This My Addiction

I used to be an addict who discovered a way to deal with addiction. Please it’s not what you think; there is no ‘drug’ in my own ‘addict’. Addiction is addiction but some are dangerous and deadly. Some time ago, I was addicted to eating Calabash Chalk or Nzu in Igbo. Some call it Bentonite Clay. As at then I can lick as many as I could get before it is dawn. At the village then, if I pass through a mud house with some splash of water, I will be drawn close by the Nzu like aroma coming from it, to cut out some bits of red clay and eat. There were also times that I found it difficult to stay without chewing gum or licking powdered milk, but gradually I overcame them.

The most recent addiction that I had to deal with was the habit of watching Philipine/Mexican movies and Nollywood movies. As each day passed, I found out that a lot of personal resolves were left undone. One thing led to another and EEDC disconnected our light. Maybe God wants to help me deal with that addiction, I thought. After a while, the light issue was resolved but I decided not to recharge my decoder at the moment. After about three months, I recharged my decoder but discovered that I no longer sit tight to watch but watch those movies when necessary. Since then, I have been more productive. Hallelujah somebody!

Some are football addicts. They can leave their commitments just to watch football. Some can even hurt themselves or kill unconsciously if their team looses. To many others, it is phone addiction. Most people have failed in their responsibilities because they hold tight to their phones and will not stop surfing the net for irrelevant information and activities. Some accidents that occurred have been attributed to careless use of mobile phones on the road and while driving. People are addicted to one thing or the other because they failed to control such when it is just a habit. Addiction occurs when we fail to control most habits that are not normal. 

Drug addiction is the worst because the victims do not have control over what they are doing. An onlinesource defined Drug addiction as a compulsive and chronic disorder of the mind that leads an individual to habitually use a substance in an effort to achieve a desired outcome from it. Some people become drug addicts because they could not resist the temptation to experiment such hard drugs or substances, to some others, unfriendly environment drove them into drug addiction while some are as a result of peer influence.

We are human beings with self control. In one way or the other we can figure out how to control those abnormal habits we have noticed, before they become addiction and lead to regrets; it will make us more responsible. Drug addicts need our help because they can no longer help themselves. Let us encourage those who are in the mission of restoring drug addicts. Encouragement, acts of love and kindness can stop that neighbor of yours from becoming a drug addict; please do not fail to give those. Most extremist who destroy lives and property do so under the influence of hard drugs and substances. We can do what we can.

Written by Olive Chinyere Amajuoyi