“Secrecy is the greenhouse in which addiction blooms, flourishes, and metastasizes. The unfortunate reality of addiction, though, is that all active addicts keep secrets and tell lies. They really have no choice. An addict must lie in order to protect her supply. You cannot be an active addict without lying, because your interior world would collapse. If you didn’t have access to the substance, person, or behavior that regulates your nervous system, and your exterior world would collapse if people knew what you were up to—because what you are up to is not socially acceptable. Hell, what you are up to might not even be acceptable to you, which is how addicts learn to lie to themselves before they lie to anyone else. Thus the addict’s reality becomes split between what she’s doing in the shadows (sometimes even behind her own back) and what she is allowing other people to see.”
Quote by Elizabeth Gilbert
Work
All the Way to the River
Browse quotes and source details for this work. more
Author
Elizabeth Gilbert
Elizabeth Gilbert is an American author renowned for her best-selling novel 'Eat, Pray, Love'. Born on July 18, 1969, she has achieved widespread acclaim for her compelling storytelling and personal narratives. Gilbert's writing frequently delves into themes of self-discovery and transformation. more
You May Also Like
Source: Shaping the dream
“no good ever comes of a man who forgets an old friend”
Source: A Hero of Our Time
“If it does not teach, let it inspire. If it does not inspire, let it teach.”
“Everybody gets their turn, What they do with it, Is what really matters”
Source: 31 Ways to Happiness
“A sweaty butt crack is my trigger to turn on my air conditioning.”
“Who knows where and what turn will come, Still getting acquainted with the roads.”
Source: All the Way to the River