How many addictions in the average family?
By
Posted 3 years ago
The Oxford Dictionary
The day after singer-guitarist Eric Clapton bought Jimi Hendrix's white Stratocaster guitar he discovered that the legendary Hendrix had "passed out after getting stoned on a mixture of drugs and booze, and choked on his own vomit." So Clapton shares in a recent issue of Esquire Magazine.
Addicted to alcohol himself at that point, the sudden and tragic death of the 27 year-old rock guitarist didn't phase Clapton -he just kept on drinking. "Why didn't that stop me?" he asks. His response? "I can only say it was arrogance."
Clapton's response is stereotypical of many addicts. It's a combination of denial, rationalization and sheer blindness. That won't happen to me. I don't have a problem. I can handle this. Thousands who've thought like this are now history, their addictions have taken them the whole way down the steep slope into their own private Hell, dysfunctional homes, alienation from family, broken marriages, job loss, bankruptcy, suicide -ashes to ashes, dust to dust.
Ultimately addictions are destroyers. They bring you to the brink of ruination, then draw you over the edge into the abyss of destruction. And right now there's hardly a magazine or newspaper you can pick up that isn't talking about addictions. This morning, Thursday as I'm writing this, a Barrie family are in shock as their 15-year-old son has been missing for over a week. Brandon Crisp, a teen gamer was addicted to online gaming, spending endless hours from dusk to dawn on the Internet. Finally his family put its foot down. In the aftermath of the ensuing argument the teen took off and hasn't been seen since.
Brandon is only one of thousands of teens who lock themselves in the sanctuary of their rooms, go online, and log anywhere up to 12 hours at one sitting. They comprise a new generation of addicts, and their numbers are growing every single day. Add to that the addiction that's risen to the top of the heap surpassing every other compulsive obsession -Internet pornography. A recent poll conducted amongst 40,000 participants had some startling revelations.
The pollsters asked, "How often do you view porn?" Fifty-two per cent responded "daily".To the question, how old were you when you first got hooked, 45 per cent responded, between the ages of 11-15.
While 60 per cent of those in bondage to this sexual addiction are between the ages of 18-44, when asked the question, do you consider yourself to be religious, 72 per cent replied yes.
Pastors and priests ought to take note, there's a high percentage of people sitting in our pews every Sunday, not necessarily addicted to the traditional drugs and booze, but hooked on a variety of things, shopping, compulsive buying, gambling, online gaming, Internet pornography, food, nicotine -and the list goes on. In the average Canadian home today it's highly conceivable you could have anywhere from one to seven, and beyond, different addictions.
There's Mom. She smokes and gambles, simply can't pull herself away from her bingo addiction. When she feels down she goes shopping to alleviate the emotional pain. Dad's a smoker too. Into the bargain he's hooked on Internet porn. He's one of the 52 per cent. Liz is only 19. Working in a fast-food joint she does drugs and is an occasional binge drinker. Then there's young Rob. Only 16, he hibernates in his burrow seven days a week, a bit of a social recluse, he's a gamer, and like his Dad, he's hooked on pornography and masturbation. It's a lonely life for him, school's a drag, but his basement room is like Treasure Island, a place to where he can escape from the harsh realities of North American life.
Believe it or not folks, there's more than one home like this on the street where you live. Some of you who are reading this today will continue to do what Eric Clapton did, respond with a "I don't have a problem!" Be wise. Do yourself and those around you a favor. Step out of denial before it takes you to the brink of the abyss. You can conquer this thing, but that will necessitate you looking yourself straight in the mirror and telling yourself, "You there, you have a problem!"
If you have a teen who's hooked, you need to get him or her help. And that help is available to you. I can pretty well guarantee that most addictions simply cannot be conquered alone, you need to get yourself into a group context. My personal belief is that with the help of God every addiction under the sun can be overcome. If you're really serious about beginning to step out of the closet of denial, be transparent, and get help, contact me at newlifecc@bellnet .ca or call 613-687-1804. It will all be kept in confidence.
It may well be the wisest thing you've ever done.
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efinition:'Addict': noun. A person who is addicted to something.
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Rev. Eric Strachan