Addictive Thinking: Understanding Self-Deception

by Abraham J. Twerski

Addicts tell me they wouldn’t buy a drug, regardless of its great effect and of its low cost, if there were a long delay in the onset of its action. Part of addiction is the immediacy of the high. Delay is not within the addict’s frame of reference. The addict does think about the future, but only in terms of moments, not years. When drinking or using other drugs, addicts do think about the consequences: the glow, a feeling of euphoria, relaxation, detachment from the world, and perhaps sleep. These consequences occur within a few seconds or minutes after drinking or using, and these few seconds or minutes are what make up “time” for the addict. Cirrhosis, brain damage, loss of job, loss of family, or other serious consequences come as the result of a long process and are not likely to occur within minutes. So they simply do not exist in the addict’s thoughts.