For people in recovery, thinking about using alcohol or drugs, or actually returning to their use is the ultimate in self-sabotage and self-defeating behavior.

I mean, talk about shooting yourself in the foot, what good could possibly come out of a return to the use of drugs and alcohol? As we go through this module I cannot imagine anybody in recovery not having several ‘Aha moments’ or ‘light bulbs going off over your head’. OK, let’s get to it.

A pretty good working definition of self sabotaging behavior is this:

“Self sabotaging thoughts, behaviors, and feelings create a block in the road to success even when there is no rational or logical explanation as to why you cannot achieve your goals.”

An interesting thing about self sabotage is that it is not a lack of knowledge, effort or even desire that keeps you from achieving your goals and out comes.
But rather, it is the committee in our head, or our own inner self-dialogue that confuses the issue.

Let’s take a look at some of the characteristics in attitudes of self sabotaging behavior. Daniel G. Amen, in his book, Don’t Shoot Yourself In The Foot came up with the following characteristics and contrasts.

Sabotaging Behavior Successful Behavior
Lack of Personal Responsibility Taking Personal Responsibility
Lack of Awareness Taking Initiative To Be Informed
Poor Communication Skills Positive Communications With Others
Negativity Setting And Working Toward Goals
Poor Choice Making Making Good Living choices

If I took that table above, and labeled the left side ‘engaging in addictive use’, and the right side in ‘engaging in recovery’, it would fit like a glove. The deeper I get into this, the more realize that engaging in your addiction is the ultimate in self-destructive behavior.

So, self-sabotage can lead you to, and position you in the middle of, “relapse mode”. For us, that is the ultimate danger. Self-defeating behavior can make you frustrated, bring up that feeling of being trapped again, and be very discouraging. Don’t get me wrong, everybody makes a poor decision or does not get the results they want all the time. But this idea of self sabotaging and self-defeating behavior is really problematic when it becomes insidious and a pattern rather than an exception.

What Do Researchers Say?

Great question, I’m glad you asked. I think it is important for you to know that material presented did not just come off the top of my head, there is foundation for it. [click to continue…]

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Do We Drink And Drug Because We Can’t Handle Emotions?

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“The reason we drink or drug is because we cannot tolerate or process uncomfortable, intense or overwhelming feelings.”
That is a way of thinking about drug and alcohol use that a number of people have put forward. I’m not sure I agree with it entirely. It is really hard to support blanket statements like that, but [...]

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Book Review, Thumbs Up For: Help! My Kids Addicted To Prescription Pain Killers

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Couple of days ago I was contacted by James Von Aaron who introduced himself and asked me if I would read you a book he had written Help! My Kids Addicted To Prescription Pain Killers . He asked me to take a look at it and post a review on my website.
Now, I generally don’t [...]

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Brain On Methamphetamine: Pet Scan Image

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Using Meth doesn’t really ‘take you up’. It decreases memory and reaction time when used over time.Methamphetamine abuse decreases dopamine transporter activity and compromises mental function. The brain image at the top left is a PET image from a normal control subject. The striatum is brightly lit in red and yellow, indicating the presence of [...]

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Startling Facts About Marijuana And Addiction

January 12, 2010

Marijuana and Addiction Long-term marijuana use can lead to addiction; that is, people use the drug compulsively even though it interferes with family, school, work, and recreational activities.
According to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, in 2008 of the estimated 7 million Americans classified with dependence on or [...]

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Marijuana Sucks, Here’s Why, Part 2

January 6, 2010

Image via Wikipedia

Here is further evidence that marijuana use creates significant problems among users. This data targets teenagers smoking pot. Obviously there is no guarantee any one person will suffer these problems but the increased risk aspect cannot be denied
The NHSDA, currently conducted by SAMHSA, has provided estimates of the prevalence, consequences, and patterns of [...]

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Marijuana Sucks: Here Is Why, Part 1

January 4, 2010

It is my experience that no group of drug users more staunchly and irrationally defends the use of their drug of choice than marijuana users.
In fact, based on past experience I will get a lot of ranting rebuttals to my stand against marijuana. It is not a friendly, benign ‘soft’ drug
The facts are the more [...]

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Internet Addiction: If You Have One, Here’s How to Kick Your Internet Addiction

December 31, 2009

Editor: The topic of internet addiction is a hot one. I met the author, Susan, on the net and she asked me to share some of her ideas with you. Some would argue if the internet could be an addiction as is defined for, say drugs and alcohol… I am not a hair splitter…my feeling [...]

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Motivation And Inspiration

December 26, 2009

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Choices – Inspiration and motivation

www.inspirationalquotesworld.com Inspirational quotes slideshow with beautiful scenery about the choices we make in our life. I hope you will be inspired to make your life a masterpiece. If you believe in limitations you will have them but if you believe you can do anything you can. So why not choose [...]

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Al-Anon And Alateen, Are You Aware Of The Critical Lessons They Teach?

December 23, 2009

Al-Anon and Alateen are support groups for family members or friends of alcoholics that incorporate the 12 steps. These programs are designed to provide a knowledge base and a support system to help families learn some basic principles about addiction being a family disease. The primary lesson taught is that families are not responsible for [...]

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Most Commonly Abused Types of Drugs

December 14, 2009

Most commonly abused classes of prescription drugs

Opioids, such as OxyContin and Vicodin, which are most often prescribed to treat pain;
Central nervous system (CNS) depressants, such as Valium and Xanax, which are used to treat anxiety and sleep disorders; and
Stimulants, which are prescribed to treat certain sleep disorders and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and include [...]

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Addiction Recovery Poetry

December 11, 2009

In wandering around the addiction recovery community on the web, I met Gregory Smitheman. He expresses his sobriety through poetry. Check out his addiction recovery poetry website at Elite Poetry.
Lost Souls
We must first bridge the gap of isolation
By doing so we form our future & fix decimation
Unavailing times call for desperate [...]

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