5 Lies That You Tell Yourself in Active Addiction

Everyone in the middle of active addiction has a certain level of denial when continuing to use their drugs of choice. Active addicts tell certain lies to their loved ones and circle of friends around them to camouflage their addiction. But it’s the self denial and self lies that do the most damage and contribute the most to keeping a struggling addict in active addiction. The “little white lies” that we keep telling ourselves to minimize our active addiction are the main contributor in keeping us deep in the deadly cycle of addiction. Our sick, addicted minds are easy to believe the self induced lies so that it is much easier to keep using. Let’s take a few moments and look over the 5 biggest lies that an active addict tells themselves in active addiction to keep using. At the end of this blog, ask yourself how many of these were part of your every day battle with your addiction.

1. I can quit using any time I want to!– This is one of the biggest self-induced lies that we tell ourselves in active addiction. We want to convince ourselves that we are still in total control over our drug use. We also want to try to convince ourselves that we will decide when it is time to quit, not someone on the outside. Do you remember the famous song by Jane’s Addiction titled “Jane Says”? The lyrics keep stating ” I’m gonna kick tomorrow”. The song talked about the self lies we tell to continue using. The truth is that we hardly ever “pull out” in time and a lot of the time death happens before we “kick” or quit using.

2. I am only hurting myself, so what’s the big deal?– Most active addicts convince themselves that they do not hurt anyone else besides themselves when using.This could not be farther from the truth. Active addicts hurt their spouses, children, parents, siblings and friends. Watching a loved one destroy themselves with drugs and alcohol has an enormous negative impact on the people around them who care about them. Families are ruined emotionally, spiritually and financially trying to save loved ones from addiction and active addicts need to always realize this. Their addictions affect everyone around them and hurts everyone who loves them.

3. I can make up the money spent on drugs easily.-Active addicts have all been there. You are at that point when you want to spend another chunk of money on your drug of choice. You have a lot of important bills coming due in a few weeks or days but you tell yourself that it is ok to splurge financially because you will find a way to make the money back. The problem here is that most addictions are an ongoing issue. Tomorrow is another day and more money will be needed to continue the madness, so in reality you will never catch up financially. You will actually keep going further in the hole.

4. Well at least I am not as bad as “so and so”. Active addicts like to compare their addictions to other addicts in hopes that they will look better, or not as bad. Their mentality is that if John has spent every penny and gone to prison while they have only messed up a few hundred dollars and broke no laws then maybe they are doing much better. The reality is that each active addict’s destructive actions are unique to them personally. They can not gauge another’s active addiction with their own.

5. I would never be able to get through life’s issues without drugs and alcohol.- This is the self medicating justification. And most active addicts will tell you that if it were not for their drug of choice they would be worse off than they are now. A lot of performers and actors will tell you that they need drugs and alcohol to do their job. CEOs and people with demanding jobs and schedules will tell you that they need their drugs to keep up with their vigorous schedules. The reality is usually the same. What starts off as a little extra “spark” or “motivation” soon turns into an enormous addiction that completely engulfs the person and ruins their careers. I have yet to see someone with a highly demanding job make things better with drugs and alcohol. What was once a very promising career turns into a complete nightmare for the individual. And for those who think they can get through life’s issues better with drugs and alcohol usually end up with way worse problems than they had at the beginning. Active addiction will only complicate matters and make them worse.

So as you can see, the mind is a very powerful thing and when used in a positive manner, the mind can be a real asset to battling the cycle of addiction. But when our minds trick us into believing the little white lies that we tell ourselves during active addiction, it can be a very strong negative influence on us and it can actually keep us deep in active addiction. So are you struggling with active addiction and telling yourself lies to continue using? Or maybe you know someone close to you who is struggling with the deadly cycle of addiction. If so, contact us here at The Addictions Coach to get help with your active addiction today! Call us at 1-800-706-0318 to hear about all our recovery-based programs available to get you back on the path to sobriety.