Emotional addiction is a state of not being able to break free from feeling a certain emotion. For example, some people may be addicted to feeling angry all the time. Others may experience symptoms of emotional addiction showing up, as a series of bad relationships or chronic depression.
Dr. Joe Dispenza, author and researcher, in the book, What the Bleep Do We Know?, explains that an addiction is something you can't stop. He says, "If you can't control your emotional state, you must be addicted to it."
Some scientists and new age teachers concur on the belief that emotional addiction may be the cause why some people experience one abusive relationship after another. This belief is also consistent with the law of attraction, which is said to explain why and how things unfold in the physical world. According to the law of attraction, one's outside world is a reflection of the thoughts and emotions felt inside oneself.
Biology of Emotional Addiction
Dr. Candace Pert, an internationally recognized pharmacologist, believes that the biochemistry of emotional addiction makes it hard for people to break free from it. Dr. Pert explains that emotional addiction works similar to an addiction to a drug, like heroin. A chemical addiction develops when the drug sub-sensitizes the receptor cells in the body. This makes the body crave more of the drug in order to achieve a high.
Thoughts and emotions produce some chemicals in the body; Chronic negative thinking would cause the cells of the body to eventually become desensitized to smaller quantities of the chemical. This means that the addict's cells need more and more of the chemical to be satisfied.
The emotional addict satisfies the needs of the body by attracting situations and people that would feed the body with more of the negative emotion.
Victim-Savior Relationship Example as it applies to Emotional Addiction
Authors of the book, What the Bleep Do We Know?, mention that being a chronic victim or even a constant savior, is because of emotional addiction. While the victims' cell receptors feed on emotions of self-pity and sympathy garnered from others, the savior's cells produce chemicals based on the initial rush he feels when he rescues someone.
Since this relationship has a shelf life, if either of their emotional states don't change, both the victim and the savior find other people to satisfy their emotionally addictive states.
How to Cure Emotional Addiction?
The first step to breaking emotional addiction is to recognize the addiction itself. The life that one has created around oneself is a good indicator of the type of emotional addiction.
Dr. Dispenza suggests that the addiction can be cured by not feeding the cells with the drug or emotions they expect. The chemical addiction is released, when the old cell dies and new growth happens. The newly created cell is in a better state of harmony, as it does not depend solely on the chemical to keep it nourished.
Dr. Pert suggests that, "one can completely recover, and one can make up her mind and create a new vision for herself, and a new brain."
Most humans have one type of addiction or the other. You could be an addict to bad news stories, stress, insecurity, fears. Sometimes the addiction could be something positive. It is important not to feel judgment or guilt about the addiction, but recognize it for what is, work towards a cure for it (if it does not serve one's good) and create a better and happy life.
Related Reading
Readers may also be interested in reading What is Quantum Success? How do Universal Laws Govern Humans? along with What is the Law of Attraction? and Louise Hay and the Power of Affirmations.
Sources:
What the Bleep Do We Know - Discovering the Endless Possibilities for Altering Your Everyday Reality, William Arntz, Betsy Chasse and Mark Vicente.
Candacepert.com.
Subha Ekambaram - I'm fascinated by the self healing processes of the human body and the alternative methods that accelerate it. I like to be present where ...
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