A cycle, simply put, means something that goes around and around and around like the wheels on a bike, a brightly painted carnival carousel and the rotational seasons of the planet. You start an activity or put something into motion and it ultimately returns to the point of origin along the journey.
Cycles can be a positive thing such as the annual review and raise that you might receive at work, the sleep cycle so that our bodies can regenerate and heal, the merri-go-round of love and, yes, even the dreaded menstrual cycle if there is concern regarding an unplanned pregnancy can be a positive experience.
When is a cycle a negative or dangerous pursuit? When is threatens to destroy a quality life. If the Earth does not have snow and rain in the winter season it dehydrates and is parched in the summer. It starves and so do we. If the wheels on the bike stop moving, the bike and rider fall over. The cycle of drug addiction is never a positive outcome and all efforts should be made to achieve a healthy, productive and long term recovery from this dark and sinister downward spiral.
To recreate a new pattern of living from a tattered and deeply worn path will be the greatest and most empowering inner expedition an addict will ever encounter. The first step is to truly want it so sincerely that you can think of little else other than getting clean. It may be for you, your loved ones or better yet a combination of both. Unfortunately, the reality of the drug and alcohol addiction cycle and breaking free from its grip is not that uncomplicated. It can be a very difficult process with occasional periods of personal let down, but this fact cannot in any way be allowed to discourage those seeking freedom from addictions.
Your body, in almost every aspect of its being, is addicted when you are a mild to chronic user and abuser. Your peripheral nervous system, your brain, your muscle tissue are all living in anticipation of the next high. So, for the addict, it is crucial that the cycle of behavior, like that circular bare pathway that the tethered dog creates running and running trying to get beyond its chain and stake, is broken. The addict needs to yank up the anchor that keeps them from moving forward and progressing outside of their chemical bondage and this means changing environments, patterns and even sometimes friends and social associates. Sometimes it is necessary to invoke an intervention or enter the addict in a drug rehab program in order to change the behavours.
Once an addict has made the personal commitment to change old habitual cycles, the next step is to establish new, safe and positive influences in their life. These can be found in quality support groups, hospital substance abuse centers and rehabilitation clinics. No matter what the setting, it is important to be around strangers. Being in proximity to familiar places and people may promote the tendency to fall back into old thoughts and behaviors. Of the before mentioned options, private drug rehabilitation, addiction treatment programs, and retreats seem to be gaining popularity, in part, due to the impressive success rate they boast.
To break the drug addiction cycle, one merely needs to stop walking the ring. Make the conscious decision to either step out of the beaten trench or stand still, just stand in one place long enough to gain a new perspective that will inspire you to desire an unpolluted field that your footprints leave only one impression in as you walk toward new, always fresh pathways too not follow, but create.