An Alternative Perspective of Addiction

My journey through addiction, recovery and understanding what was driving these behaviours wasn’t easy. Growing up, I faced early trauma, family struggles, and learned to cope in unhelpful ways. I started drinking at 12, and by my early twenties, it was problematic. I also smoked cigarettes and cannabis for years, guzzled energy drinks, popped painkillers and was stuck in an endless cycle of self-medicating. My turning point came after a suicide attempt involving alcohol. That experience pushed me to change as I realised I needed healing beyond just quitting substances.

My recovery came as part of and was guided by my spiritual re-awakening. These insights have always been core to the drastic changes I made in regard to my lifestyle and transformation. As I began to connect more with my nature, and more deeply with nature and the world around me, I was able to heal. 

Over the years, I have come to understand my addiction from this perspective. Often, a spiritual perspective aids many recovery programs, and now I see I am not alone when I see addiction as a sign that the soul seeks healing and growth. Connecting with a higher power or nature seems to be a core aid to ease internal struggles. 

Building skills to ground ourselves in reality while handing over our need for control to a power or intelligence beyond our addicted selves seems to be foundational to many recovery stories. Meditation, prayer, and mindfulness help shift our focus, connect with our body and expand our consciousness, ready for change. Incorporating these into your routine can deepen your recovery journey and bring long-term peace. But deeper than that, I have been taught that addiction has many more roots in nature than simply a calling to a higher purpose. 

Many people think addiction is just about needing a substance or behaviour driven by a lack of responsibility. But in truth, addiction is more connected to our natural human tendencies to meet needs, self-regulate and grapple with the uncertainties of life. Often beginning from deeply rooted, triggered reward responses that are then perpetuated due to unconscious desires to cope or manage life’s challenges and maintain a level of stability we all crave. 

Nature is full of routines, the seasons, tides, and day and night cycles. Humans are wired to crave these patterns because they provide safety and predictability. We like rhythm and order; it makes us feel secure. In nature, animals follow daily routines, and plants grow in cycles. Our bodies also follow internal rhythms like sleeping, eating, and breathing. 

Addiction follows the same logic because it’s ingrained in how we are wired. Living in harmony with natural cycles kept us safe for thousands of years.

Today, technology and society have disrupted natural cycles. We can get food, entertainment, and substances anytime we want, 24 hours a day. Access to everything all the time increases the chance of addiction. Think about how supermarkets sell daily and year-round, or how streaming makes entertainment available nonstop at our fingertips. Our cravings are amplified by constant exposure. Capitalism even benefits from our need for familiar, predictable patterns, like fast food or instant gratification.

In contrast to the orchestration of non-stop gratification economies, society’s idea of addiction paints it as a moral flaw, or something shameful choice that only a few fall trap too. But addiction is rooted in patterns, habits, and often, energetic or emotional needs. 

Humans, like most animals, naturally seek and follow predictable patterns and repeat them, especially if it leads to a reward and even when it simply feels safe or familiar. We love routines, cycles, and repetition that are predictable and reduce our energy output as we move through life.  

Sometimes, that desire spirals out of control when it becomes a way our energy system expresses needs or imbalances.  We are much more likely to fall into addictive patterns when we feel lacking or overwhelmed in some way. Addiction isn’t just a flaw; accepting that it’s a common part of human experience opens the door to more compassion and a clearer path through recovery.

Addiction is almost always a surface-level symptom of deeper issues seeking balance.

Some experts claim addiction is just about brain chemicals. They say we’re slaves to dopamine, serotonin, or other signals. But science has its limits, we can’t measure felt experience in controlled, predictable labs. The emotional struggles of addiction happen in the complex environments, connections and life experiences we meet without all that predictability, control and orchestration. 

The real battle of navigating recovery lies in emotional wounds and energetic imbalances that chemicals can’t explain. Recovery isn’t just about stopping a behaviour. It involves caring for the whole person. Our mental health impacts addiction, as does our physical body and spiritual connection. For example:

• Mind: Cultivating awareness of your thoughts and feelings.

• Body: Nourishing it with good food, sleep, and movement.

• Spirit: Connecting to something greater than us, nature, God, or your inner guide.

• Energy: Balancing your energy through meditation or energy work.

Addressing each area creates a solid foundation for healing. A personalised approach works best, tailoring your recovery plan to your unique needs.

When someone turns to addiction, regardless of whether it is alcohol, drugs, food, sex or even work or exercise, it often masks unresolved pain, discontentment, or fear. These addictive behaviours are ways our system tries to soothe internal wounds. For example, a person who experienced early trauma may use substances to feel numb, regulate or stay in control. Experts like Gabor Maté describe addiction as a trauma response to cope with feelings we can’t handle. Many recoveries reveal that healing emotional wounds often reduces addictive urges as a coping mechanism. Only focusing on stopping the addictive behaviours rarely brings lasting change for recovery. Instead, we must look deeper and ask, "What’s driving this behaviour?" 

When we treat addiction as a symptom, we open the door to healing at its roots. This shift can lead to true and lasting recovery. There are three main themes I have noticed in many cases. Each may look different for each person, but they share common threads:

• Depression and Dissatisfaction with Life

  Feelings of boredom, loneliness, or emotional emptiness often push people toward addiction. When life feels dull or we believe we are not enough, substances or addictive behaviours tap into that void. It’s like trying to fill a hollow space with distractions or escapes.

• Trauma and Emotional Dysregulation

  Past experiences of pain or neglect create emotional wounds. These wounds make it hard to regulate or process feelings. Addiction then becomes a way to avoid or numb painful emotions. The addiction sustains because of this need for safety and regulation.

• Stress, Anxiety, and Emotional Suppression

  Many turn to addiction to repress intense feelings they are unsure how to process. Emotions such as anger, shame or fear can feel too big for us, unacceptable or shameful. When we struggle to process feelings, substances offer a quick fix to cap these emotions and “keep them under control”. Childhood trauma or lack of emotional skills makes repression more necessary.

We can begin to address these underlying drives when we can slow down our responses, self-reflect reflect and begin to pay attention to our emotional state without judgment. Notice when feelings like boredom or sadness show up. You can then begin to get curious and even dive into shadow work, exploring unconscious beliefs, fears, and wounds that drive your behaviours.

Bearing in mind our addiction follows patterns, rituals and routines. Part of the recovery process is aided when we can notice them. Through journaling, self-enquiry, or simply slowing down the pace of our addictive responses, we can gain insight into what we are seeking, how we perform or act as we partake in the addictive behaviour and how we respond as our reward system subsidises.

When we have more understanding of ourselves, we can become more open to recovery, acting from a place of compassion. Then we might begin to use life design techniques, create a plan for emotional healing, purpose, and strategise our path to avoid addiction through more fulfilling activities.

Beyond our internal world, how we express ourselves and connect with others impacts all areas of our lives. External factors can reinforce addictive behaviours through toxic relationships, stressful environments, or cultural pressures, which can often fuel old patterns. We can maintain these spaces and connections not even seeing their harm. 

Addiction isn’t just a bad habit. It’s a decision, sometimes unconscious, to hand over control to others. When we choose to obey the expectations, demands or conditioning put upon us, we give our power away, we let addiction manage us instead of us managing it.

Fear is often a driving force. Fear of others’ judgment keeps us hiding or lying. Fear of feeling shame or sadness keeps us suppressing emotions. We might be afraid of facing painful feelings, judgment, or failure. To avoid these feelings, we turn to substances or compulsive behaviours because they mask our fears. This creates a cycle where we feel more powerless the longer we ignore what’s underneath.

When we avoid responsibility, we feel temporarily relieved, but in reality, we lose control over our lives. For example, someone might drink to mask anxiety. But deeper, it’s a fear of confronting difficult feelings driving the anxiety that keeps them hooked. A fear of losing friends, status or support networks. Fear of being seen, being vulnerable or admitting ot their failures. 

Society teaches us that substances are a way to celebrate or cope. There are many mixed messages about acceptable addictions and confusing ideas about how “normal” people celebrate, process emotions or live day to day. Messages like “everyone drinks at parties” or “stress can be eased with a pill” teach us to give away our power. Following these social scripts makes addiction seem normal, even inevitable. 

But they are not ideas based on deep truths, we don’t have to follow them. They are simply reinforced by the masses due to the habit of language or traditions that were never based on a conscious choice or a mindset of balance and self-nurture at times. 

Even when they were, there were no fixed ways to do anything! We can always pick and choose how we respond to life and change what does not support our best health and well-being. It doesn't have to cause a loss or exclude us from connection or enjoying life. 

Part of the pattern of our addiction is the cluster of environments and people connected to addictive behaviours. 

The clusters reinforce a range of feelings, sensory inputs and other contributing factors surrounding the addiction, we might have a subconscious fear of losing on a recovery path. Going to a bar or hanging with certain friends can trigger cravings, uplifting emotions and memories. Certain groups may meet needs for belonging that we might otherwise lose. These groups and settings form part of a cycle that reinforces patterns of behaviour.

Making changes here can be powerful. Consider how we can change, move or avoid these clusters and instead, focus on surrounding yourself with supportive people and creating safe spaces to connect with others is part of recovery. 

It can be a challenge if we have never done this before. Learning how to set boundaries, be alone or face grief and prioritising the end goal for wellness can naturally help us to choose better environments for ourselves. Sometimes, just removing negative influences from our lives reduces cravings naturally. 

Building a healthy environment and discerning healthy spaces is a key step in recovery.

To regain control of our external interactions and empower ourselves for recovery, you can:

• Be aware of external messages that influence your choices.

• Set boundaries and question social norms.

• Practice owning your decisions, even if it means standing out.

• Accept responsibility for your choices, without blaming yourself.

• Challenge learned behaviours from family or society.

Remembering addiction is part of being human. When you understand it’s rooted in your nature and healing is possible, change becomes easier; it’s not a flaw but a signal you are ready to evolve and find a deeper fulfilment. Recovery involves moderation, self-control, and inner healing as we expand our potential by cultivating a spiritual connection, which helps to build resilience. 

Finding a supportive community or seeking resources such as therapy, energy healing, or support groups can make a big difference as you keep self-reflecting and adjusting. Stay connected to your higher self or nature through daily practices. 

Understanding addiction as a natural and universal symptom opens the door to real healing. It’s not about fixing a broken person but about working with their whole energy system, mind, body, spirit, relationships and environment. 

When you see addiction through this lens, compassion replaces judgment, and recovery becomes accessible; the journey toward balance and peace is possible. 

Over time, I found I could enjoy some things without falling back into old patterns once my underlying wounds and the need for the addiction had been healed. We still want to and deserve to enjoy life through recovery, the goal isn’t perfection but balance. Each path to healing is unique as we commit to taking small steps to grow and heal, trusting the process.

There is strength in recognising that addiction isn’t the end, it’s a beginning to healing. An invitation, where true freedom lies in understanding and embracing your authentic, human self.

Next Steps & Resources

If this blog resonates with you, consider exploring further with Love School. You may benefit from our Natural Holistic Recovery Course, where we delve into how to utilise life design tools to plan a holistic recovery journey using natural methods.

Or access the great value Recovery By Design Bundle that includes all our recovery and life design focused courses and content.

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