The Root Cause of Any Escape Mechanism…
Els De Schaepmeester
In a documentary on BBC World News that was broadcasted recently my attention was caught by Judge Paul Herbert of Columbus, Ohio, who spoke of drug addiction in victims of human trafficking (the judge set up a successful program for rehabilitation which is now being copied in other areas of the US).
He cleverly pointed out that the women use drugs to medicate their pain.
It isn’t their addiction to the drugs that drives the drug addiction.
His words set me thinking… you don’t have to be dependent on drugs or alcohol to have ‘an addiction’. In one way or another we are all prone to ‘flight methods’. Some of these are even valued by society, such as overworking.
The possibilities to escape our problems are endless: excessive shopping, emotional eating, going to the gym all the time, binge watching TV, or browsing social media for hours, very frequent travel, … and there are less easily detectable forms, e.g. constantly complaining to your friends and family or drama seeking to distract you from what really deserves your attention.
Whatever your coping strategy of choice has been so far, it has served one main purpose: it keeps you away from pain and it numbs any unpleasant emotions (even creating new issues in the long run).
On the flip side, if you don’t know how to deal with your ‘stuff’, it’s very understandable that you have been doing everything in your power to get away from it.
Most of us didn’t have parents or schools that were able to teach us how to deal with emotional distress. But luckily, things are changing and for those who are curious and ‘ready’, there has never been a time like the present…
Feel free to check out what I can offer to help you at www.thehouseofhealing.info
© Els De Schaepmeester