Some Things You Might Not Know About Addiction
Addiction is Boring
People often wonder if their shrink ever gets tired of hearing them talk about their problems. I rarely do, with one exception, the person who is in active, late-stage addiction. The day they get serious about recovery, they start to get interesting again. When they’re in the throes of addiction, I always know what they’re going to say, what they’re going to do, and what they think of it all. They’re single-mindedly focused on one thing only, getting high. Oh, maybe three things. Looking to get high, getting high, and recovering from getting high. Maybe four. Coming up with reasons for getting high.
I don’t mean to suggest that, if you’re in active, late-stage addiction, you should stop using just so I won’t find you boring. Being bored is my problem. You have enough to worry about. Getting high can be a full time job. But you may be bored with yourself. Every day is just like every other day until you do something different.
Normally, when I’m bored, it’s my own damn fault for not finding something interesting. I wouldn’t be bored if I made out my shopping list when a person in active, late-stage addiction started talking, or if I watched the birds outside my window. I’d be doing something productive or enjoyable, but that’s not what the client had in mind when he came to me for…
