My Glasses

I got some schmutz on my glasses, and I went to the sink to wash them off. I rinsed them and started to dry them with a hand towel. Some edge of metal that attaches the nosepiece to the frame got caught in a loop of fabric on the towel. I couldn't get it unstuck. It was so small I couldn't see it without my glasses, and of course, I couldn't use my glasses to see it. I had to go ask my wife to look at it (she had her contacts in) and see what to do. When we have a problem with a sense organ, we can't use that same sense organ to fix it.

Addiction

And that brings me to addiction. The brain is a sense organ as well. We may not be aware of the many signals our brains are processing, but there are plenty. Addiction is a chronic primary illness of reward and related brain circuitry. A lot of what these circuits do is regulate our sense of the internal and outside world. When these circuits aren't working right, such as in addiction, we get a foggy view of the world, much as I did without my glasses.

The fogginess is true for our view of the sense organ itself. So we can't get a clear picture of our brain function with a brain that is not quite up to par. Just as I needed someone else's eyes when I had a problem with my own, in addiction we need someone else's brain.

People in Recovery

The people around us in recovery are that for us. We tell them what we think is going on with us, and they tell us what they see. We have an opportunity to use their sense organs on our problems. We need this because often our problems, and our reactions to them, are part of what's distorting our vision.

So when you catch your glasses on a towel you could pull this way and that hoping that by luck you'll get a solution. You might get one, but you also may break your glasses. It's easier to just ask for help from someone you love and trust. If you need to find such people, they are in a recovery community waiting for you.