How Desires And Needs Can Lead To Addiction

How Desires And Needs Can Lead To Addiction



Desires and needs exist in every person alive. We have both desires to make ourselves happy and needs to keep ourselves alive. Often people confuse desires and needs with each other. Quite simply, desires are not needs and vice versa. In this article we will define and illustrate both desires and needs for the purpose of attaching weights to each one, understanding why each may be some sort of necessity for the human being.


Desires



Desires are what our body wants. Desires can be anything from drugs to money and sex. If the body wants it, then it is a desire. Desires can destroy a person and that is why we are going to bring a greater definition to them here tonight.


Desires ultimately begin in the mind and manifest into a bodily dependency. The desires bodily dependency that it creates a strong addiction. What was once a desire has turned into an addiction that has became a mental need. The blurring of the lines that divide desires and needs become destroyed when addiction is created: no one can feel pleasure from desire when it becomes an addiction. Imagine an empty jar. Now imagine the empty jar needing to be filled with a certain bodily act. Finally, imagine the jar slowly being emptied as time goes by. That jar being filled and emptied is what happens to someone who is addicted to one of life’s desires. What had been a pleasure becomes a heavy chain that you must go everywhere with, attached on your ankle and slowing you down.



Needs


Needs are defined as something required to live. Basic bodily functions such as breathing, eating, and sleeping are prime examples of what a person needs to live. Additionally, things such as clothing and housing can be seen as needs. Socialization can and is viewed by many as a need (One who does not socialize has been proven to become depressed. People who are depressed have also been proven to have shorter lifespans.)


Unfortunately, needs can become desires and eventually addictions. Two prime examples are food and sleep. One who eats too much will become an overeater. As one eats too much, they desire new and different foods, not unlike a drug addict. Also, a person who overeats will eat more and more, also similar to a drug addict’s need to take more of a drug for the same effect. As a need can become desires and addictions and people should be aware of it. Addiction is never a good thing.


Conclusion


Needs and desires are not too different and can often bear the same appearance. Are you addicted to something in life? If you are, I strongly advise seeking help and counseling. Reading this article is a first step to your recovery. Understand that combating addiction is a lifelong battle. I hope that each and every one of you can overcome your addiction and free yourself from the weight of the burden that addiction has placed upon you. You owe it to your friends and family to be strong men and women and find a stable life that you can share with the ones you love. Your livelihood is measured not by what you do but what you don't do. If you do not recover from addiction, you will not ever live a life that is free and away from the chains that shackle you as an addict. I’ve seen many addicts, recovering addicts, and people who lack addiction all together, and the happiest is always the one who is free. Addiction enslaves and kills. Rise above addiction today and welcome yourself to a life of freedom.