You may have asked yourself many times what has caused you to get addicted to whatever substance or destructive behavior that has kept you bound. I know there are a number of theory's about what causes people to become substance/behavior addicts, but I will just center on a few of the more main causes at this time. I have heard that addiction may be genetic, or that it may be what did or didn't happen to you or for you as a child, or I have also heard that it may be caused by a chemical imbalance (either genetic, or self imposed). So which one is it? Is it nature, nurture, or just a chemical imbalance in your body? I examined my addiction and asked God about it, and came to the conclusion that it can be caused by all or some of these factors, but rarely is it caused by just one, and that it is usually a combination of factors. I will now share with you what I believe caused my addiction problems, and then you can see what similarities you have seen in your life with your addiction problems.

1. Genetic

My biological father and grandfather were both full-blown alcoholics, my mother was also a heavy drinker, and could have easily become an alcoholic if she had not been killed by a drunk driver. My biological brother is also an alcoholic. Is it possible this is just coincidence? I don't think so. I didn't grow up with my biological alcoholic father, my mother died when I was quite young, and me and my alcoholic biological brother were split up at an early age, so what my family did or didn't do, did not necessarily influence or cause my addiction problems, the theory that addiction can be genetic seems to have some validity. My half brother who had a different biological father lived the same childhood as me and my older biological brother, but did not become an alcoholic, my biological brother did. Also, I remember that when I took my first drink of alcohol, that it felt like I was drinking liquid joy, and I felt at ease for the first time in my life. I felt I had finally found the answer to my anxiety and sadness. So there is alot of support that a genetic predisposition to addiction could possibly exist in many of us.

2. Childhood trauma

I had a very unstable volatile home environment growing up with a very controlling, cruel, abusive, stepfather who beat us, and withheld any kind of love or affection. My mother would leave us kids alone for days, while she partied somewhere, and we had to call around to get food to eat. We were made to feel like a nuisance. After my mother died, I had to go live with my aunt and become like a full-time babysitter while she went out and partied. All of these things caused me to have a very fearful, shameful, and worthless self image, so I vowed that as an adult, I would never let anyone be in control of my life again but me, or harm me like I had felt they had harmed me. I carried so much emotional pain from every terrible thing that happened, and when I practiced addiction, my pain felt like it went away. We use pain relievers (addictions) to relieve past unhealed emotional pain from childhood trauma.

3. Chemical imbalance

Whether you were born with a chemically imbalanced body (because maybe your mother practiced addiction while you were in her womb), or whether you helped to cause it by constantly filling your body full of chemicals as an adult, or both; when you are chemically imbalanced, you feel "ill at ease" all the time, and you just want something to take the edge off the fear and anxiety you are constantly feeling. Granted, some of this anxiety can just be caused by fear due to unhealed emotional trauma, and what we do is take on a physical habit that psychologically makes us feel in control of any pain and guard us from any fresh harm, but a chemical imbalance will always cause you to feel like you want to jump out of your skin. It is being in a state of "dis"-ease. You can feel easily threatened and overwhelmed by what you feel you cannot control, like around strangers, or in a room full of people, in public, or at school or work. Phobia's work only because there is a lie at work in your heart and mind.

We use pleasure or perfectionism as a drug to feel in control, protected, and to deaden old unhealed emotional pain. You see, we need to feel in control in a physical, tangible way, something we can physically be in control of and administer to ourselves at will, to buffer us from pain or treat a fresh wounding. When we put our trust in "things" we can ingest, or do, then we are really just practicing idolatry, since we are trusting in a substance or behavior in place of God for our protection, peace, and pleasure. That is His rightful place to meet those needs, not ours, or some substance's place. We just want to be and feel in control of every area and need in our lives. We do not trust anyone but ourselves, and we don't even trust ourselves that much. We just close ourselves off from the world and work hard to meet all our own needs ourselves, and in that way, we think we are satisfied and protected from a potentially harmful and rejecting world. We wait to die in our self-imposed isolation. But this kind of "independent" lifestyle is lonely, and unnatural; God has designed for us to meet our needs "inter"-dependently with other humans present. You cannot meet all your social and sexual needs with just a TV, computer, and masturbation. The problem is, that we are trying to cheat at life because we are afraid of being hurt again, and we must come out of our dark hole of fear and face life again on God's terms, and learn to gratify our needs naturally, legally, and with the normal healthy avenues God has provided for us. Sure, you may not feel you have the same amount of control or protection as you once did, but by being brave and doing it the right way, God can then be able to bless you, use you, and guide you into a more healthy and fulfilling lifestyle. We must live life God's way, to receive His best. Like someone said, you may be afraid to take the step forward, but sometimes, you just have to "Do it afraid".

So you see, for me, it was all of these factors that led to my addiction problems. Everyone's experience varies, but there are some common factors that lead to addictions. Conversely, there are also common answers we can apply to the problems we have, and that is what we need to identify and implement in our recovery. God will take each of us and unravel the huge tangled up emotional ball of string in our hearts, and He will show you how you got that way, and what you need to do to fix it. God is a realist, so if you want the real truth about a problem, just ask Him. But remember, although He is always kind, He is always honest as well. He will tell you the truth about what is someone or something else's fault concerning your problem, but He will also tell you and focus on what is your part of the problem is, and you might be surprised how much of our problems are actually us, because we have believed lies and we have made wrong choices based on those lies. Whatever your need or situation is, trust God to help you "as is", you will never get free trying to force it. Perfectionism always leads to relapse, because we think we can still beat the problem by ourselves somehow. God will walk you through this addiction you are facing right now, and you will be free and happy in the end my friend. Get excited because hope has come to you, and you will surely live and not die. God will comfort you and you will go on to help comfort others with the same comfort God has comforted you with ;-)