Can we be addicted to drama in our lives? I feel certain that we can and that many people are. Some people only feel significant when they are putting out fires – whether their own or fires created by other people. It makes them feel needed and important. Getting a need met through drama means our brains can get trained to immediately look for (or create) drama when we start to feel bad about yourselves.

This is “thought addiction” 101. Thought addiction is when we begin to depend on certain thought patterns to meet a need in our lives, usually this is faulty thinking. I think there is a difference between just being “stuck” in certain thought patterns, such as being self-critical and critical of others, and getting addicted to certain thoughts. Drama actually releases stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline which are actually addictive chemicals because they make us feel good for a short time, just like a street drug.

Do you involve yourself in all the drama going on in the lives of your friends? If you are a parent do you secretly thrive off the drama of your troubled teenager? Do you look forward to the fires you will have to put out at work tomorrow? If we are addicted to drama we are likely to subconsciously be creating it in our lives, or worse yet, in the lives of those around us.