I’m sure we are all very familiar with the dangers associated with having a dependency on alcohol, cigarettes or illegal substances. But there are other addictions that can be just as bad, if not more damaging, and we may not be aware of them. In such a case, what we don’t know can and will hurt us.
First, let’s face a blatant reality. Our society is unhealthily obsessed with food. The most prominent health problems today stem almost solely from our diets, and still, we just keep on eating.
I think it’s ironic in a society so set on the power of the individual that we continue to place the blame for our addictions on everyone but ourselves. We’ve sued fast food chains and forced them to print nutrition facts on everything from pamphlets to food wrappers, and yet our “hand-to-mouth” compulsions have not slowed by even a fraction.
The biggest danger when it comes to our overindulgent culture is that it goes against our physical and emotional need for balance. Refusing to adhere to this need, termed by scientists as homeostasis, is what drives the emotional and, in some ways, physical damage of being an obsessive, even compulsive eater.
Food comes in so many flavors, textures and kinds that sometimes it’s hard to stop eating even after we’re full. In this way, the flavorful taste of food is a bitter-sweet reality. It brings us pleasure, but it also requires that we listen to our bodies to tell us when we’ve had enough.
If we could start to see eating as maintenance to our bodies-like breathing or exercise-rather than a guilty pleasure, maybe we could shake the unhealthy misconception that “food is bad” and not allow it to assume the enticing appearance of the proverbial forbidden fruit. To see food as one of those great things in life we can enjoy like sunny days, a warm breeze or a quiet snow would be one of the first steps in recovering from years of food abuse.
Another less talked about addiction is our harmful obsession with sex. More than the unofficial national pastime, sex is becoming less of a special pleasure and more of the culprit in diminishing our quality of life.
It is easy to mistake sex for a necessary component of any romantic relationship; it has become very casual both in the way we view it and in the way it is portrayed on film. The way we joke at the many mishaps that can occur when sex is less than what it is supposed to be, or poke fun at the antics of people with sexual issues only makes us increasingly cynical with the idea of true love and romance.
It is also easy to get caught up in the feelings associated with sex and not realize some of the dangerous behaviors, like having several partners or casual sex, can actually lead to a greater dependency on sex for fulfillment. Sex can bring wonderful physical and emotional pleasure, but abuse it and it will begin to do the opposite like anything else. This addiction is born out of unfulfilled expectations. When the euphoric experience no longer delivers, we create in ourselves an unhealthy dependency, searching for the feeling of that first time high.
The point is whenever good things are taken out of their natural order, they become harmful to our bodies, both mentally and physically. Renowned writer C.S. Lewis saw that although pleasure through these things is a normal phenomenon, when they are taken in ways or degrees that go against their natural intent, we are left with “an ever increasing craving for an ever diminishing pleasure.” We eat ourselves into sickness and disease and look in disgust at our increasing waistline. We indulge in the ecstasy of love and intimacy just to feel more lonely and unfulfilled, hungrily seeking another “fix.”
For just a moment, put biology and excuses aside. Yeah, food tastes good. Of course, sex feels good. And yes, there are physiological reasons for these feelings that undeniably make us this way. But we are more than senseless beings that only respond to pleasurable stimulation. We still harbor our innate humanity, which cries out for moderation, control and compromise.