When we attempt to do something and we are not successful, we can become frustrated. The same occurs when we expect, and hope, that something will happen, and it does not.
How we deal with frustration(s), or do not deal with frustration, is crucial in our desire to maintain sobriety, our desire to not start functioning as a dry drunk or a wet drunk. If we allow ourselves to be overwhelmed by frustration, by anger, we focus on nothing else but the emotion, the failure, perhaps a perceived failure on our part. When this happens, we may start acting as a dry drunk. We may be looking at very little other than the negative emotion, the failure, and this negativity becomes the focus of our lives. In an attempt to alleviate this negativity, we may start to abuse some substance. While we are “high” we may indeed feel better, but we will always come down off the high, come back to earth where we will find the negativity that remains because it was never addressed.
If we focus on the negative, we will find the negative. If we focus on and work towards the positive we will find the positive. That must be the goal if we wish to prevent some form of addiction from being a part of our lives. Change is not always easy, but it must occur, and it is not something we can always do by ourselves. We have friends that will help us. We may need a support group of some type. We must be willing to do what is necessary to prevent addiction from being a part of our lives.