Whenever I have to address one of life’s tough questions, I refer to a wise saying.

“Whenever there is any doubt, there is no doubt," (A line said by character Sam Rothstein, played by Robert De Niro, in the movie Casino.)

What is addiction anyway?  Is it something you are, an addict, or something you have, an addiction? Is it curable? Is it so bad, this addiction? What is certain is that Addiction is a book of questions that have with few clear answers.

There is the behavioral aspect of addiction that spirals your life downward, harming you and harming those who love you. There is the physical aspect of addiction - dependency - that can land you in a hospital, a prison, or a grave.

There is the time aspect of addiction. How long can you ride the wave of using and abusing and still quit before you crash?

The million dollar question in the back of every addicted mind is time. It comes with the haunting feeling that time is running out. This worry is a warning. Take heed.

Once addiction progresses, the addicted person eventually gives up on time, accepts their fate, and does the best they can not to not think about their demise at all. This is more the street addict you see on television. However, the day-to-day addict in real life usually has a job for the moment, and a home, and a family. But for how long? Every day these things are moving a little farther away from you and you can feel them slipping away—this is addiction in real life.

How much longer do you have before you crash?

You know the ultimate outcome if you continue with drugs and alcohol. It’s the same for everyone once the abuse of drugs elevates to addiction. Addiction is a lifestyle choice, you know. A set of behaviors that always leads to a bad outcome. When is really the only unanswered question? All addicts surf the great wave of “denial," attempting to stay in the rush of the curl without crashing onto the rocks of Now.

 No one likes the word denial because it contains a sense of impending doom at your doorstep. It implies that the inevitable crash is coming soon, and that you know it. You’ve seen it happen to others. They were in denial and got caught, but that won’t happen to you, right?

Divorce courts, bankruptcy courts, prisons, homeless shelters, hospitals and graveyards are filled with people—millions of them—who knew they had more time. Who were as surprised as you’ll be when Now comes to your doorstep.

Here are some clues that Now is at your door:

• The spouse and children left you because it was their fault.
• You’re non-drinking and non-drugging friends fell by the wayside because they didn’t understand.
• Only people who “know how to party" with drugs and alcohol understand.

Look at your life. Is it open and filled with happy healthy relationships? It can be. It’s as close as your next decision. Do you doubt the path you are traveling is going to have a good ending? Then , there is no doubt that it will not!

Your personal dilemma is that no one knows when the ride is going to end,  but everyone knows what is going to happen when it does—and it isn’t pretty.

There are more subtle symptoms of addiction than death and prison.

It would be nice if drug addiction smacked you in the face like a baseball bat. Most of us would duck and move on never to return. Addiction is more like a warm, soothing bath in the beginning. It relaxes and it brings you pleasure. But when you step out of the warm soothing bath, you soon feel the emotional draw back to its tranquil euphoric blanket covering you. The next time you want to bath longer, and you need the water to be warmer. Upon leaving the bath and returning to the world, you find that your thoughts are becoming more about being in that bath throughout the day. The bath is becoming your best friend and you need it to feel better. This tipping point is the portal from use to abuse.

You begin to need the bath to function. Colleagues, friends, and loved ones need to visit you while you are in the bath. You become irritated if they want you to get out of the warm soothing water. You don’t believe them when they say the water is so hot it is cooking your skin. Then you see the boils, the changes in your skin’s pallor, dark bags under your eyes. You think that maybe they are right. Maybe you should get out for a while.

You stand up and reach for a towel to help you, but it is too cold out of the water, so you sit back down. Now it’s not fun being in the bath—you’re trapped. You want to get out. Yet, you don’t know how to get out. You don’t want everyone to laugh at you because you were wrong. You don’t want to lose the other friends around you who are sitting in their baths too. You’re not alone, but you are lonely. This is what addiction is like.

You can look around and ask yourself how many of you friends DO NOT drink and drug like you do? You may find some, then ask yourself if you have a choice of going to a party with no alcohol or drugs, and one with it a plenty, what is your choice.

When you are making choices based on chasing a high, when a substance or chemical outside of yourself is where your “good time" is stored, then you are addicted—or more technically exhibiting addictive behavior. If you’re an addict, you know these things either because you’ve seen them, you do them, or you have had the urge to do them.

Being an addict is not like being a leper. It is more like being diabetic.

When you make the necessary changes to your life and you will recover. Pleasures without drugs and alcohol intoxication are out there. Friends and loved ones will re-appear. This period of your life can become a memory that fades into the distance. It’s simple, and I wish it were equally easy. You didn’t get here overnight, you may have been living this lifestyle for years or decades, so how do you get out of this black hole you’ve fallen into?

How do you attack this problem called addiction?

The first step is to start making your mind and body healthier so that you can tolerate the cravings and withdrawals of chemical dependency. With ModeraXL this process of boosting your body’s defenses begins the day you start taking it. This doesn’t take long to reach full potency, sometimes only a week or two.

What you are doing is flooding your brain with a formula of natural nutrients specifically designed to clear your mind. Giving your brain heavy doses of the hormones and enzymes it needs reduces cravings and withdrawal symptoms to the point that many of our users say it eliminates them  altogether. The goal is to remove the physical obsession and provide you the window of opportunity to make different decision next time with a clear mind. This first step is critical.

The second step is to stop using. This one is tricky because if your heavily addicted to some drugs (alcohol, barbiturates, prescriptions) detox kill or permanently damage you if attempted at home. These three drugs in particular may require a short hospital stay. Before entering step II, it is very important to check with your doctor and follow their guidance for the actual detox phase of recovery to see if you can do it at home.

The third step is to rebuild your life. You’ve just gotten out of prison so to speak. All your old friends are the users on the inside, and a whole new world of new friends await you. Now comes the stress of re-building without the nagging tug of “re-using". ModeraXL is an excellent supplement to continue taking here as well.

There are also organizations like AA, NA, and CA that are good places to hang out, at least for a year. If for no other reason than the social interaction with other survivors like yourself. These places are filled with humble people re-building their lives just as you, and you can sit as far back in the room as you want. They don’t care where you sit, they just care that you’re in a safe place for a while. If the “God Thing" puts you off, then just think of God as an acronym for “Good Orderly Direction" because that’s what you’re doing right?

ModeraXL will be there to help you every step of the way through your recovery and beyond. Our scientifically formulated powder packets mix with water and are taken any time of the day when you need a boost. We recommend 3 times a day, but you can take up to 6 if you need them.

Start your regimen of ModeraXL before you stop using.

Be taking it when you meet with you medical professional to discuss detox, so that your brain is clear to hear their advice and guidance. Take it while you detox to reduce, and help eliminate, withdrawal symptoms and cravings throughout the process. Continue taking it during the first year of your recovery to promote good brain health and avoid that “stinking thinking" that causes relapse.