Are You an Addict?

There are a lot of different ways to tell if a person is addicted. Usually, however, we can mentally disconnect ourselves from that particular type of identification. It is in our nature to think that we are in some way “different” or “better” than all of “those people” who would be in any given type or class. It is often the case when you speak with someone about a problem that you have to make exceptions for them. “Oh, no! You don’t breathe air! it’s just ‘those people’ who do deviant things like that!” And it really is pretty ridiculous, when a person does not have sufficient self knowledge (or humility) to know (or admit to) having what could be called a problem.

Granted, if you are one of the people in this world who just loves to argue, we are all addicts. Every last one of us is an addict of some kind. If you are breathing, you are most likely addicted to doing so – and if you are not, you have the freedom to quit at any time that you desire… and you will soon be addicted to rotting. We are all addicted to eating food and drinking water. So in a sense, yes, you are most definitely an addict.

But what about the kind of addiction that most people think of? How do you know you are an addict in the sense of “it’s a bad thing to be addicted to this?” The simple litmus test that you need to run your addiction through is, “Does this hurt my life?” If the answer involves a yes, you are most likely addicted to something generally harmful. But perhaps you can rephrase the question to, “Would my life be better without this thing in it?” If that is a yes, then you have your answer.