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Lows Of Addictions Part 2
Last week, my blog was all about the lows of addictions. I’m trying very hard to be open-minded. So many times, people who try to convince you not to get into addiction sound like they’ve gone overboard. Their pitch is almost unbelievable, so you end up saying, “Oh sure. I don’t believe you.” But I have to tell you, the more I read your comments about addictions (I read every one of them), and the more I study and write about addictions, the more upset I get. It’s like millions of people are just flushing their lives down the toilet, and for what? A cheap thrill and a false feel good to cover over their pain. By the way, the addiction I hate the most is cutting. So many people, especially men, have put a hurt on females. I hate it all the more when females turn around and put a hurt on themselves. 90% of all cutters are females. I’ll be talking about cutting in another blog soon. Let me repeat, I hate cutting, but I love the cutter.
I ran out of time and space last week to finish the lows of addictions, so I decided to do Part Two. I actually could do Part Three, Four, and Five because there are so many reasons to turn your back on any false feel good and chasing the high. In this blog, I want to mention a few more lows of addictions. In fact, addictions don’t simply bring on lows, addictions are flat out cruel. So let’s get in to it. Why are addictions so cruel?
Addictions are cruel because they turn the user into a slave.
No one ever goes into an addiction telling themselves, “My life is going to be totally taken over by this cruel thing.”
| Unknowingly, people with addictions choose to be a slave. | In fact, few people can even conceive of the horrendous grip an addiction has. If you have an addiction, you know what I’m talking about. No doubt you have told yourself thousands of times you were going to quit, only to go back to the addiction time and time again. It’s like your life is consumed with addiction. “My sexual addiction had complete control over me.” (Nick) My heart goes out to Nick. He probably doesn’t even understand he is a slave to the misuse of sex. How sad is that?
In most cultures, slaves are the lowest class of people in their society. Slaves have no rights, no dignity, and really no hope for the future. Most people who are slaves have no choice in the matter. It’s like life has dealt them a heartbreaking blow.
Unknowingly, people with addictions actually choose to be a slave. He/she may be rich or poor, famous or a nobody, but they all have one thing in common – they’re slaves and seemingly they can’t get out. “I am addicted to gambling. Gambling has COMPLETELY ruined my life. I am in serious debt. I have ruined relationships with my family, friends, and girlfriend. But I keep going back to casinos…I hate every moment when I am at a casino. Even if I am winning…But I am so addicted to going I am not sure if I will be able to stop…I throw every pay check I have away. [I’d be] better off throwing [my paycheck] out my car window.” (Greg)
There is hope for Greg, but it’s a long way back to freedom. I picture in my mind him throwing his paycheck out the window. That might be healthier than taking it into a casino. Greg’s a slave, and who wants to be a slave?
Addictions are cruel because they will cost the user a priceless gift – relationships.
Most people who are addicted soon become unaware of what’s happening around them.
| The user doesn’t grasp what the addiction is doing to their loved ones, and how it is destroying their relationships. | They are so in to the addiction, they are blind to reality. They often fail to see the hurt in the eyes of those who love them the most. The user doesn’t grasp what the addiction is doing to their loved ones, and how it is destroying their relationships. After all, a user is a user. They end up using whoever is near them so they can keep feeding the addiction, and the addiction is always very hungry.
There is an old, old song that goes, “you always hurt the one you love, the one you didn’t mean to hurt at all.” The problem with users is they soon forget how to love because they become so self-absorbed and selfish.
But one day, a day usually too late, they look around and notice something. The people who they once cared about are no longer there. What happened? Little by little, their friends and family drifted away, no longer able to deal with the addict’s heartbreaking behavior. They may have lost their boyfriend/girlfriend, best friend, husband/wife, children, brother, sister, family, etc. “I lost someone very close to me, a boyfriend I had for almost a year…I had to make a decision between [him or the drugs] and…I choose the drugs. I regret this decision every day of my life. I loved him so much and I didn’t see how bad the drugs were affecting me until he left me.” (Jessica) Jessica’s story is all too familiar. People with addictions are a one-person wrecking crew when it comes to relationships.
“My friends were supportive and tried to help me. But as the addiction began to set in, I started to treat those who loved me like crap.
| “…I started to treat those who love me like crap. I hurt them as much as I hurt myself, and it was too late before I got the point…” | I hurt them just as much as I hurt myself, and it was too late before I got the point…It hurt so badly to see my life falling apart, but addiction doesn't care…My life slowly fell apart, and I now am only beginning to pick up the pieces.” (Amanda) Amanda’s comment has touched me deeply. Trying to go back and mend old relationships that have been shattered by addictions is extremely difficult. But perhaps her humility and the fact she’s thinking clearly now will help her a lot. Tens of thousands of relationships have been shattered by that cruel “demon” addiction.
Addictions are cruel because they can cost the user their life.
One has to wonder how many people have died from addictions. I know for sure we lose 400,000 people every year to Nicotine, and addictions cost health care $110 billion a year. I’m starting a new radio series where I interview old rockstars. It looks like I will be talking to Nikki Sixx of Motley Crue fame. Somehow he survived the addiction years and lived to tell about it, but so many haven’t. Do you know someone who has died because of their addiction? Leave me a comment after my blog. I know it will be painful for you to write it, but it’s probably best to get it all out. As several people have said in comments to me over the last few weeks, addictions suck. Think of all the brokenhearted mothers who have stood by the casket of their child taken away by addictions. Addictions are cruel. They don’t care who they kill. “I contracted HIV from the binges I took…I guess it was unprotected sex, but when you are high, you are not sure about anything like you think you are.
| “…Addiction is a lie and a thief…[it] leads to destruction and death. It kills the person you are meant to be and it kills the people who love you the most…” | My thought process was 'I wanted to get away from life.' I can sit here tonight, and say you can't get away from HIV. HIV is with you until you die. So, when I did drugs, did I get away? No, I didn't. I got HIV. I can't get away from that. Addiction took me further than I wanted to go. Addiction is a lie and a thief...[it] leads to destruction and death. It kills the person you are meant to be and it kills the people who love you the most…Addiction always takes and never gives. Unless the giving is to destroy your body, mind, and soul.” (Drew) Drew’s comment is one of the most powerful comments anyone has ever sent to me. It got me thinking. Addictions are a cruel enemy, for they have no conscience.
Has this blog been corny? Over the top? I want you to know I’m dead sincere. If you’re in an addiction, wouldn’t it be cool if you could break loose from it, and then turn around and help people who are still in their addiction? That’s my dream for you. Have a great week.
TOPIC OF THE WEEK: 25 YEARS LATER
Pick an addiction (example: stealing, cutting, etc. To find a list of addictions, Click To find a list of addictions, Click HERE) and try to express what a
person's life with the addiction would be like 25 years from now if he/she is not set free. For example, in 25 years from now, a person addicted to stealing will have a reputation of being a thief, will be in and out of jail, will have lost his/her family and friends and be distrusted or hated by just about everybody he/she knows. This person is going to have a very difficult time getting a job, or finding any kind of peace in their life. Their addiction to steal will follow them and haunt them for the rest of their life. Few, if any, will attend their funeral. Plus, their addiction to stealing could be passed on from generation to generation.
Wednesday, Sep 5, 2007 - 11:05:38 PM
people dont realize that when they have an addiction, there giving up so many parts to themselves that they may never be able to get back. in the end, you will be much better if you try to find healthy solutions to your problems instead of storing up regret for later.
- sara
Wednesday, Sep 5, 2007 - 11:05:22 PM
hey dawson,
i have an addiction to starving myself to loose weight i have been starving myself for 5 months now and anytime i try to eat i get sick i really need help but i don't know who to talk to about it
- tabatha
Wednesday, Sep 5, 2007 - 11:05:01 PM
My bofriend is in to cutting i juss you wuond say but he makes me feel like it somthing to do but i dont do it.Somtime i think i shound try it counde help him understand how i feel when he dose it but that another prombelem.He the kind that sit there and actes as thoug you mad him mad sometimes he makes me mad. Then other times he thratons to kill hmiself and he whount leastion when me and my other freineds say it nothing to get up about but he dosent care he says.
- GEANIE
Wednesday, Sep 5, 2007 - 11:04:10 PM
My father is a severe alcoholic, and the typical one at that. Blaming others mainly my mother for everything. He totally believes he hasn't a single problem and that drinking for over 20 yrs isn't a big deal. It hurts me to see who he is, and that the possibility his liver could give out and his brain continue to shrink means nothing to him. He starts drinking at 6 a.m. and keeps putting back beers all day until the afternoon to the point he can't walk straight and the slightest thing said by my mom or me could set him off. He even has gotten violent kicking our Doberman Pinscher puppy and throwing our old poodle across the room not to mention raising his fist and threatening to beat the life out of me. My mom has filed to divorce which caused us to live in a hotel for a month and tension has only gotten worse, but after 21 yrs of abuse she had enough.
- Magan
Wednesday, Sep 5, 2007 - 7:34:36 PM
i use to be a real bad cutter it started when i was abot ten years old and i'm 16 now and i haven't done it for about a year now. but i was addicted to pain because for some reason pain kept me going. i played football for pain. i did things so my mom had a good enough reason in her head to abuse me so i could pain that i couldn't inflict on myself. i use to scare my little brothers, and my little sister so bad because they use to see me with knife up to my chest. then i got to placement and with the help of staff at chor i soon learned that ever y time i cut myself i was cutting my mom, my dad, my sister, basically the people who truly cared about me. it was truly a long road but i over came it with troubles along the way and a lot of help. i just want to thak ther people who helped me because they really saved my lif e because my life was going down the drain i could have been dead.
- Montavis
Wednesday, Sep 5, 2007 - 7:27:06 PM
Well Dawson i have no other way to contact you so i am trying through this. I cant call u because i am not allowed on the phone and when your chat lines are open i am not able to get on them. So i am asking u to email me. I really need someone i can talk to. Please all i am asking i just to let my story out to someone.
- Stacie
Tuesday, Sep 4, 2007 - 10:52:44 PM
i shop and i am never happy with what i have i always want something more when i buy a designer handbag the next week i beg my parents for another one and the usually say yes.
- megan
Tuesday, Sep 4, 2007 - 10:51:44 PM
I want to say that I think what you do is very helpful so thank you.Addiction is very powerful and painful and it will make people do things they wouldn't normally do. I believe that God is one of the keys to getting through addiction.
- sabrina
Tuesday, Sep 4, 2007 - 10:10:22 PM
Hey Dawson, i always listen to your shows... every sunday night..i relaly love listen to all of them.. i dont really have and bad problems like alot of people.. but i have a problem with guys...they tend to wanna use me all the time.. i have a very good assest... and ya it makes me feel like thats all the guys want... and like one of my ex's broke up with me b.c i would not have sex with him..... and that really hurt that thats all he was looking for.. but ya...that was like last year.. but In April.... My bf... got sent to JDC... for doing drugs... and it really hurt me.. b/c i knew he did drugs.... and he told me he promised he would stop.. then the next night after him telling me that... then he got sent.. and he lied to me on the reason he was gone... then jsut recently like last saturday the 2nd of sept... 5 months after i hadnt talked to him he called me the 1st.. friday... and asked if i would meet him at Life light...and i did.. and he says he is a different person... but i honestly dont kno if i should believe him again.. b/c he lied to me last time... so idk... what ima do... and i need anyones help.. You can email me.... if you have any comments and can help... Thankx again... Good Bye!!
- Karah
Tuesday, Sep 4, 2007 - 10:04:10 PM
Hey Dawson, what's up? Just wanted to make a comment for you as a pay-back for the things that you do for other people. I know your really proud of your Blog, so I checked it out. I think what you do is really awesome, and when I grow up, I think I'll do the same thing. I'll see you-well, actually I'll hear you on Sunday night.
- K
Tuesday, Sep 4, 2007 - 10:03:38 PM
Hey Dawson, I think your Blog is so cool.(I know from listening to your show on the radio, how proud you are of your Blog, so I came and checked it out.) People can come on this website and talk to you, share their experiences, and get advice and help. I listen to your show on Q102 Sunday nights for as long as I can. My heart really goes out to the people that call in. I hope you do this for the rest of your life. You say this to the people who call in, and I'm going to say it to you-Your an awesome person.
- Anonomous
Tuesday, Sep 4, 2007 - 10:01:17 AM
Hey Dawson, This is my 2nd blog and I have a favorite poem that may help some people, it has me. It's called "Desiderata" by Max Ehrman in 1952. I believe it has all a person needs to know and practice daily to improve their characteristics. What do you think? Here it is; Desiderata
Max Ehrman, Copyright 1952
Go placidly amid the noise and the haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence.
As far as possible without surrender; be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even the dull and the ignorant; they too have their story.
Avoid loud and aggressive persons; they are vexations to the spirit.
If you compare yourself with others, you will become vain and bitter; for there will always be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.
Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs; for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals; and everywhere life is full of heroism.
Be yourself.
Especially do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love; for in the sake of all aridity and disenchantment it is as perennial as the grass.
Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.
Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself.
You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.
Therefore be at peace with God, whatever YOU conceive him to be, and whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul.
With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful.
Strive to be happy.
- Spacey
Tuesday, Sep 4, 2007 - 10:00:50 AM
money spending
I have this problem of wanting to spend money when it is in my hands and it is becoming real habbit for me and it is just getting worse all the time for me. what should I do about> Should I tell my parents about it or what? It has bcome an addiction for me and I for some reason I can not stop. PLEASE HELP ME!
- Jolyn
Tuesday, Sep 4, 2007 - 10:00:43 AM
i have 2 stories actually both involveing achole!when i was 4 my father went to jail for murder in the second degree, he was on drugs and drinking.my uncle eddy was with him. eddy said something my dad didnt like so he beat him half to death then our cousin jimmy shot him. my life has been ruined ever since!! im 14 almost 15 years old, and having to tell people for 10 years that my dad pretty much killed someone isnt exacting a cake walk. it happened shortly after my birthday and i still feel at fault as if i beat my uncle that night.ive had nightmares and it also affects my relationships with guys, i never know what they will do and that scares me! like at the moment im in love wityh a guy who knows i love him because he loves me back but i broke up with him a week ago because i am scared to death that he will hurt me.the sadest thing is is that i dont blame my dad at all i blame myself. that scares me the most and ive thhought of suicide but everytime im to that point someone stops me. for that i am thankful.
- samantha
Tuesday, Sep 4, 2007 - 10:00:31 AM
This is really hard for me to talk about. I have never been very big on the subject of addiction because of my past and partially my present. I have had a very hard and interesting life and its not exactly a good thing. My whole life i have been teachers pet and the perfect little angel that everyone wants. well about two and a half years ago all of that crashed and burned. I had surgery and while i was still recovering my biological father passed away 3 weeks after he found out he had cancer. every since thing more and more has happened to me and none of it has been good. $ months after that i started cutting and i have been for the last 2 years now. I dont want to still be cutting years from now cause how i am i wont last that long. I have already tried to kill myself several times i wont make it that long.
- shauna
Monday, Sep 3, 2007 - 10:01:44 PM
Hey Dawson,
I'm able to listen to your show every Sunday night when I'm driving home from work on Philly's Q102.
I just now visited your website and read your blog concerning addiction...
About 5 years ago, I was in my first real relationship. He was 23 and I was 18. When we first started going out, I didn't realize how bad his drinking habit was. After a while, I started to see things. He lied. He told me his brother died in a car crash, a year later when I met this brother, he wasn't dead, far from it. My boyfriend would count change, including pennies, to buy his alcohol. Every morning when he woke up, the first thing he did was go to the refridgerator to see if he had any beer leftover from the night before (even though he never did, he always drank every drop). One time he attacked me and threw me into my car and banged my head against the sidewalk. I found out, after we were broken up, he had stolen all of my dad's baseball cards (from when my dad was a kid), collectibles, my computer (which was a high school graduation present from my family), countless dvd's, cd's, and vhs tapes, anything and everything of value really. I was blamed for everything, eventually I left that life and now I'm happier than ever. This October will be his 2year anniversary for staying clean and sober. It took a while and a lot of sleepless days and nights, but he was able to pull himself out of the drinking and drugs. He is able to hold down a steady job, pay rent, and has mended his relationships with his friends(including me) and his family. He is very good friend now. Not a day goes by that he doesn't thank God that he's able to live a peaceful life now.
I just wanted to share my story with you because I completely agree with EVERYTHING you wrote in your blog: the addict's relationships, slavery to their drug, and that they will eventually die. The doctors told my ex-boyfriend that if he didn't stop drinking, he would be dead in less than 2 years. It is such a blessing to know that he is better now; the disease took him and he couldn't see what it was doing to everyone who loved him.
Keep doing what you're doing, I've got nothin' but love for ya!
-Ashley
- Ashley
Monday, Sep 3, 2007 - 9:53:38 PM
If a person has an eating disorder, they won't have to worry about what they will be like in 25 years. They will be 6 feet under. A person with an eating disorder is a person with an addiction, and they will have to face their worst fears or die. If they do live, they'll have no friends, no family who can help, and no body to love. Addictions kill. Whether it's an eating disorder, or drugs or cutting, it WILL kill.
And that's a scary thought. The scarier thought is that thinking of the consequences 25 years down the road isn't always enough to stop a person from being self- destructive.
I pray for myself and every other person lost in an addiction that they can seek the help that they need to still be alive and well in 25 years.
- Amanda
Monday, Sep 3, 2007 - 6:01:03 PM
i think that a person with in addiction has either two options that will affect their live in 25 years:to change and get help, or to continue with the addiction. in 25 years, someone with an addictioin will probably have no friends, a bad job(if they even have a job), no partner, no family, basically no life.
- Alli
Monday, Sep 3, 2007 - 6:00:44 PM
hey Dawson i love your shows i lissen to them about every sunday.......i love how you set this hole ting up JSUT so you can help people like me
- megan
Monday, Sep 3, 2007 - 2:56:41 PM
Hi Dawson. I thought i would come and share my story with you and with everyone who has had something like this happen to them. In 8th grade i had met my best friend susy (not real name) we became very close and one day during the summer after eighth grade she introdeced me to her ex/friend Bob (not real name)Bob still liked susy at the time but i had fallen for Bob the day i met him but he thought of me as just a friend! susy, bob and i hungout alot after that, susy said she didnt like him but he did like her. In the middle of my freshman year of highschool bob and i started hanging out more. towards the end of 9th grade my parents decided that they were gonna get divorced because my dad cheated on my mom. I was having a really hard time with the whole thing and bob stuck around and helped me out. we soon bagan going out and we were together alomost everyday ! it helped me out being with someone who cared! i couldnt talk to my parents about this so i needed someone i could talk to. 2 months after we started dating he started ignoring me! i found out throught his best friend jim that he had another girlfriend! i was devastated! i called him up and asked him why he didnt tell me and he said it was because he didnt wanna hurt me! i was like so what ignoring me is better? he was all "idk" i was like wow whatever and i hung up on him. susy and i were still best friends and jim started becomeing friends with us and he also like susy. around christmas of 2006(10th grade) josh and i started talking agian even tho he had a new girlfriend, i didnt care! i had missed him so much i would have done anything, jim and susy started dating right afetr christmas and bob and i got back together while he had a girlfriend! when i was with him i couldnt think of anything else. i loved him. another 2 months went by and he told me that we couldnt be together ne more because he didnt wanna hurt his gf. so we stopped talking again! i missed him so much and i didnt understand why! he was my first bf and i had my first kiss with him. i never had sex with him tho. i felt so depressed when i wasnt with him i wanted to hurt myself! i started seeing a phsiciatrist and a councelor and got on some anti depressants it didnt really help me but soon i started to talk to him again and then i found out that my best friend was going out with him! i was soooo upset that i went home and cut myself! i lost my first love and my best friend at the same time! i havnt talked to anyone for a very long time. i just dont kno what to do anymore! i need help if i dont get help im gonna hurt myself or even do something worse! im soo unhappy and im not liking living on earthe anymore. i just want things to get better i miss my best friend! but i can never never forgive her or bob. please help me dawson! email me with some help or something please
- *Tinkerbell*
Monday, Sep 3, 2007 - 2:54:35 PM
im a cutter. its a horrible addiction ive had a little over a year. in 25 years i would see myself burried in the ground. ive came so close to killing myself so many times and its just gonna get worse and worse until i go all the way.
- Rachel
Monday, Sep 3, 2007 - 1:18:38 PM
het i love ur blog!how do u knw if u have an addiction? i think ii might have an addiction to pills.
- twinkle
Monday, Sep 3, 2007 - 11:02:05 AM
dawson,I love what you do on the radio.I listen all the time.keep it up!!
-Hear you later
Kyra
- Kyra
Monday, Sep 3, 2007 - 11:02:00 AM
Hi one of my friends, Kellie Smith is having trouble at home but she will only talk to me about it what can i tell her to try to call you up and talk for a while pleaz email me bak
- victor g.
Monday, Sep 3, 2007 - 2:12:28 AM
I want to start off with you are a great person. You are the the type of people the world needs alot of you just dont "listen" you LISTEN and that is great because some people dont know where to turn to when there are in need of help... I want to say that you are truely a great and understanding person and that people whom follow your great advice should go places I myself have been in situations where I didnt know where to go but I didnt have someone like you there I did it blindly and sometimes I look back and say I took years but I did it! I might have been in the very high percentage of high school drop outs but I did turn around a few years later and get My diploma then from there I built my foundations of life, I gave up the love of my life to pursue my dreams and goals... Anyone who wants to go somewhere or do something in life has to believe in them selfs that they can do it I read though your Blog and how it is talking about additions and basically the person is a slave and the only way to break those chains is to say "I know I can do it" I have been studing Pshc. for a matter of years but neveer though about going to collage for it but I have 2 degrees in other fields. Basically your drive and motivation to break addiction has to start by admitting to yourslef that this is a problem and concern that needs to be appointed quickly some people suffer from drug addictions the only way they can be helped is by addmiting there problem and seeking futher help i.e. doctors or rehab.
The only way that the cycle can be broken is by intervetion and hope love and care I seen that a very close person to me was using herion.
So I went and talked to this person and told them they needed to get clean because people care for her and she had a great future ahead of her and I really wanted her to be the person I knew before so I stepped in and got her help I havent seen her since then because when she had got out her parents wanted her to leave everything behind here and start off new and fresh in another city and state. Last time I spoke to her mother she has been clean since she got out of rehab and is now a drug counciler in a clinic... She fought through the tough times and seen the brightness of her future she broke the chains that bidded her to her addiction and never gave up hope and that is a great thing.. Take this as a lesson no matter what your addition is there is always someone like Dawson and myself out there we want to help you but before we can help you you must help yourself by admitting what it is you are addicted to... Because when you can admited it then you can also believe in yourself to leave the habbit behind... You are all wonderful people....
- Keith
Monday, Sep 3, 2007 - 12:58:42 AM
I think I may be struggling with depression. How can I know? Help!
- tootyfrooty
Monday, Sep 3, 2007 - 12:58:22 AM
I myself have struggled with cutting now for 6 years.. I'm proud to say that I havent cutt in a month.. I just started listiing to your show of kiss fm and i love it. You asked how the addiction would be 25 years from now and I dont even know where to begin.. My mom told me a few months ago that a lady that she knows that is 40 with 3 kids and a husband has been dealing with cutting her whole life.. She recently started to cutt again , she would lock herself in her room and the kids would be knocking at the door wanting in and she would get more and more upset and cutt even more. Her husband would treat her like crap because he did not trust her to go anywhere. She would say she's going for a walk just to get out of the house and he wouldnt let her leave because he was scared that maybe this time it would be to late and should would of cut even deaper.. I think that if I was still cutting 25 years from now I honestly dont know what to do it's a everyday battle.. Me not cutting for a month is great but everyday i miss it alot.. It was something I use to look forward to I would plan to do it. If I would keep cutting for years to come i would be 45 and still cutting everyday. There's no way i could wear short sleaves i wouldnt want to leave the house I just dont really even want to think about that..I think it just takes time. my doctor told me i'm more likely to grow out of it and i truely sometimes believe that. i use to cutt everyday and now i havent cutt in a month. the bad part is the addiction. Miss the relief I would get from it .. I miss the feeling of feeling controll.. I miss alot.. But if you get help and you talk to the right people who wont jundge but help you. I think you would be on the right track....
- Sarah C....
Monday, Sep 3, 2007 - 12:57:09 AM
cool blog, im going through all of this stuff. luv ya !
- Melanie
Sunday, Sep 2, 2007 - 11:27:52 PM
I loved your blog! It really gets me prepared with what's out there! I don't have an addiction accept to Jesus, and I'm glad!!!!!!!!!!!
- tootyfrooty
Sunday, Sep 2, 2007 - 11:00:11 PM
How do you identify an addiction? How can you tell if you are addicted to something??
- Lisa
Sunday, Sep 2, 2007 - 10:55:50 PM
Well I used to be a cutter but I stopped cause it didnt make me feel better but ever since I have been little I have this thing were when I get angrey I hit myself in the head. It doesnt hurt but it realy calms me down and Im not mad anymore. I want to stop before I hurt myself permanetly but I dont know what eles to do.
- Rachel
Sunday, Sep 2, 2007 - 10:46:41 PM
God Bless you! I happened accross your radio program on KISS 96.5 FM CLE tjos evening because I have a teenage daughter who loves that station. I hope to hear your program on earlier in the day...like when the kids are getting ready for school. Keep it up!
Sincerely,
Tracy A P.
Blessed Mother of 4
- Tracy P.
Sunday, Sep 2, 2007 - 10:29:50 PM
Okay so i'm 14 and i never have had alcohol, drugs sex, cut or any of the other "normal problems" the only thing i can think of is i used to watch porn online a little for a while. I felt empty because i'm a little more quiet than most people. I still have friends and no one knew so I really wanted to get it out on your blog. After a while you get an empty feeling like your alone, even though I was surrounded by people that loved and cared for me. I finally stopped. Before I wanted to have sex when I was younger but now I realized that throwing it away is a waste. I have my whole life to have a family and to enjoy dating. On your show I here from people who have problems no where near mine. But it still helps and there are people with problems along the same lines as mine. Love you show! Thank you for giving and everyone else hope:)
- kat
Sunday, Sep 2, 2007 - 10:23:33 PM
Hey Dawson. I was addicted to aberrant sexual behaviour for most of my life. I tried and tried to give it up, but God was able to deliver me from it. Like the Bible says when we are addicted, we are vessels (or jugs) that can't hold water. Any joy we may get out of addiction drains away and we need more and more until we are so empty and dry that we eventually die inside and sometimes we just die.
Thankfully, God knew we'd be sinners, so he has a plan to get us free from these things if we let him. We seek addictions because we want to fill an empty place or cover up our pain or to try to patch something that's broken in our past. God is so full of truth that He can see through this and lead us to what is real and true. God is good. There is so much He can do if we trust Jesus. Trusting Jesus is fundamental to truth because He is truth. When I finally chose to obey him, He began to show me that I couldn't fix myself. He gently encouraged me and sent me to people and places where I could get help. I put my life in his hands, and He has not neglected me. I gave the problem to him. That doesn't mean I just quit. He did not wait for me to quit before He would help me, just for me to come to the end of myself and believe Him because I couldn't do it. I stand here and swear that Jesus is true and Good. He is able to help. He is able to heal those old pains that lead us to become addicted in the first place. Jesus is Good. a bruised reed he will not break,
and a smoldering wick he will not quench.
- Dan
Sunday, Sep 2, 2007 - 10:01:44 PM
Love relationships can be very stressful and make u very depressed,i love boys 16-18, but after awhile the love you thought you had with your lover may disappear and make u do some crazy things..it can make u have sex..cut yourself and do drugs and other things. When i lose a love one i get very emotional and i begin to cut myself,i begin to sleep with people i dont really know,i also begin to eat and lose focus in shcool, i will also cry and wish bad things on my lover and their family. Sometimes it get so bad i want 2 try suicide i try jumping of buildings or try and get hit by cars, sometimes i will try and get with somebodi that really loves me so i will be worrying about 2people instead of 1. So i will begin to start cheating on my lovers until there is 5 guys,and then i start to breaking up until im back down to one person again. I really hate to lose a loved one because i know how i can get. I will go to school and blame everyone i know for my lost of love. I wish i was not like this but like the saying love can make you do some crazy things. So i try and ask my friends for help but it dont really work because im not patient and cant help it
- Cynnamon
Sunday, Sep 2, 2007 - 9:43:01 PM
hey dawson, i need help with something.i grew up with this guy across the street & we've been best friends forever. recently we confessed that we really love each other and we both said that we've had strong feelings for each other for a while now. he doesnt have a clean past...& hes not a virgin. he works for my dad and my family loves him, but they dont like the fact that we like each other becuase of his stupid past problems....see heres the problem, i really do love him very much. hes always there for me...but he falls under peer presure WAY to easily! he has gotten pressured into drinking & sex before but he said it was only once with two different girls. we havent dated yet. my parents have a rule that im not aloud to date untill im 16 years old. and i turn 16 next month. but he just left for college and i dont know if i can trust him there. i dont know who to talk to about it, my parents hate us liking each other....becuase of the bad things hes done in the past...they dont want us to ever date. but i really do love him. i told him i wanted him to wait & not date other girls untill i turn 16. i gave him a necklace that wears and promised me that he would not have sex in college and that hell wait untill hes married. he says he loves me very much but that he cant wait that long with someone at "arms reach of him". im lost, confused, and scared. im hiding our strong feelings for each other from my parents. what do i do? all my friends tell me that he'll hurt me and end up "hooking up with other girls". im stuck....do i date him when i turn 16 or what? please help me....
- Lauren
Sunday, Sep 2, 2007 - 9:37:18 PM
hey dawson this is kimberly i talked to you about a month ago well i have this freind that is addicted to ice aka meth i want you to tell me what i should do?
- kimberly
Sunday, Sep 2, 2007 - 7:08:10 PM
hey dawson,
well i cut...i havent cut for about 3 months now but ive been poping myself on my wrists with rubberbands(and its leaving welps) well everyone thinks im a freak,but im not..i just dont really have anyone to talk to about this.my dad is really understanding but not in this situation.he said the next time i do it then he's sending me to the nut house...i dont know what to do...please help me!!!
- breanna
Sunday, Sep 2, 2007 - 5:56:22 PM
I pick CUTTING, because i am a cutter, and i hate myself every time i do it again. In 25 yrs. my arms and legs could be full of scars. I want to work with children when i finish high school, and who is going to trust me with their children if they see the marks on my body? Who's going to ask me for help and guidance with their children if they see what i did to Myself? I will probably have lost alot of friends. I will probably have a hard time getting a job anywhere. I'll have to spend the rest of my life covering up my scars. I want to stop. My children might not trust me, my children's friends and their parents won't rust, the list goes on forever. Plus, i may accidently cut myself in the wrong spot and bleed to death. My boyfriend wants me to stop, like he told me he would break up with me if i did it again. I did it again and again and again and again, and he didn't break up with me, but after the last time, he said he would if i did it again. I don't want to lose him, and that's why i'm trying not to do it. I now wear a rubberband around my wrist so i can snap it when i feel the urge so that i won't cut. I snap it alot and that's not good. Anyways, yeah i'm getting off track here, but yeah if i don't quit cutting, then alot of the things i want aren't going to work out the way i dream they will.
- Abby
Sunday, Sep 2, 2007 - 3:32:55 PM
hey i love your show i need some one to talk to my real mom is in jail ilove with my gradparnt my aunt just die she was 28 mom grandma is really sick i am only 12 and i cant handle all this help me plzzzzz
- jade
Saturday, Sep 1, 2007 - 11:48:27 PM
hey dawson i love your show. its really great to be able to listen to the radio at night and hear that your not insane! oh && to answer your blog um ive been a cutter for about 4 years now but ive been working on stopping!.. um in 25 years from now if i dont stop, my body will look really bad lol.. and people wont want to be around me because they will figure im some kind of weird person wanting attention. other than that i most likely will have been to the hospital a lot. Also im kind of a little bit anorexic(if that makes sense)and if i dont start eating right before im 25 i will have a lot of health related problems because im already having a few. well thats all i can think of..keep up the good work dawson!
- lauren
Saturday, Sep 1, 2007 - 11:46:12 PM
hey dawson i really need to talk to someone and .. im so frustrated that.. no one wants to admit i need help ,, i want help and .. i hate having so many mood swings i dont try to get upset or depressed so eaily and i want to tell my doctor but all he will do is just probably make fun of me and not help me what can i do?
- amanda(H.)
Saturday, Sep 1, 2007 - 11:43:03 PM
I personally know someone who was a meth addict for 17 years. That's less than 25, but it's a true and REAL story with a happy ending (which is rare with this drug). The woman in this story had spent her youngest daughter's first 6 years of life in a "drunken haze" before she discovered meth. Within 2 years of her addiction, she met and hooked up with a meth slammer and "cook". From there life went downhill and she lost her youngest daughter (14 at the time) because she was arrested. The young girl was on her own from that point and had no desire to return to her mother's care. The unhealthy living situations combined with the cigarettes and hazardous chemicals ended up making the woman very ill and in the middle of the year 2004 she was diagnosed with C.O.P.D., emphasyma and asthma only 25% of her lungs were working. Her daughter was following in her footsteps except that she managed to retain employment to support her 2 children (by seperate men) whose fathers were little help and always absent. Eventually, this woman was left by her cook boyfriend of 8 years because she was not able to perform sexually with her condition. Shortly after this, her youngest daughter's mother in law decided to report poor living arranges to CPS. They found the motorhome to be fully safe for the children, but the second referral scared the daughter. At this time her ,eth addict mother weighed around 89 lbs. and was so "sucked up" her collar/shoulder bones were exposed. She used a nebulizer 3 times per day and still smoked a pack of cigs/day while trying to care for her infant grandson. The combo of CPS issues, her mother's health, and recent death of her dear Father left her no choice but to arrange to send her 1 and 1/2 old son and her meth addict mother to her older sister in Wyoming. The "meth addict grandma in her 50's turned full time mother" quit EVERYTHING within a year! You never hear that kind of ending do you? It's a god-given miracle! She came back to show her 25 year old daughter the possibilities with God and it worked! Praise Lord! They are now all living much better. The "recovering addict" Grandma provides child care because her daughter's working full time. Their home is their dream place and they're happier than they can remember. It is possible with God!!!
- Spacey
Saturday, Sep 1, 2007 - 11:23:20 PM
My name is Adam Bryan. The reason I am writing today is my family and I are in need of help. You see, I have Acute Bi-Polar disorder and am unable to hold down a job. I try VERY hard, but something always happens. I have been out on unpaid medical leave for about a month now. My bills are to many to list, and we are about to lose our house.
I have no where left to turn, and am feeling hopless at the moment. I did not ask for this disease! Sometimes I wonder why God allows stuff like this. I realize I am a spec in his master plan, and am trying my best to believe that I am going through this turmoil for a reason. But it is hard to maintain any hope when you are watching your life come apart at the seems and there is nothing in my power that I can do about it.
If you know of any organizations that can help us, please forward the information to me. Additionaly, if you wish to speak with me over the telephone my contact information is listed below.
Thank you!
- Adam B.
Saturday, Sep 1, 2007 - 11:19:23 PM
Pick addiction, well I will pick the drug that I had been addicted to which is coke. If I had not stopped and 25 years later I would have no family, friends, I would be homeless, (Which I have been homeless before and it really was bad.) cocaine has a very strong affect on you and when you take that first sniff it is all over you crave it and when you have done enough of it you no longer want to live without it and would do anthing for it. I would have stole for it and if I was still doing it I would have lost everyone's trust and been in and out of jail because I use to go down the road doing it.
I would be dead from it if I did it for 25 years because I got to the point once where I could bearly function I had done so much but I still wanted more. It controls you from the time and still after you stop because in times of stress there is always that feeling of pickin gup the phone and calling for some. I would lose everything if I didn't stop because it is powerful and it only leads to one place and that is six feet under.
- Tina
Saturday, Sep 1, 2007 - 12:12:45 AM
Hey Dawson. This doesn't really answer your question, but in your blog you said to talk about someone who died from their addiction. My grandpa had the very common addiction to cigarettes. I know it is not the worst addiction, but I smoking with all my heart and it just makes me want to scream when I see people smoke. Anyway, I think my grandpa was like 73ish when he died. He died of emphysema. Even until right up before he died, my grandpa was in denial that he had emphysema, and that it was from his years of smoking. He just said a cold, or something. It was so sad to watch himself still smoke and continue to kill himself, even when he had lost his ability to go to the bathroom by alone. In a heartbeat, I would give him the chance to live again, even if that meant that I had to die. Everything from here on doesn’t relate to any of your blog stuff, but I wish to say it anyways. So, I must share with you my great excitement of accomplishing my goal. This week, I went (my goal was 101 hrs) 102 hours and 10 minutes (from Sun at 2:00pm – Thurs at 8:10pm) without eating. I stopped because I had to eat dinner with my family on Thursday night. I have absolutely no idea why I should be proud of this, but I am. If I can get all the timing and stuff right, I will shoot for a longer time later. Next thing. I have been a cutter for months now, but up until like yesterday, I did not get any of those highs that everybody is talking about. Wow. You never know until you experience the feeling. It really is amazing. I was sitting in the middle of my Social Studies class and I was just about to snap. I just started to quietly cut…and wow. Everything was gone. I was calm, like never before. Oh, how I wish I could have that back so badly. I know this is such a terrible thing for me to be saying. I can see myself slipping into the addiction, and yet, I don’t care. Will you e-mail me if this is all such a bad thing you truly believe you can help me to fix? PS: Have you learned to type yet?
-
Saturday, Sep 1, 2007 - 12:10:24 AM
heyy ok i think tht its soo awsome how u help people w/their problems i no tht a lot of those ppl could most likely figure it out butt they'd probably get confused(like me)bout all of it soo they need 2 start it over w/some1 who can understand alot betta. thanx 4 everything i hope tht i can still tlk 2 u live!!!!:->
- Brlooklynn P.
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