Addictions

Yesterday morning on the radio I heard an interesting piece of information..basically the gentleman was saying that they have discovered (whoever "they" is) that any kind of addiction produces much the same result in our brains. Now that's not to say that some of the substance addictions don't cause additional physical reactions to their own stimuli, but the point here was that whatever addictions we have (and I do believe almost every person has some sort of one), whenever we engage in that addiction no matter what it is, there is a response in our brains. I personally believe we all use our addictions to cope or feel better about ourselves, but I guess I didn't realize it actually caused a reaction in our brains (you know - my brain on menopause has been reactive enough!). It's hard to believe that shopping or working or washing your hands for some people can cause the same stimulus to the brain that another person smoking or doing drugs can cause. How do we conquer these things or bring them out of the addiction realm and into normal use levels? I think we're back to renewing our minds with the Word of God and "unlearning" some of the things that we think are truths that really are not true in actuality. Do you know what you're addicted to? What you're using to cope or find comfort in your life? Is that item listed with your New Year's resolutions to get under control? Or does it matter? You might say that your addiction isn't a bad thing and you can keep on doing it - that it's better than some other harmful addictions. But for me, I want very much to own and control my own life and habits - not my habits and addictions controlling me. Here's to a new year of victory in that area!