Well thankfully I'm not addicted to any illegal drugs, I'm not even a smoker, and I'm not a big drinker so those are easy to fight against, my big one was Caffeine and sugar. My plan was actually to be 'addiction free' for a whole week, but that proved harder than I thought. Either I was so exhausted I had to, HAD TO have some sort of Caffeine to function or something just popped up and went against me.
Like the day I was doing really good then my husband surprised me when he got home with Pumpkin Spice Latte's from Starbucks, now how could I shoot him down when he was so sweet?
Also I started the once a month issue during this time and so I was crabby enough without trying to kick any stimulating habits.
So this one didn't turn out the way I hoped, I did remain addiction free for one day but I didn't feel any purer, I really think if I had sweat out all the impurities and kept off the addictive substances for a couple months it would have helped...I kind of want to try again..but...I love those pumpkin spice latte's; AND Christmas is coming soon do you know what that means? Ginger bread latte's!!!
It did make me wonder Why we get addicted to the things we do so I decided to check it out.
I found a couple odd things like some addictions you didn't think were possible such as an addiction to books, as in an actual addiction not a 'book worm' kind of thing but an addiction where you want books so much you hoard them until you are over run with books, this can also be done with pets, which is another addiction where you develop the need to over run yourself with pets and think it's best for them because 'you' really understand them while no one else can.
Some reasons why we get addicted is because if you constantly use this substance (for arguments sake we'll say Cigarettes) the body then begins to depend on this substance to function to it's best capability, the body doesn't understand that if you gave up the substance for extended periods of time that it would begin to function without the substance just as efficiently. The problem is our body and minds are always craving for the 'feel good,' that you can get from addictions. Like exercise addicts love that spurt of endorphin s they get and the sense of accomplishment whenever they exercise but when they're exercising so much that they let it affect their home life, or work life in a negative way it's become a problem.
To me it's not really about being 'Pure' as more being in control of your own body, I'm actually a control freak naturally and I have stop myself from trying to 'over control' a situation. So really you just have to find that happy medium where you are still in control of your addictions and you don't let it control you, like 'having' to have the first cup of coffee to function, probably not good. Especially since a lot of times your body gets used to whatever stimulation you give it with the addiction so it starts craving more, and more till you're pounding 3 energy drinks in the morning, smoking a pack and a half a day while stealing puppies and kittens from the pet store on your way to the library to filch a couple more books.
Maintain control, and if the addiction is hurting you like a drug addiction...might just be better to kick the habit all together.
Quote taken from: http://alcoholism.about.com/od/drugs/a/nsduh_drugs.htm
"An estimated 20.4 million people in the United States used some kind of illicit drug in the past 30 days, according to the latest government statistics. About 8.3 percent of all persons age 12 and over are involved in use of illegal drugs or the nonmedical use of prescription drugs.
The National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), a yearly interview of 67,500 persons sponsored by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, provides the most accurate estimates of drug, alcohol and tobacco use in the general U.S. population.
According to the 2006 NSDUH findings, illicit drug use rates have remained stable since 2002 and the use of some drugs has declined, but the survey has shown an alarming increase in the abuse of prescription-type psychotherapeutic drugs.
Most Popular Drugs of Abuse
According to the survey, these are the most commonly abused drugs:- Marijuana, by 14.8 million people, or 6 percent.
- Cocaine, 2.4 million users.
- Hallucinogens, including Ecstasy, 1 million users.
- Methamphetamine, about 731,000 users.
- Prescription drugs, 7 million nonmedical users.