How do I know if I have an addiction?

How does that subtle change happen that one day I was a cucumber and the next day I am pickled?

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This is an age old question. And many people spend their whole lives asking it and never stopping the behavior

to get some help for themselves. The simplest definition I have for addiction is, if I don't have it, I feel bad, and when I have it,

I don't feel good. It's quite simple and actually very profound. When do we cross that imaginary line

from being a problem drinker or a problem eater to being a full blown addict

where it has the best of us? One thing we often say in addiction is we ask the question, when does a cucumber soaked in brine

become a pickle? How does that subtle change happen that one day I was a cucumber and the next day I am pickled?

None of us knows when that happened for us. But what we do know is, once we become a pickle, we can never go back.

I suggest anybody who's having a struggle in this area to give themselves about a month of not having the substance

and see what happens in their lives. Look at what are the effects in your life, in either romance,

or finance. Or physically, are you having negative results of this behavior? And the thing that an addict does

is an addict tries to quit. An addict tries to modify their behavior. When the American Medical Association first

declared alcoholism a disease, one of the most important criteria was a person who has tried to quit.

A regular person who has problems with the substance just quits. And an alcoholic tries to quit.

So this is a very telling sign. Again, the most important thing I want to tell you is just think, when I have it, I don't feel good.

and when I don't have it, I feel bad. [MUSIC PLAYING] [AUDIO LOGO]