Get Off the Carousel: Moving Away from an Active Addictive Pattern

Get Off the Carousel: Moving Away from an Active Addictive Pattern

by

L.T. Force, Ph.D.

Gerontologist

Addiction often feels less like a single destructive act and more like a ride—fast, repetitive, familiar, and exhausting. A carousel goes around and around, offering motion without progress. For many people struggling with addictive patterns, this metaphor fits uncomfortably well. The behavior changes, the substance changes, the compulsion shifts—but the cycle remains. - and at times increase in speed.

Addictive patterns are not simply about willpower or moral failure. They are learned responses to discomfort, pain, boredom, fear, loneliness, or unresolved trauma. At some point, the behavior served a purpose. It soothed, distracted, energized, numbed, or created a sense of control. Over time, however, what once helped begins to harm, and the carousel keeps spinning.

One of the most difficult truths to face is that insight alone does not stop the ride. Many highly intelligent, self-aware people remain stuck because understanding the problem does not automatically produce change. Addictive patterns live not only in thoughts, but in the nervous system, habits, muscle-memory and emotional reflexes.

Getting off the carousel begins with slowing it down. This requires interruption—small, deliberate pauses that create space between urge and action. (Remember, not every compulsive thought needs to be acted on), These pauses might be as simple as standing up, changing rooms, taking three slow breaths, or writing down what you are feeling in the moment. The goal is not perfection. The goal is disruption.

Another critical step is identifying the trigger beneath the urge. Ask yourself: What am I actually trying to avoid or obtain right now? Relief? Comfort? Stimulation? Validation? Wealth? Connection? Various Behavior Patterns? When the underlying need is named, it becomes possible to meet it in a healthier way.Replacing an addictive pattern does not mean removing desire; it means redirecting it. The human drive for pleasure, relief, and meaning does not disappear in recovery—it gets repurposed. Movement, creative work, structured routines, social connection, service, and reflection can all become stabilizing forces when practiced consistently.

Equally important is self-compassion. Shame fuels the carousel. Harsh self-judgment, self-loathing and anger increases stress, which strengthens the urge to escape. Change happens more reliably when people treat themselves with firmness and kindness at the same time—accountability without cruelty.

Finally, getting off the carousel is rarely a one-time event. It is a practice. Some days you step off cleanly. Other days you notice you’ve been riding longer than you intended. The measure of progress is not whether you never get back on, but how quickly you recognize it and choose to step away again.

Moving away from an addictive pattern is an act of reclaiming agency. It is choosing direction over motion, intention over impulse, and growth over repetition. The carousel will always be there—but you do not have to get on it or stay on it….there are life choices that can be made….