R4R Endurance Challange. Backyard Ultra style. 6.7k out and back from the arc on the hour every hour. Last man/woman standing. Aid stations set up in the courtyard. All for Movember.
Great read Sam! A lot to unpack. I just want to thank you for being so open and honest about your experience. Congratulations of finding the internal motivation to fight the disease that is addiction. I think people forget that addiction is a disease, a very cruel one. Unhelpful comments like why don't they just quit or if they wanted to stop they would. I've read and listened to a lot of stories to understand that it's not that EASY.
I wholeheartedly agree that the reason for people turning to alcohol and drugs needs to be addressed. Scientists decided based on a rat study that it was the substance that was addictive. The rats kept drinking the heroin laced water instead of the regular water and they overdosed and died. They concluded well, heroin is addictive. BUT the more they study these behaviours there more it becomes obvious that it's the escapism that's addictive first, then the body gets addicted to the substance. You should be really proud for recognising the why, it's all well and good to go to rehab and get drug and alcohol counselling but it's trauma counselling that is needed the most.
(I just finished reading Scar Tissue - Anthony Kiedis, it was very insightful into addiction, relapse, trauma cycle)
They did another study with rats where they gave two separate groups of rats water laced with drugs but they built one boring enclosure and filled the other with all the things a rat could ever want.
The rats in the boring enclosure got addicted to the drugs laced water and died. The rats in the nice enclosure tried it once and never tried it again.
Environmental factors, how they impact us, and our ability/inability to cope with them lead people to addiction. It's never the substance. Poker machines aren't physically addictive. Mobile phones, exercise, whatever. It's just a coincidence some people's vices are physically addictive too. Often it's just whatever vice they stumble across at their most vulnerable.
Driving home today in 36 degree Perth heat, (the first/thirst real hot day this summer), I saw a billboard advertising what would of been my beer of choice in the fridge when I was drinking and it produced my first craving Ive had for a beer in a long long time. It surprised me....first that i got a craving and second how strong it was., crazy........Instead my wife and I went and did yoga (don't judge :-) ) then went for a swim in the ocean, all good craving gone. Thanks for the opportunity to write this down somewhere, that helps too, as someone once said, cheers Wankers!
It's wild the things that can trigger us, hey? I've been thinking about it a little bit more when the weather is warmer, for sure. But they're not strong cravings or anything. I think it's just ingrained in me that cold beer goes with hot weather.
Mate! Nothing wrong with yoga! I stretch for 15 minutes every morning and it's made the biggest difference! I would do yoga if I had the time. but for now, 15 minutes of stretching will have to do. I've even started doing some breathwork first thing in the morning. Like as soon as I wake up. It's early days, but I think I feel better for it?
Whether it's talking about it or writing about it, there is something in taking the thought from your head and getting it out in some other form. You're always welcome to pop over here and chuck your thoughts in a comment section and I'll always get back to ya mate.
Sounds like the choices you made resulted in you feeling better than you would have had you gone home, had a beer and lazed around!
Aren’t external factors the hard ones to control because they are usually outside our control? The inside ones we can at least do something about
Count me in next year
I've been thinking of something cool...
What?
R4R Endurance Challange. Backyard Ultra style. 6.7k out and back from the arc on the hour every hour. Last man/woman standing. Aid stations set up in the courtyard. All for Movember.
Plenty of time to hype it up. Should get Cam and Fordy onboard. They’ve been dying to organise a big r4r challenge
Yeah it would be cool I reckon.
Yeah, for sure. But I mean, it's difficult to be motivated by external motives in relation to something so deeply personal and internal.
Great read Sam! A lot to unpack. I just want to thank you for being so open and honest about your experience. Congratulations of finding the internal motivation to fight the disease that is addiction. I think people forget that addiction is a disease, a very cruel one. Unhelpful comments like why don't they just quit or if they wanted to stop they would. I've read and listened to a lot of stories to understand that it's not that EASY.
I wholeheartedly agree that the reason for people turning to alcohol and drugs needs to be addressed. Scientists decided based on a rat study that it was the substance that was addictive. The rats kept drinking the heroin laced water instead of the regular water and they overdosed and died. They concluded well, heroin is addictive. BUT the more they study these behaviours there more it becomes obvious that it's the escapism that's addictive first, then the body gets addicted to the substance. You should be really proud for recognising the why, it's all well and good to go to rehab and get drug and alcohol counselling but it's trauma counselling that is needed the most.
(I just finished reading Scar Tissue - Anthony Kiedis, it was very insightful into addiction, relapse, trauma cycle)
Thank you, Clare! You get it!
They did another study with rats where they gave two separate groups of rats water laced with drugs but they built one boring enclosure and filled the other with all the things a rat could ever want.
The rats in the boring enclosure got addicted to the drugs laced water and died. The rats in the nice enclosure tried it once and never tried it again.
Environmental factors, how they impact us, and our ability/inability to cope with them lead people to addiction. It's never the substance. Poker machines aren't physically addictive. Mobile phones, exercise, whatever. It's just a coincidence some people's vices are physically addictive too. Often it's just whatever vice they stumble across at their most vulnerable.
Driving home today in 36 degree Perth heat, (the first/thirst real hot day this summer), I saw a billboard advertising what would of been my beer of choice in the fridge when I was drinking and it produced my first craving Ive had for a beer in a long long time. It surprised me....first that i got a craving and second how strong it was., crazy........Instead my wife and I went and did yoga (don't judge :-) ) then went for a swim in the ocean, all good craving gone. Thanks for the opportunity to write this down somewhere, that helps too, as someone once said, cheers Wankers!
Haha, mate! I heard it's putrid over there!
It's wild the things that can trigger us, hey? I've been thinking about it a little bit more when the weather is warmer, for sure. But they're not strong cravings or anything. I think it's just ingrained in me that cold beer goes with hot weather.
Mate! Nothing wrong with yoga! I stretch for 15 minutes every morning and it's made the biggest difference! I would do yoga if I had the time. but for now, 15 minutes of stretching will have to do. I've even started doing some breathwork first thing in the morning. Like as soon as I wake up. It's early days, but I think I feel better for it?
Whether it's talking about it or writing about it, there is something in taking the thought from your head and getting it out in some other form. You're always welcome to pop over here and chuck your thoughts in a comment section and I'll always get back to ya mate.
Sounds like the choices you made resulted in you feeling better than you would have had you gone home, had a beer and lazed around!