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Alcohol, Tobacco, Prescription Pills, and Illegal Drugs

The Staggering Cost of Substance Abuse

Dollars and Tears, Terrors and Years

Lauren Langford

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PC: Alexander Krivitsky

“Addiction runs in our family,” said my mother, “so you need to be careful.” I was young the first time she said this to me and she has said it many times since. Years later, another family member from my father’s side said, “we have addictive personalities. We do not get hooked on drugs and alcohol alone like other maladjusted people, we get addicted to anything and everything that makes us feel high. Food, music, exercise, shopping, fast cars, motorcycles, people — you name it. If it has the power to make you feel good, or pick you up when you are down, or make you feel fully alive, someone in our family has struggled to control themselves with it.” Both of these statements turned me into the kind of person who examines their own inclinations towards foods, beverages, hobbies, and any other tendency with a fine tooth comb. Is my enjoyment of this thing or this experience genuine, or is it an unhealthy obsession? Do I love this, or am I addicted to it? These are questions I ask myself on the daily. I am cautious when it comes to addiction, I am mindful when it comes to addiction, I am scared when it comes to addiction, and still I have not always gotten it right in my own life. As for those around…

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