday, Aug 3, 2007 - 5:45:15 PM
my friends shopping addiction and self esteem issues go hand in hand..she thinks shes not beautiful enough so she goes out and buys lots of jewelry,makeup and clothing even though she doesnt need it.somehow she thinks by buying all this stuff it will make her happy and it hasnt yet...and because its never enough she keeps buying more and more and shes going for broke big time.so I don't think it has to be like a "high" though im sure for some time she feels "lifted" but it fads and the cycle starts all over again. I love her but sometimes its hard to deal with.
- Emily

Friday, Aug 3, 2007 - 5:44:52 PM
my addiction is cutting.the addiction helps feel the emptyness we feel but it never does. the buzz only for so long. its not worth having any addiction(if they are bad.) it never really helps. i mean in the morning u have to wake up and face watever u were hiding from. so really why do it? for me its beacausee it realse "stress" just for that one moment... but is it worth it? i dont think so
- carrie

Friday, Aug 3, 2007 - 5:44:15 PM
ok lets say this my Best Friend told me about this show and i think its so awesome tht u find all this time to help everyone you can. I'm going to start listening to your show now,because i hope that it really helps me!!!!:-)
- Korie S