I woke up with a song in my head this morning, and this is unusual because I don’t listen to the radio or watch TV so when a song lands in my head it’s for a reason – it’s giving me a message. The song was Young, Wild and Free by Wiz Khalifa and Snoop Dog. The lyrics go like this:
So what we get drunk
So what we smoke weed
We’re just having fun
We don’t care who sees
So what we go out
That’s how it’s supposed to be
Living young and wild and free
As it played over and over in my head I pondered the song’s message and how it impacts the youth of today. The song suggests that being drunk or stoned is a path to freedom and fun, and it’s ok because you’re young, (and it’s one of many songs/movies with this theme). Our society certainly glorifies this type of behaviour – you’re just having fun with your mates, you’re a stick in the mud if you don’t join in, a few drinks won’t hurt, I just want to chill out for a while.
Is this behaviour really about freedom and fun or have we been sold an insidious lie?
I used alcohol and drugs in my teens and twenties to try to hide severe self-esteem issues, to block out the inner torment I felt and to avoid dealing with my emotions. I didn’t know this at the time, of course, I was just “living young and wild and free”. In truth, I was living “unconsciously”.
Through my healing work I have met many people with addictions and substance abuse issues and there are some common underlying patterns and beliefs associated with them. Here’s a few as an example:
Alcohol: Emotional insecurity often due to a love/hate relationship with your parents, perhaps loving them but hating something they’ve done. Alcohol is a way to self-medicate to deal with stress and problems. (This stress response comes from stressful childhood situations during the formative years when the brain is learning how to cope with stress and there are not healthy examples or support in the child’s environment, so they are forced to find their own coping methods which are often based on what they see around them.) There is often a sense of feeling devalued, undeserving and a fear of growing up and taking responsibility for yourself because being an adult seems painful.
Marijuana: Emotional insecurity once again, along with a desperate need to feel safe possibly stemming from emotional or physical abuse in childhood. Unhealthy environments feel familiar and become your comfort zone. Fear of success can be relevant here too, perhaps because past success came at a price or was not encouraged or supported.
Cocaine: A need for attention and to be in the limelight. There’s an underlying need to be acknowledged by your parents, you may have been ignored or “seen and not heard” as a child and you are still striving to perform for them. It can also be trying to escape the fact that life isn’t going the way you would like.
Crystal Meth: Suppressed anger, low self-esteem, lack of control related to violent tendencies whether real or imagined. You don’t want to listen to anyone else and this drug makes you feel unique and special. There’s a lack of self-love and love from others because you perceive love as destructive. Fear of being vulnerable, paranoid about how others perceive you.
This list is a generality to offer a glimpse of a few underlying patterns related to drug and alcohol abuse. There are many other factors including things like birth trauma, and ancestral and past life energies and even the way the brain has evolved to repeat past patterns so that it can avoid pain and induce pleasure. Plus, I have found that many addicts are super sensitive to the energies of people around them and can be like sponges for other people’s emotions which they find overwhelming to deal with.
All of this is playing out at a subconscious level so many addicts go about their lives completely unaware, and those who do attempt to change their circumstance often end up failing because they use the conscious mind to try to force themselves to abstain, so the subconscious programming kicks in and starts an internal war, in which the subconscious mind always wins!
So, do drugs and alcohol really make you young and wild and free? Or do they create an illusion of happiness under which lies a dark and seductive prison. They may have provided a coping mechanism that probably seemed like the only option at first, but it soon takes over and sucks every last shred of joy and happiness out of your life, diminishing who you are and laying waste to the true potential that you have to offer the world.
The good news is that these underlying patterns can be changed. I have changed them within myself and my clients. You can be young and wild and free in ways that are healthy and joyful and expand your heart and soul because you feel happy to be alive. You learn that you are a valuable contribution to society just through being you and shining your light in the world. You will find that your life has purpose and meaning and you are fully supported by the universe.
For those struggling with addiction, this may seem like a distant dream, but when you start to take responsibility for where you are right now and choose to become more conscious and aware you can start the process of healing and turn your life around.
Until next time, beautiful beings . . .
Keryn Lee
Keryn Lee is an Intuitive Healer, Tarot Reader and Teacher. She offers Private Sessions and Programs to clients who are ready to create phenomenal change in their health and their lives. Sessions available In Person, Online or Phone. Book Now on 0408 857 620 or keryn@kerynlee.com.au. Visit website: www.kerynlee.com.au Facebook: www.facebook.com./kerynlee08
Keryn Lee 