Addiction, the curse and the saviour.

Addiction.. or distraction? I know that there is scientific evidence to prove that addiction can arise from a biological nature. Cocaine sniffing and porn watching are not the kind of addictions i want to be highlighting in today’s post. The addictions i want to address are those which arise from our anxiety. How do you distract yourself from the swarm of thoughts buzzing around that melon of yours 24 hours a day, 7 days a week? The answer if different for everyone.

The dangerous think about distractions: If used too much, we become reliant on them… They become addictions. Do you smoke to help with your anxiety? Medicate? Drink? This is how people like us can get caught in an endless cycle of gloom and depression. On one hand, at least we don’t feel bad about ourselves anymore. On the other hand, we’re destroying our bodies. Which is not a fucking good thing. Substance abuse is not the only kind of addiction that could get us anxious folk in a bit of a rut; Exercise addiction and Internet addiction can be just as futile. We can pound away at the free weights until our body breaks down on us or we could hide behind a computer screen until we completely lose our real identity. Either way, using negative means to distract ourselves from our own thoughts can create a bigger mess than what is already in our heads.

As usual, there is a positive side to everything. As I agree that distraction is the easiest and simplest way to combat our own anxiety. What do you think I’m doing right now? I’m typing away, trying to make sense of the world, trying to show everyone that nobody is alone in this thing, all to avoid confronting my own problems. However, i’m here to say that maybe our distractions or ‘coping mechanisms’ don’t have to be our enemies.

Instead of picking up a cigarette; write a poem that represents how you feel. Instead of drinking that bottle of whiskey; pick up an instrument, learn your favorite song. Our distractions can become a means to an end. They could encourage us to join a community in which your anxiety has no place in your life. Take it from the: athlete, writer, photographer, musician, poker player… There isn’t a thing as too many distractions, as long as none of them harm you, and believe me, there are plenty out there. If your distraction becomes a passion, and a passion leads you to a whole bunch of people who share the same views and interests, then in the presence of these people is where you’re going to lose sight as to what anxiety actually is. Anxiety is caused by being around the wrong people.

Find out who the right people are. Stay away from harmful addictions. Use you’re distractions to create something beautiful. Then maybe the world, and your mind, can become a better place.

As always,

Peace.

Francis

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