Difference between addiction and habit

[xxJILLxx]

Hello everyone,

It has been burdened on my heart by the Most High to differentiate between addiction and habits. I do become as a loss for words at times but I am expecting the Holy Spirit to jump in here and lead me to kind of clear the air of some confusion.

Both addiction and habits are similar and can be "misdiagnosed" with one from another. I see some confusion first on my part between the two and then after gathering information and armed myself with facts i can share the information here to help others who might misunderstand one from another.


Both can be unrecognized by the person who "owns" them.
Habit and addiction, although they sound similar have few differences between them. A habit relates to psychology whereas addiction arises from habit. In other words it can be said that a habit according to its definition is an acquired pattern of behavior that often occurs automatically.


Here is an excerpt from a reading of "Let's ask Bill Wilson" ( http://www.barefootsworld.net/askbillw.html#2) that i have found to be extremely helpful for my understanding and misunderstanding of the two.

- What is meant by mental obsession and the obsessional character of alcoholism?

- Well, as I understand it, we are all born with the freedom of choice. The degree of this varies from person to person, and from area to area in our lives. In the case of neurotic people, our instincts take on certain patterns and directions, sometimes so compulsive they cannot be broken by any ordinary effort of the will. The alcoholic's compulsion to drink is like that.

As a smoker, for example, I have a deeply ingrained habit - I'm almost an addict. But I do not think that this habit is an actual obsession (bolded by Jill). Doubtless it could be broken by an act of my own will. If badly enough hurt, I could in all probability give up tobacco. Should smoking repeatedly land me in Bellevue Hospital, I doubt that I would make the trip many times before quitting. But with my alcoholism, well, that was something else again. No amount of desire to stop, no amount of punishment, could enable me to quit. What was once a habit of drinking became an obsession of drinking - genuine lunacy.

Perhaps a little more should be said about the obsessional character of alcoholism. When our fellowship was about three years old some of us called on Dr. Lawrence Kolb, then Assistant Surgeon General of the United States. He said that our report of progress had given him his first hope for alcoholics in general. Not long before, the U.S. Public Health Department had thought of trying to do something about the alcoholic situation. After a careful survey of the obsessional character of our malady, this had been given up. Indeed, Dr. Kolb felt that dope addicts had a far better chance. Accordingly, the government had built a hospital for their treatment at Lexington, Kentucky. But for alcoholics - well, there simply wasn't any use at all, so he thought.

Nevertheless, many people still go on insisting that the alcoholic is not a sick man - that he is simply weak or willful, and sinful. Even today we often hear the remark "That drunk could get well if he wanted to."

There is no doubt, too, that the deeply obsessional character of the alcoholic's drinking is obscured by the fact that drinking is a socially acceptable custom. By contrast, stealing, or let us say shop-lifting, is not. Practically everybody has heard of that form of lunacy known as kleptomania. Oftentimes kleptomaniacs are splendid people in all other respects. Yet they are under an absolute compulsion to steal - just for the kick. A kleptomaniac enters a store and pockets a piece of merchandise. He is arrested and lands in the police station. The judge gives him a jail term. He is stigmatized and humiliated. Just like the alcoholic, he swears that never, never will he do this again.

On his release from the jail, he wanders down the street past a department store. Unaccountably he is drawn inside. He sees, for example, a red tin fire truck, a child's toy. He instantly forgets all about his misery in the jail. He begins to rationalize. He says, "Well, this little fire engine is of no real value. The store won't miss it." So he pockets the toy, the store detective collars him, he is right back in the clink. Everybody recognizes this type of stealing as sheer lunacy.

Now, let's compare this behavior with that of an alcoholic. He, too, has landed in jail. He has already lost family and friends. He suffers heavy stigma and guilt. He has been physically tortured by his hangover. Like the kleptomaniac he swears that he will never get into this fix again. Perhaps he actually knows that he is an alcoholic. He may understand just what that means and may be fully aware of what the fearful risk of that first drink is.

Upon his release from jail, the alcoholic behaves just like the kleptomaniac. He passes a bar and at the first temptation may say, "No, I must not go inside there; liquor is not for me." But when he arrives at the next drinking place, he is gripped by a rationalization. Perhaps he says, "Well, one beer won't hurt me. After all, beer isn't liquor." Completely unmindful of his recent miseries, he steps inside. He takes that fatal first drink. The following day, the police have him again. His fellow citizens continue to say that he is weak or willful. Actually he is just as crazy as the kleptomaniac ever was. At this stage, his free will in regard to alcoholism has evaporated. He cannot very well be held accountable for his behavior.

(The N.C.C.A. 'Blue Book', Vol. 12, 1960)

Hope this is beneficial to understanding your recovery from whichever you are "plagued" wether it be a habit or an addiction. I feel it is extremely important to know the difference between the two because the outcomes of addiction (obsession) can be life threatenting and in my opinion should not be taken of as lightly as habit may or would be.

Any thoughts are welcomed as we grow closer to the solution to all of our daily "ailements" that block the SONlight.

God bless us all.

♥Jill

[Christnundrconstruxn]

Hi Sis!!
well first I must tell you...AWESOME reading!
But sadly I must also say I noticed several things in your note that had that......ouch factor.
Let me explain:
First I have realized just lately I have what some would tend to call an addictive personality BUT there are some things I think by the grace of God I didn't addict to and it is confusing to me because two of those things are VERY addictive
Alcohol being one of them, I drank just a little here and there and it escalated at a lonely point in my life to several times a week as well as several bottles (5th's) of tequila BUT I did it more to forget being lonely, and to be in the bar socializing and I will not lie......"hunting", I hated the taste I hated the loss of control (staggering, slurring) but it allowed me to come out of that shell of quietness (sitting in the corner watching the world go by) and become very happy and open as well as confident, BUT I got tired of all the drama that came with the drinking and again by the grace of God I said ENOUGH and have not touched it since (aprox. 9-10 years ), I should add here my older brother died at 32 of a ruptured esophigus caused from his life long battle with alcohol, he also had NO nervous system left due to it as well and had already died once and was brought back only to continue the destruction
And my Mother was hospitalized for alcoholism and my older sister was told there is nothing else the docs can do for her......my Mother prayed to God if He would get her out of it she would NEVER touch another drop.....that was 20 some years ago NOT A DROP!!!
so you see it has plagued my family as I'm sure it does many BUT i was able to take or leave it.
NOW the other is one I pray others here will not judge me for my honesty....here it goes:
That brother I spoke of....lets just say he was self employed for a big part of his life and some of it was drugs, I too had messed with just about everything there was....I grew up in the 70's and 80's, pills, acid, pot, hash,tea and cocain
you see I had connections to dealers that had the strongest stuff and was doing cocain that others had gotten AFTER it was (stepped on) cut or in simpler terms "dilluted or mixed" so you see I was doing the strongest of the streets BUT out of probably 1 to 200 times of snorting it I only got high from it a handfull of times (thank God!!).....ok back to my point
I grew up around this in my teens as well as my twenties BUT by the grace of God I only got addicted to one....pot....it took me twenty some years to allow God to take that but by His grace it's gone as well

Lets just say I still battle addiction to this day and I hate it, it ALL is as you said about the alcoholic and the kleptomaniac
I hated the control pot had over me, the draw of going to the bar and now the weakness I cannot fight as well as I want, I continue to ask the Lord to remove or give me the strength to fight the urges....what was that 80's song that said "like a moth to a flame"

Nevertheless, many people still go on insisting that the alcoholic is not a sick man - that he is simply weak or willful, and sinful. Even today we often hear the remark "That drunk could get well if he wanted to."

I guess out of ALL this the thing that bothers me most are the ones who have NO IDEA of what addiction IS, weather it is alcohol or something else it is as you said the fact of it is ADDICTION = NO CONTROL or very little ability to control.
for those who STILL don't understand let me say it this way,
you are 7-8 years old and have not eaten all day or had any of your favorite candy for WEEKS, someone leaves you in a room FILLED with buckets of you FAVORITE candy and tells you don't take any of the candy......how long before you are sneaking a piece or two because no one will miss it the rooms full of it, this is how a addictive person rashinalizes what they are addicted to.
I would NEVER wish an addiction of ANYTHING on ANYONE but I do wish there was a way that those doubting people could feel it just long enough to realize what those with addiction goes through and maybe this world would do more to help those in need INSTEAD of judging them!!
And for those of you doubters yes I have habits too, I cannot go without my morning coffee, I cuss , I beat my self up over things I have no control, I eat WAY too much and don't excercise nearly enough I like to watch ncis ALL the time unless it's reruns .
May God help us all from our addictions as well as our bad habits and fill our lives with His goodness!!
thank you again Jill for the awesome reading
Cuc

[xxJILLxx]

Hey Cuc,

First let me say i am so sorry for your loss of your brother due to this disease.

I give thanks and praise to our Father for delivering your mom and you from the grips of addiction.

You my brother have a wonderful testimony that the Lord will and is using, keep the faith and keep seeking Him daily as you struggle . Be vigilent!, He says.

I guess out of ALL this the thing that bothers me most are the ones who have NO IDEA of what addiction IS, weather it is alcohol or something else it is as you said the fact of it is ADDICTION = NO CONTROL or very little ability to control.

This was the purpose of my post, to help others to begin to understand so as to not confuse the addict with someone who is struggling with a habit. Addicts lose control, it starts as a habit but it has gotten to the point where his/her life has become unmanageable and they need a higher power to restore them to sanity. They have no power on their own to stop. Their addiction effects one or many areas of their lives, including social, family, finanaces, job, etc.. it impairs their ability to rationaly think for themselves. That is the addict. It has taken over your life and in some respects I look at it as if it becomes your god (person suffering from this does not realise this.. empathy not sympathy), or if that language is too harsh for some ears you can say it has become your mental obsession. Addiction KILLS > period! Physically and spiritually.

Habits can be life threatening as in drinking, drugging, smoking, eating, sex etc.. but it only becomes an addiction when your life has become unmaneagable because of it, when it turns into an addiction. We absolutely need to be cautious of our habits and armed with the facts of addiction we can begin to catch ourselves if we see ourselves falling into the arms of addiction because of them. While we are stillbatteling habits we can be rational and make "sober" decisions concerning our habits and by the help of our Lord deliver us from them before its too late. People who are suffering from such habits also need our support and can learn from the recovering addict as well, because the two goes hand in hand.

Again my purpose of my post was to educate and bring us all who either suffer from addiction or our habits together in unity of understanding one from the other so we can better equip ourselves to serve one another.

Thank u cuc for the wonderful Truth you shared in your post, I know our God is smiling down on you with a proud heart.. you are His.

God bless us all,
with Christ's peace and love
♥Jill

[Christnundrconstruxn]

Thank you Sis!!!
Your words

Thank u cuc for the wonderful Truth you shared in your post, I know our God is smiling down on you with a proud heart.. you are His.

I cannot explain but that touch me more than the sharing of all the personal stuff before
God bless you and thank you for ALWAYS being there
Cuc