Many people who struggle with the disease of addiction will try many different methods to continue staying under the influence.
One way is to replace one addiction with another. This means changing the substance that you are currently addicted to and switching it to another. This is all done in the hopes of one day being able to successfully drink or use without consequences. Unfortunately, replacing one addiction with another hardly works out for the best.
Early sobriety can be uncomfortable, to say the least, and many will try to find ways to fill the void that drugs and alcohol once occupied.
Some people turn to gambling, excessive shopping, and even sex. Replacing one addiction with another doesn’t always lead back to drugs and alcohol, but the desired effect is the same in all instances – to change the way we feel.
Some people have used the term “marijuana maintenance.” Marijuana maintenance is when people stop using hard drugs or alcohol but continue or start to use marijuana. This is a continuation of the vicious cycle when one thinks replacing one addiction with another is going to achieve different results. Trying to fill the void with anything besides a spiritual program is like rocking back and forth in a rocking chair and expecting to go somewhere. It simply doesn’t produce results.
In order for treatment to be effective, the body must be rid of all substances.
This is known as detox and works to clear the mind, body, and spirit. This prepares the individual for the influx of positive change on the horizon. Maintaining a spiritual connection to a higher power, getting out of self, and being of maximum service to others can hardly be achieved when addicted to anything. Replacing one addiction with another rarely, if ever, works out favorably.
