Coffee, tea, candy, chips, alcohol, tobacco and other stimulants are all addictive. They are substances that stimulate your system and could therefore perhaps better be called stimulants. Why is it so addictive to boost yourself? Why do we enjoy substances that are not good for the body? A deeper insight into how stimulants work can help you no longer be dependent on them.
The pattern
Wake up with coffee. Boost yourself with a piece of chocolate. Relax with a glass of wine. Relax in front of the television. Take a break with a cigarette. End the meal with a cigar. Treat yourself with a bag of fries. If this is a daily pattern, it’s time to examine why you’re doing this. The answer is an eye-opener: the unhealthy pattern is persistent because stimulants contain very powerful substances that can set your energy in motion. Those who stop smoking usually eat more. One addiction is met with another. The addiction pattern remains. Why? Because people need a way to put their energy into motion.
Physical addiction fuels the underlying mental addiction
Most people unconsciously concentrate their energy high in their body. We like this because we prefer to focus our attention on mental activity. In other words, we like to be in our heads. Alcohol, coffee and tobacco help to pump up energy that is in danger of declining. This is especially true when interacting with other people. In a social context we want to be mentally sharp and that is why we smoke and drink more when we are in company. We mainly stimulate mental activity. Knowledge workers therefore turn to coffee, sugar and tobacco all day long to keep their energy levels high. Stimulants are especially addictive because we are addicted to the mental side of things, to being in our heads.
Listen to the body
Substances that stimulate the central nervous system (neurostimulants) are quite effective. Your body needs some time to get going when you get out of bed in the morning. Coffee does a great job of speeding up that process: coffee stimulates the nervous system, you experience a quick boost and you can start the day faster. You are ignoring the message from the body, which simply needs some time to get ready for work. The same thing happens when your energy drops after a heavy meal. You become lethargic because the body wants some time to process the food. If you then reach for coffee to get rid of that sluggish feeling, you are again not listening to the body. If you suppress perfectly natural and useful physical needs by throwing a trigger at them, you disrupt everything.
The mother of all addictions
You can only solve addictions if you are prepared not to disrupt the natural energy balance. Moments when the energy wants to drop to the abdomen, pelvis and legs should actually be seized with both hands. If you let the natural process take its course, you will notice that it feels wonderful to be low on energy. Moreover, it can help you overcome the ‘mother of all addictions’, namely the addiction to mental activity. Every addiction is based on too much focus on the mental. Exciting things happen in the head, that’s where the action is; thoughts race all day long and we find that immensely interesting. The body is boring compared to the mind and also scary. The body is where emotions reside. Emotions run through your body all day long, just as thoughts run through your head all day long. By purposefully getting out of the head and back into the body, we can enter and win the battle with addiction.
Grounding
Suppose you decide to quit smoking. You will then experience physical and mental withdrawal symptoms. The chance of success increases many times if you limit your attention as much as possible to experiencing the physical effects and do not pay attention to all the thoughts that form in your head. Most quitters do it exactly the other way around and only make it if they have an iron will, great motivation and immense self-discipline. Make it easy on yourself and do grounding exercises. Introduce routines that pull your energy down, away from the mind. Feel your feet, it can be that simple. Just feel what you feel in your feet. Are they hot, are they cold, are they tired or tense? Feeling is enough, you don’t have to do more than keep your attention on your feet. All kinds of grounding exercises can be quickly found here at InfoNu. Grounding against addiction works!
