Are You Heavily Medicated?
Updated Dec 07, 2001
It's my third chocolate chip cookie, and there are at least half a dozen more. I'm perfectly prepared to eat each one of them, and wash them down with skim milk, believing the fat-free milk will actually make a difference!
Have you ever felt this way? Where you are eating, drinking, drugging, or consuming any other medicating substance at a pace that could derail a train? Why do we do this to our bodies? Why can't we stop the behavior that frustrates us and makes us feel less than our God-given image? Paul once said, and I'm paraphrasing, "Why do I do the things I hate, and not the things I love?"
Dr. Gerald May, a psychiatrist, believes we are all suffering from addictions of many types. He says it is to fill an emptiness inside. Christians might define this "emptiness" as an absence from God. Which would be fair. So what happens to us if we are not absent from God, and, in fact, have Christ living within us but still suffer from these addictions?
That is the dilemma. Often we will focus on the behaviors themselves instead of the problems. We will tell ourselves, "If I could just stop eating so much, I'd feel better." So we try a hundred different diets, pills, and other painful expressions to stop eating and lose weight. This might work for a while, but if we never get to the root of the problem, new ones will arise or old ones will resurrect themselves.
I propose we stop talking about the behaviors and start exploring the causes. What are some of the causes of these self-destructive behaviors? Well, there are some pretty basic ones like hurt feelings, rage, bitterness, insecurity, anxiety, pride, greed, envy, anger (pretty much all of the seven deadly sins), and fear. These are more than likely at the root of our self-medicating behavior. I am over-eating because I'm fearful about an important decision I have put off. I am drinking heavily because I don't want to face my wife and tell her I've had an affair. My father was abusive. My mother never cared for me like I needed. I'm alone.
When we abuse a substance or emotion, we are hiding or ignoring something. I've given just a sample of what we tend to want to ignore or hide. The rest is up to you. The next time you start medicating yourself by overeating, drinking, drugging, or whatever, think about what you might not be telling yourself or admitting to yourself.
I know personally I tend to self-medicate when I'm overly stressed-out or anxious because I've over-committed myself again! After I slow down I begin to think about my life and what is going on. I allow the Holy Spirit to convict me or shine light on something I have not thought of, then I take action. Christ is always ready to help, but He is not going to do the work for me. That would deny me the chance for growth. With a heart full of prayer, and a will full of the Holy Spirit, I dig for the roots, and pull free from my addictions! Then I start all over again. I will never rest until the day comes that I'm reunited with my Heavenly Father.
For more resources and creative online enrichment, please visit my Web site at www.smalleyonline.com/
Read Michael's article Coming Up Empty in Life?
Have you ever felt this way? Where you are eating, drinking, drugging, or consuming any other medicating substance at a pace that could derail a train? Why do we do this to our bodies? Why can't we stop the behavior that frustrates us and makes us feel less than our God-given image? Paul once said, and I'm paraphrasing, "Why do I do the things I hate, and not the things I love?"
Dr. Gerald May, a psychiatrist, believes we are all suffering from addictions of many types. He says it is to fill an emptiness inside. Christians might define this "emptiness" as an absence from God. Which would be fair. So what happens to us if we are not absent from God, and, in fact, have Christ living within us but still suffer from these addictions?
That is the dilemma. Often we will focus on the behaviors themselves instead of the problems. We will tell ourselves, "If I could just stop eating so much, I'd feel better." So we try a hundred different diets, pills, and other painful expressions to stop eating and lose weight. This might work for a while, but if we never get to the root of the problem, new ones will arise or old ones will resurrect themselves.
I propose we stop talking about the behaviors and start exploring the causes. What are some of the causes of these self-destructive behaviors? Well, there are some pretty basic ones like hurt feelings, rage, bitterness, insecurity, anxiety, pride, greed, envy, anger (pretty much all of the seven deadly sins), and fear. These are more than likely at the root of our self-medicating behavior. I am over-eating because I'm fearful about an important decision I have put off. I am drinking heavily because I don't want to face my wife and tell her I've had an affair. My father was abusive. My mother never cared for me like I needed. I'm alone.
When we abuse a substance or emotion, we are hiding or ignoring something. I've given just a sample of what we tend to want to ignore or hide. The rest is up to you. The next time you start medicating yourself by overeating, drinking, drugging, or whatever, think about what you might not be telling yourself or admitting to yourself.
I know personally I tend to self-medicate when I'm overly stressed-out or anxious because I've over-committed myself again! After I slow down I begin to think about my life and what is going on. I allow the Holy Spirit to convict me or shine light on something I have not thought of, then I take action. Christ is always ready to help, but He is not going to do the work for me. That would deny me the chance for growth. With a heart full of prayer, and a will full of the Holy Spirit, I dig for the roots, and pull free from my addictions! Then I start all over again. I will never rest until the day comes that I'm reunited with my Heavenly Father.
For more resources and creative online enrichment, please visit my Web site at www.smalleyonline.com/
Read Michael's article Coming Up Empty in Life?
Originally published December 07, 2001.
