How Spontaneous Sobriety Can Help Heal Your Cognitive Dissonance
The mental conflict that occurs when one’s actions are misaligned with one’s beliefs.
I had a pit in my stomach as I popped the cork on the wine bottle. It had been several months and I was tottering on the verge of a relapse.
I was feeling a little shame that I was returning to a habit I knew could (eventually would) kill me, but eager to pour it down my throat anyway.
I was experiencing Cognitive Dissonance, which is when you experience psychological unease when you are doing something you know you shouldn’t be doing. When your actions contradict your beliefs or knowledge that something is not good for you.
I had a belief that I would die if I continued to consume alcohol every day, but my actions of buying it and drinking it anyway caused conflict in my soul resulting in depression, shame, and unease.
Alcoholics (and other substance abusers) often experience Cognitive Dissonance. Addicts are fully aware of the dangers of alcohol and drug abuse but will find new and creative ways to justify their self-destructive behaviors. ~ Tikvah Lake Recovery Oasis
