Oh, how true this quote is when it comes to challenges in life. Life’s an adventure. You take risks. You are challenged on a daily basis. What’s life without a little disorder and chaos: a pretty dull life! My life is a work in progress and is everyday is a new adventure. Whatever challenge or hurdle has come my way, I’m always there to tackle it head on.

Since the evolution of the Triple Threat Disease, I have encountered so many obstacles and bumps in the road that I’ve lost count. So many tears have been shed. So many sleepless nights. Too many times my heart pounded so fast and ached from the pain. So many thoughts built up in my head, I thought it was going to erupt like a volcano. One of the obstacles is addiction. Addiction is the hardest obstacle to overcome.

Since the onset of the Triple Threat Disease, I’ve become addicted to food, drinking soda, and gaming. It’s no surprise that when we’re under stress, we eat. And we eat what…unhealthy meals! Or we skip meals like..breakfast. I gained close to 100 lbs over the last 15 years of my life. Yes, you read that right. This is because of my depression. I eat my feelings to make myself feel better and not cope with the constant onslaught everyday. I became addicted real fast to fast food and quickly started gaining weight like a Kardashian (no offense!). I didn’t realize that fast food and late night binge eating was causing my weight gain. The other part is because of my medication. Medications can cause this. But everyday, I would go out and get food and eat. Once, I noticed that my slim figure was gone and I looked in the mirror, I didn’t like what I saw. I’ll tell you that admitting to myself that I have an addiction with unhealthy foods isn’t an easy thing to admit to. It’s hard to say: “I have a problem and I need help.” This is easier said than done. So when I go back to the therapist’s office, I will talk about this addiction and hopefully get to my primary doctor and work out a diet and exercise plan.

Another addiction of mine is soda. Soda is an addiction that I have along with my mother. She and I could drink half a 12 pack of soda on a daily basis. Gross. Lately, I’ve cut it done to just one soda a day and that’s all. Eventually, I will cut it out completely. I used to drink soda like water all through college and during my 16 years in the workforce. Soda is like alcohol for me. I stay away from alcohol at all costs. Because I know that I would develop a serious drinking problem to the point of getting pancreatitis. This is another addiction that I’m constantly working on day by day. Resisting the urge to drink and eat unhealthy is hard. Very hard. I’m going to try to start putting my body back in shape for health reasons, not for vanity reasons. But it will take a lot of willpower and bravery on my part. I need to change the way I think, change the way I eat, and not succumb to unhealthy cravings.

Online gaming is another addiction that I can officially say that I’ve conquered. I used to be a die hard Candy Crush fan as well as an online gamer. I would download a lot of time management games that you can play for free on Big Fish or Shockwave. It’s so easy to start playing this games and then all of a sudden, boom. I can’t get enough of this. For a solid year, I played Candy Crush religiously during my off time from work. I would sit at the computer and eat and play Candy Crush. I think I made it to level 500 before finally losing interest in that game. Boy, do these gaming industries make great money off of people. It’s so easy to play one level and then get hooked.

How you handle your addictions is different for everyone. You can get addicted to pretty much anything. Whether it’s fast food, drugs, alcohol, or Starbucks (Ha Ha! That’s a real addiction right there!). Denial is usually the number one symptom of addiction. Saying “I need help, I’m addicted to this” is a cry for help and a starting point in the right direction. My online gaming addiction is no more and now, I’m devoted to writing now. But as far as my eating and drinking addictions go, that’s a new obstacle that I have to take more seriously before it’s too late.