People unknowingly become used to living with specific emotions tied to a negative mind. The more distant they become from the norm the farther they stray from the belief that they can live in peace and joy. Many people ignore subtle emotional pain. After a while it morphs into a rampant addiction where it is more difficult to address. Emotional pain can hide and many people “look” normal. In the early stages even what a person experiences on the inside may go unnoticed as it resides in the unconsciousness level, but the way you perceive the world will start to change.
Those affected may show worry, surrounding themselves with negative music. They may gravitate towards negative Social media. At times they have disrupted sleep and mood swings. Relationships always seem to spiral out of control.
This is often when you see eating disorders which we covered previously. ( check out the weekly post index and scroll to eating disorders.)
How Can Emotions Be Addicting? Taken from the article EMOTIONAL ADDICTION by Dr. Mark Steinberg
You may wonder how something inside you that’s natural can be addicting. Actually, all addictions are inside you—in your brain and body—the addiction is a response to intense pleasure (or relief) by repeated use of, response to, or ingestion of some behavior or substance that relieves discomfort, specifically anxiety or pain. In the case of emotions, the response is a reliance upon and absorption in the brain and neurological patterns that produce a flood of feelings—the release of and/or inhibitions of strong feelings in response to neurotransmitter cell firings and thresholds…..
In the case of emotional addiction, you become “hooked” either on feeling a familiar way or in responding in an automatic way to the powerful pull of innate emotions. Emotional addicts pay heavily for their fixes, though not in dollars to a dealer. The cost of emotional addiction is that you live at the mercy of feelings provoked by circumstances (whether initiated by happenstance or foreordained by unconsciously imprinted negatively scripted behavior) and your perceptions of these events. The overpowering feelings transcend other brain responses, and you need to make sensible decisions, rather than react to impulses.
Dr. Steinberg does a great job explaining emotional addiction be sure to read the article!
The key is to catch the tendency toward emotional addiction early and seek help. Even if you discover you have an emotional addiction to negativity that has been with you for some time, often CBT ( cognitive Behavior Therapy can help.
Many do not understand CBT and what it is. Here is a link that will help answer any questions you may have. COGNITIVE BEHAVIOR THERAPY
ON BECOMING WHOLE
There must be a plan to set goals for self-improvement. The same source as above verywelmind.com states:
According to the American Psychological Association (APA), research shows there are three factors to achieving goals:
- Motivation to change
- Willingness to monitor the behavior
- Willpower to make it happen
I would recommend reading the article: Tips for Goal Setting by Sara Lindberg
We have many people that get in touch and are looking for Biblical answers to overcome their mental torment. On winning the war of the mind.
Titled: Freedom From Mental Torment by Destiny Image
We have gone full circle and are back to filing in the ruts of negative thinking. A simple analogy about posture before we close.
We talk about negative thoughts as keeping you from reaching freedom. We should set goals to stand tall, walk upright in good posture strong enough to brush things off your shoulders that could bring you down.
Mental anguish can hang heavy on your wellbeing.
Instead of taking life in with your head held high, you begive to stoop. Your spine curves because of the negative weight you carry. When you walk with this additional weight of sadness despair your posture can deteriorate until you walk with your eyes downward.
Surrounding yourself with negativity from your own words or thoughts or placing yourself in a negative environment prevents you from standing tall. Negativity is like weights strapped to your shoulders. Your true posture is compromised! You walk stooped over unable to even lift your head to see the truth of your life.
Become motivated, develop the stamina, and willpower to overcome!
DO NOT LET YOUR EMOTIONS VEIL TRUTH
Fight Back Fight fear 