Trading Addictions: Choosing Fitness Over Booze

Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

How many of us can say yes to this? I know I can! My former self can only be seen in old photos and chalked full of addictions… You may not have called them addictions back then, more like indulging in whatever you felt like doing in that moment, but as a physician, I can tell you that anything you regularly “crave” is an addiction. Interestingly, these cravings are usually related to an underlying allergy when talking about a substance such as sugar, wheat, alcohol, etc.

You see, when you NEED a drink, that is an addiction. Often that builds up over time to you drinking every night, a glass of wine here, cocktail there. Then you look in the mirror and think, dang, I need to get back in shape! So you cut out the alcohol slowly and find yourself in the gym more and more. It is not always that simple however, and often can be very frustrating the back and forth with motivation and giving in to the temptation.

So what is this insatiable desire that we all give into? What is the root of the problem at hand? After all, you cant solve anything without addressing the source.

Ironically, treating symptoms is something the Western world has created, putting bandaids on our issues to cover them up until one day the bomb goes off. Cancer, what? Who me? Not possible. Uh, wake up, you’re treating symptoms, not diseases! (but thats a whole other blog post, back too addiction…)

When you look at any disease, you can find its roots are in the mind. Our thoughts actually have creative power, as proven by the water and later rice studies in Japan. Our thoughts have only 2 places of origin: love or fear. All thoughts are derived from these two, and we are quick to fall victim of our fears.

These fears generally are formed as we are growing up. They make up who we perceive ourselves to be, although are often imposed on us by other children. Think about that: as adults, we hold onto ideologies about ourselves that other immature children put on us. Therefore we are all living under some lie we continue to tell ourselves, despite growing up, getting wiser, and learning more about ourselves and our world. Adults can also put negative ideas in our heads while we are growing up, make no mistake. Often they do not even realize they are doing it. They never overcame their own insecurities placed on them as a child, so the cycle continues.

Mine started with a fear of being fat. It started with being the odd girl out in middle school, and left me having a mild case of binge dieting lifestyle. YO-YO-ing my metabolism may have been the outcome, but the root issue was my negative self talk. I was constantly comparing myself to the other girls and just wanting to fit in and be cool.

How often do the thoughts in our heads send attacking words directed at ourselves? Even when the words may seem directed at another, they really are coming from a place of lacking within ourselves… a place of fear. As I said, all of our thoughts are either love or fear based, so if you’re not spreading loving thoughts, its just your inner fears talking.

So what does this all mean with addictions? In our constant efforts to like ourselves and feel “good enough”, we are regularly making choices that in the moment to boost how we feel. We rarely take the time to sit back and reflect on why we feel a certain way, or what the negative storylines in our heads are. To compensate, we get that boost from alcohol or even fitness. It’s easier to have that one drink right then and there, than to have that tough conversation with ourselves to help heal our trauma and start to overcome that negative self talk.

The first step is to acknowledge that your self image needs some love. That your childhood is having an effect on your today. That there is more for you than what you have grown accustomed to believing and doing. Simply reading this through and opening your mind to the idea that you are more than what you are allowing yourself to be is an impressive and reward worthy first step.

Here’s the thing, you are fabulous just the way you are! You do not have to live up to anyone’s standards. Finding fulfillment in life comes from learning to be at peace with all of your parts and taking the conscious efforts to fuel your body with healthy food, and your mind with healthy thoughts. Accept your past and choose to forgive yourself and others. This will help set you on the path towards seeing the world with new eyes- new more loving eyes of yourself and of others ❤️