Everyday, thousands of people in the U.S. battle addiction. Whether it be drugs, sex, shopping or food, many people deal with these challenges for years.
Chris Grosso is a man who has battled addiction in many forms. From drugs, to alcohol to sex, and he wants to share his story with the world.
Like many people in society today, leaning on those closest to us can be a huge challenge. Grosso explained his life growing up wasn’t a struggle for him. He had a loving family, and struggled to share things with them.
Grosso resorted to repressing his feelings for years, and ignoring the things that caused him pain. This was the beginning of a long road of addiction, recovery and relapses he would fight through for years to come.
After his most recent relapse, Grosso ended up in the hospital, unresponsive, with a BAC of .47. He woke up with a tube down his throat and a catheter in place. The hospital kept him for 24 hours before releasing him.
With a second chance at life, he decided to find a way to connect with others. He wrote “Dead Set On Living” and published it just last year.
In the book, he introduces people from a wide array of jobs, including scientists, spiritual leaders and punk rockers, among many others.
Many turn to addictive behaviors in order to bring relief to their lives when they’re feeling defeated and alone. Grosso was no different, but he has found ways to battle these thoughts that lead him to making bad choices.
Whether you’re suffering from addiction or not, the tools this book features will assist you in all aspects of life, and help you cope with stress, anxiety, depression and, of course, addiction.
As someone who struggles daily with anxiety and depression, this book has opened my eyes to different ways of approaching the life struggles I encounter on a daily basis.
Gabor Maté, Chapter 2:
Grosso discusses Gabor Maté in the second chapter of his book, and he has an interesting take on comparing your life struggles to someone else’s. “He believes that this kind of comparative thinking is what prevents people from understanding their own life.”
His main argument is when you’re constantly comparing your life to someone else’s or telling yourself your life isn’t as bad as theirs, you’re blocking yourself from dealing with the emotions that are attached to certain situations.
This was eye-opening to me. When depression is hitting full force for what seems to be no reason, you tell yourself you have nothing to be sad over compared to thousands of others. Now, instead of thinking that way, I try to consider what has me feeling so down. The success I have felt from overcoming dark days has been immense since approaching situations with this mindset.
Ram Doss Chapter 5:
Grosso quotes Ram Doss in Chapter 5:“We’re too identified with the thoughts that are going around the situation, whatever it may be. We need to bring the identification from the thoughts to the watcher of the thoughts, and that takes us away from the thoughts. Then we should watch these thoughts as our perspective shifts around them.”
What Doss meant in this quote is that if we remove ourselves from the thought processes that consume us in difficult situations, we become the outsider looking in. Practicing this outlook on life will allow you to methodically look at situations and adjust how you handle it.
When something upsetting occurs in our lives, we, as humans, tend to judge ourselves extremely harshly and refuse to look past the situation.
Recently, my bank account was overdrawn by Netflix and Apple Music. My account was almost 100 dollars in the negative after a double overdraft fee was charged. I just got back from separate trips a few days apart and had not worked. Broke became an understatement, and due to my parents providing me with money for traveling, I was in no place to ask for more.
This spiraled me further into my depression until I took a step back and truly reflected on my situation. I realized that there was nothing I could do about the account at the moment, and beating myself up over it would not help.
I removed myself from that cycle of overthinking, thanks to Doss’ advice.
Damien Echols, Chapter 14
Damien Echols told Grosso, “One need not be behind bars to feel imprisoned.” Humans create their own prisons. Whether it be with anxiety, depression, addiction, literally anything can make you feel confined to your own head.
Life is a struggle every day. Without our daily battles, we can never grow. If you don’t experience failure over-and-over again, success is impossible. The feeling of success comes from finally beating the failures you have endured.
“That’s why they call it growing pains, not growing pleasures. When you are facing things in this world, that’s what forces you to step outside your comfort zone.”
When it comes to depression, this can be a useful insight. If we didn’t go through the immensely challenging days we aren’t growing. We are succumbing. However, if we step outside the comfort of our rooms and overcome the darkness, we can grow.
Now, how does forcing yourself to go out and find ways to overcome depression help? By making the conscious decision to escape from the darkness that plagues us, we have small victories. When the darkness decides to drag you back down, you already know the necessary steps to pick yourself up again.
When it comes to anxiety, this quote speaks loud and clear. If we allow ourselves to hide from our problems, we would be living in fear of every situation that arises throughout the day.
Now, if we throw ourselves into the bustle of every day life, then we grow. The road is going to be hard. It is going to be scary. But it’s not impossible. With a little courage, you will grow into the person you know you can be.
What Can A Book Do?
Books open the door into a world of knowledge and mystery. Grooso’s book “Dead Set On Living” does just that. It opens a door into a new way of approaching life. This book will make you re-think your perspective on life, and give you the necessary tools to initiate this change.
Through meditations, to advice and personal experience, this book will open your eyes to a more positive outlook on life. Grosso has approach in getting his point across, and making you think in-depth about your day-to-day mentality.
