98 - Is This Just My Life Now? How Addiction Slowly Makes Your World Smaller

A client recently said to me, "I finally love my job... but I don't get joy anywhere."

And I think that one sentence captures what so many people impacted by addiction experience. Because one of the sneakiest things about survival mode is that it doesn't always look like falling apart.

Sometimes it looks like functioning.

You still go to work.

You still parent.

You still pay the bills.

You still show up.

From the outside, it can look like you're coping.

Maybe you've even been telling yourself you're coping.

But somewhere along the way, life starts becoming something you get through rather than something you experience.

You stop seeing friends as often.

You stop doing things you enjoy.