Overcoming Addiction

“For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”

2 Timothy 1:7

 

Addiction. There are many forms of addiction, in fact, anything can become an addiction. But today, in this blog, we will be talking about drug & alcohol addiction. Just the word ‘addiction’ makes most people uncomfortable—even shudder–as it is a situation that no one wants to be in. Ever. No one wakes up one morning and says, ‘I want to become a drug addict or an alcoholic today.’ No one. But it can and does happen to some people, and it is always a most unwelcome visitor. Alcoholism may be the outcome of lifestyle, frequent excessive social drinking and intoxication, binge drinking as in college, or starting to drink alcohol at a young age.

Drug addiction may come from choosing to ingest recreational drugs, or sadly, even one time experimentation, as is reportedly too often the case with first time heroin use for some people. Clearly some drugs are more forgiving than others. Add fentanyl to the mix, and overdose could likely be the result. Yet, others inadvertently become addicted to pain medications that are prescribed by their doctors for severe pain pre or post-surgery, through no choice of their own. Regardless of the cause, substance abuse can cause a myriad of medical and mental health issues, broken relationships, and even homelessness. But help is available, and it is highly treatable.

Interesting Alcohol Facts

• Alcoholism signs & symptoms: binge drinking, long-term heavy drinking, frequent intoxication, among other indicators.
• 10% of all Americans live with alcoholism, also known as alcohol use disorder.
• On average, 141k Americans die from alcohol each year.
• Every day, 385 Americans die from alcohol use disorder.
• Alcohol causes 10% of all deaths of people 15-49 year olds in the US.
• Men are 3 times as likely as women to die as a consequence of alcohol abuse.

(NIH National Institute on Alcohol Abuse & Alcoholism /NIAAA)

Important Drug Addiction Stats

• 20.4 million people in the United States were diagnosed with substance use disorder in the past year. And that is just those that were reported.
• Only 10.3 percent of people with past-year substance use disorder received treatment.
• Nearly 71,000 people died of drug overdoses in 2019, and now with illegal drugs pouring over the border, that number is rising quickly.

 (National Institute of Drug Abuse / NIDA)

 

Always a Reason to Hope!

“Always be ready to give an explanation to anyone who asks you for a reason for your hope!”

Peter 3:15

These stats are may be daunting, but there is some hopeful news from the expert medical research community at NIH/NIDA: “After decades of research, addiction is now considered to be a chronic, treatable brain disorder from which one can recover.”

In this world, it is easy to look at addiction as an impossible situation with no hope, especially as news reports reveal that drugs are pouring over the border, and our communities are inundated with illegal drugs But that hopelessness could not be further from the truth!

Stats do not tell us about all the countless people that have recovered from/been saved from the ravages of substance abuse with God’s help. Surely programs like Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, Celebrate Recovery and Overcomers go a long way in helping them find their way. Rehab is also an option. However, some have a totally different approach…

I believe people who turn to God for help to shed their addictions and leave their addictions behind have the very best chance of successfully walking away from addiction. But it entails a little more than calling God your ‘Higher power” as some programs suggest.

Instead, it involves asking God for his help, and asking for forgiveness because we are all sinners in so many way(s). You need to make things right with God, then watch the miracles He will perform on your behalf! If you pray and give it all to God, confessing the good, the bad, and the ugly, He will help you in ways you never could have imagined. Believe it. Taking that first step in prayer can be tough, especially if you have never trusted God or prayed before. So keep it simple with these 2-second prayers like these:

“Jesus help me!”

“Jesus I trust in you.”

“Please relieve me from the grip of substance abuse.”

“Lord have mercy!”

“Heaven help me!”

Feeling alone, it may be hard to find peace and solace, and other people who understand your plight. Perhaps it’s time to meet someone who has walked away from a lifelong addiction to drugs and alcohol to give yourself a start and know you have a fighting chance…Like Kevin Walker, my guest on this week’s podcast: The Inspiration Café Podcast with Adele. He turned to God and what happened to and for him could happen to you!

https://www.theinspirationcafeblog.net/podcast/

If you’d like to hear more about ‘OVERCOMING ADDICTION,’ then you’ll want to listen to my latest podcast, episode #6 of THE INSPIRATION CAFÉ, with guest Kevin Walker. If you or a loved one lives with drug and/or alcohol addiction, this podcast could change your/their life!

                                           “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away;                                       behold, all things are become new.”

2 Corinthians 5:17

 

This ‘Overcoming Addiction’ interview centers on Kevin’s immense challenges with lifelong addiction, and subsequently, homelessness, and how God air-lifted him out of both, giving him a whole new life. This extraordinarily, candid is his account of how he turned to God at his lowest point, and the wonderful plan God had / has for his life. Today, Kevin credits Jesus with protecting, guiding, and redeeming him, leading him away from a tragic life of addiction & homelessness, thereby enabling him to become clean & sober, find true love, and a home to live in. What a story/testimony to the Love of God!

https://www.theinspirationcafeblog.net/podcast/

 

© Copyright 2022   |   Adele M. Gill