The Human Glitch: A Short Personal Study in Addiction

By gary chattaway

So... what's it really like to be addicted to something?

What's it like to be inside an addict's head at the time of a craving or just as the poison sabotages the human body?

What is experienced both physically and mentally?

Or, ultimately, what's it like for the person on the OUTSIDE looking in?

• Language: English
• Publisher: gary chattaway
• Release date: Sep 15, 2018
• ISBN: 9781386535416

gary chattaway

Gary Chattaway is the owner of the Blog/website: THE HUMAN GLITCH. The Human Glitch is dedicated to helping people conquer addiction. The site also focuses on life after this traumatic experience.

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www.thehumanglitch.com

THE HUMAN GLITCH

A short personal study in addiction

Part 1

SO... WHAT’S IT REALLY like to be addicted to something?

What’s it like to be inside an addict’s head at the time of a craving or just as the poison sabotages the human body?

What is experienced both physically and mentally?

Or, ultimately, what’s it like for the person on the OUTSIDE looking in?

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Introduction

2. Two enormous hands, one oversized meaty head

3. A glimpse in the rear view mirror

4. From confrontation to inspiration

5. Picture the scene

6. To unwell to drink myself better

7. Natural born drinker

8. 120 BPM and rising

9. The interesting character

10. Utter justification

11. An unemployed doctor who Dalek

12. Meet the dealer

13. The importance of remaining discrete

14. The art of twisting logic

15. Having to make do

16. Scoping the joint

17. Finally being unable to complete

18. Realisation dawns

19. Now it’s your turn to ask

INTRODUCTION

Addiction. Habit. Obsession . Dependency. Substance abuse... 

These are powerful words—or more specifically, impulses—which, it’s not exaggerating to state, man has struggled to understand, control, or deal with since the beginning of time.

From when our ancestors first consumed the decomposing alcohol-laced fruit which had fallen to the forest floor, until the present day; mankind’s fascination and relationship with intoxication and subsequent addiction is as extraordinary as it is complicated.

These topics remain, even today, incredibly difficult to write about, debate or even study, as there continues to be an incredible amount of grey area surrounding these complex subjects.

A perfect example is how industry experts still have trouble agreeing on whether or not addiction is a learned behaviour or if it’s already within our DNA at birth.

Or consider how it’s now become accepted that addiction has its root in early personal trauma, yet I’m living proof that this is not always the case. I, thankfully, had nothing of the sort in my past, yet I spent years handing my soul over to substance abuse.

And so it was against this uneven backdrop that I began composing the piece of work you now hold in your hands.

If anything, my job was made all the harder as I knew, pretty early on, I was going to have to lay it ALL on the line if this collection of words was to have any real lasting impact.

For you, the reader, this is fantastic, yet for myself, an enormous gamble. A gamble that made me nervous... really nervous.

You see, it’s inevitable that people I know will read this, many of whom have no idea of my struggle or how close to mentally losing my mind I came.

In fact, a number of close individuals advised me against putting this