The following article is offered for free use in your ezine, print publication or on your web site, so long as
author resource box at end is included. Notification of publication would be appreciated.Title: Are You Addicted To Your Activities? Author: Margaret Paul, Ph.D. E-mail: mailto:margaret@innerbonding.com Copyright: © 2003 by Margaret Paul Web Address: http://www.innerbonding.com Word Count: 753 Category: Addiction, Emotional Healing
ARE YOU ADDICTED TO YOUR ACTIVITIES? Margaret Paul, Ph.D.
Activities - such as sports, creative projects, reading, work, TV, meditation - can be a wonderful way to relax, express yourself, or connect to yourself. Or they can be an addiction. How can you know difference?
* Angie would surf channels whenever she felt stressed or alone.
* Karen would lose herself in a book when things felt overwhelming.
* Keith would retreat and meditate when his wife wanted to talk.
* Patty’s work schedule left her little time at home.
* Carl spent more time in garage fixing things than with his family.
* Patrick’s love of running was interfering with his family time.
Whether or not an activity is an addiction depends upon your INTENT.
* When intent of an activity is to avoid pain of aloneness and loneliness, it is an addiction.
* When intent of an activity is to avoid pain of rejection or fear of domination, it is an addiction.
* When intent of an activity is to put off doing something you don’t really want to do but need to do, it is an addiction.
Whenever an activity is used as a way to avoid something - painful feelings, difficult or boring tasks - it becomes an addiction. It’s really no different than using substances such alcohol, drugs, or food to avoid painful feelings or challenging tasks. The problem with using addictions to avoid painful feelings is that feelings don’t actually go away. They are just numbed for moment but are silently eroding one’s sense of self. We can get away with it only for so long before it shows up in some way - illness, divorce, depression, and so on. And avoiding tasks means that tasks pile up, eventually causing very stress we want to avoid. Our society is filled with ways to avoid. Yet it is avoidance that leads to very feelings we are striving to avoid!
When intent of an activity is to take loving care of yourself by providing yourself with fun, creativity and expression, relaxation, personal growth, spiritual growth, physical health and well-being, then it is a loving action rather than an addiction. It all depends on your INTENT.
