Dennis Prager Show - Conquering Addiction and Gaining Self-Worth
Aired: 2020-01-10
Duration: 03:04


=== The Path to Self-Worth (03:04) ===

[00:00:00]  Adam in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
[00:00:01]  Hi.
[00:00:03]  Hi, Dennis.
[00:00:05]  Adam here.
[00:00:05]  Thanks for having me on.
[00:00:08]  Question I had for you.
[00:00:10]  I've been listening to talk radio.
[00:00:13]  My father has it on in the car, and I've been driving the car lately, and I've been listening to you for, like, the past week.
[00:00:21]  And I wanted to call in.
[00:00:23]  I had a couple questions.
[00:00:24]  I was listening to your last hour about lucky or unlucky.
[00:00:29]  And I got a notebook, and whenever I came home, my thing wasn't being lucky or unlucky.
[00:00:37]  I've been unlucky my whole life.
[00:00:38]  I'm 36 years old.
[00:00:40]  I live at home with my father and my three children, battling addiction.
[00:00:45]  I'm in recovery now, three and a half years clean.
[00:00:49]  But I'm still struggling.
[00:00:51]  The mother of my children, she passed away from a heroin overdose about a year ago, a little over a year ago now.
[00:00:59]  And my question to you was, though, is I still find happiness in life.
[00:01:07]  I am depressed, so to speak.
[00:01:09]  But my question to you is, how do I teach my children self-worth if I don't have any?
[00:01:19]  Well, I thought you were going to ask me how you can get self-worth, but that's tougher.
[00:01:25]  But the answer with regard to your children, I don't think it's particularly relevant.
[00:01:31]  It's like, how can I teach my children music if I'm tone deaf?
[00:01:36]  And the answer is you teach them music.
[00:01:38]  Your condition is not the same as what your children's condition should be.
[00:01:49]  But my answer to both you and your children is, the only way to obtain self-worth is to do things that give you self-worth.
[00:01:59]  I am 100% behaviorist.
[00:02:04]  You get self-worth by doing things that give you self-worth.
[00:02:10]  And certainly, sobriety should give you self-worth.
[00:02:17]  A very difficult thing called addiction.
[00:02:20]  Was it alcohol and drugs or just alcohol or what?
[00:02:23]  Just heroin.
[00:02:25]  Okay, just drugs, fine.
[00:02:26]  Well, it started with pain pills.
[00:02:27]  I got hurt working back in 08 and prescribed pain pills from a doctor 18 months later.
[00:02:36]  I went to see a surgeon.
[00:02:38]  Right.
[00:02:38]  Well, now I understand why you used the word unlucky.
[00:02:42]  I understand that.
[00:02:43]  Because normally in the 12-step program, people regard addiction as a choice, but even though as well as a disease.
[00:02:50]  Anyway, do things that are good.
[00:02:54]  Help others, for example.
[00:02:56]  Master some craft.
[00:02:57]  Then you'll get self-worth.
[00:03:00]  And it's only available, even happiness is only available by earning it.