Alcoholics who struggle with addictive personalities tend to find themselves switching addictions when they stop drinking. This is something that I heard early on when I quit drinking. My experience was that I got totally addicted to following God. So much so that my wife told me I had just exchanged one obsession for another. I’d say that the former is much better than the later, wouldn’t you?
In any case, I have heard many testimonies from recovering alcoholics where they admitted to switching addictions. I was attending an Al-anon family group where there was a double winner (someone in the AA and Al-anon program) who would confess that although he didn’t struggle with drinking any longer; his new problem was chasing women all the time. To top it off, he had attractions to women who were alcoholics. That’s one of the major reasons that he would attend Al-anon meetings. What a catch twenty-two, ha?
Many women in Al-anon recovery group meetings have admitted that they know their husbands have started looking at women on the internet. This could have been very much a part of their life prior to quitting drinking, but in the light of stopping an addiction, their involvement with searching the Internet for something lustful to look at has heightened.
Many recovering alcoholics get addicted to participating in service work. This is something that the AA program addresses in the big book. Oftentimes, family members have a hard time dealing with their father spouse or mom switching from being at home all the time to being gone to a support group meeting for recovering alcoholics.
Switching to a different addiction gets dangerous when another substance is involved. Things like smoking more cigarettes or even pot can grip a recovering alcoholic and really begin to drive their lives down wrong pathways. Prescription substances can oftentimes interfere with an alcoholic’s recovery as well. The best policy is to stay away from damaging things and cling to life-giving habits.
It’s possible that anger could become an new adrenaline rush that satisfies the bodies cravings.
If you find yourself switching to another type of addiction, then make sure that it is not one that will be damaging to your life or the others in your family. Broken marriages due to having affairs are not acceptable. Cheating on your spouse is never an option. Trying another mind altering drug should not ever be considered. Make sure you find healthy addictions to switch to. Never hang out with someone from the opposite sex regularly if you are involved in a boyfriend/girlfriend or marriage relationship.
It’s important to constantly be protecting yourself against getting involved in damaging things.
Perhaps you would consider working more to pay off some of the debt you incurred while you were drinking alcohol. The Internet is a great thing to get passionate about. People can sit down at the computer and literally get lost in all of the information that is available at the click of the mouse. Engross yourself in some sort of sport like bike riding or watching football. Find something that you really enjoy doing like fishing or writing articles. Perhaps you have always wanted to write a book. Just do anything that you can find to do that is a healthy alternative to drinking or switching to an unhealthy addiction.
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