3 Simple Strategies for Beating Addiction: Kick the Habit Today!

We all experience addiction. Humans are drawn to comfort — we crave the things that make us feel good. Those addictions can range from the narcotics that numb the pain and the stimulants that get us through the day to the video games that help us to dissociate.

Caffeine, nicotine, gaming, social media — addiction is not defined as being hooked on an illegal substance but being unable to stop an activity or behavior that causes harm.

The first step to taking back control is to accept that you have a problem. Once you do, the following strategies will help you to kick your habit.

1. Taper, Don’t Quit

Cold turkey is pretty terrifying for an addict. It’s easy to adopt an “all or nothing” attitude when you’re hooked. You tell yourself that “this will be my last cigarette” as it’s a good way to convince yourself that you’re doing a good thing even as you continue to smoke.

Photo by?Krists Luhaers?on?Unsplash

But going cold turkey leads to physical and psychological withdrawals. In some cases — such as alcohol and benzodiazepines — those withdrawal symptoms can be deadly. In others — including opiates and non-benzo sedatives — it’ll make for a very difficult and uncomfortable week or two.

You won’t be able to function in that time, which means you can’t work or tend to your family. And you’ll always be one moment of weakness and one feeble excuse away from relapsing.

Imagine that you’re quitting opiates. It has been three days since your last dose and you feel worse than you have ever felt. You know you’re nearing the peak and it’s all uphill from there, but then someone invites you to a wedding. You think,?“I can’t go like this. Maybe I can just take a few pills to get me through”.

Before you know it, you’ve been dosing every day for 2 months and all that hard work is undone.

To avoid this fallout, it’s best to quit slowly.

Rather than going from everything to nothing, reduce slowly and steadily. If you’re spending 10 hours a day playing video games, reduce it to 2 hours for a couple of weeks, and then to 1. Once you’ve gotten things under control, you can limit your gaming to just 2 or 3 hours a week.

The cravings won’t be as intense, the withdrawal symptoms will be manageable, and you won’t be moving from one extreme to the other.

2. Remove Temptation

It can be hard to quit drugs if you’re surrounded by drug users. They are your facilitators, your excuse. You keep using because they do. It’s like spending the time at a rowdy bar where everyone is drinking, dancing, and having fun, and you’re sitting in the corner sipping orange juice.

Photo by?Glenn Carstens-Peters?on?Unsplash

Sure, you can enjoy your sobriety, but the more time you spend in that bar, the harder it’s going to be to stay sober.

It makes more sense to stop spending so much time in bars.

Change your friends or let them know that you’re making a change. Remove yourself from the triggers that will cause you to relapse and change your life.

It’s not just about cravings, either. If you’re a heroin addict and all of your friends are users whose lives are devoted to heroin, it’ll feel like there’s nowhere else to turn and nothing else to do. But if you surround yourself with sober people who have different hobbies — gaming, fitness, sports — you’ll have an incentive to quit and stay sober.

Don’t stock your cupboards with treats if you’re an overeater. Don’t go to bars if you’re an alcoholic. And if you’re a sex addict, remove all pornography and other triggers from your home.

3. Tell People

For instance, we’re in the middle of an opioid epidemic right now and a huge number of addicts are everyday people living everyday suburban lives. When people think of opiate/opioid addicts, they think of heroin and morphine, they think of scruffy, skinny, down-and-out people living on the street.

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In reality, they’re people just like you and me. And because of those negative connotations, they often hide their addictions from their families and friends.

Most addicts suffer in silence.

But that just makes it harder to get help. If you’re the only one that knows about your addiction and you feel really strong cravings during withdrawal, what will stop you from using again?

No one is going to be disappointed in you. No one will know. In fact, you may even convince yourself that dosing would be “for the best”, as it’ll get rid of the withdrawal symptoms and make you more sociable.

If you’re quitting, tell people. Let your loved ones know that you have an addiction and that you’re trying to kick it.

Not only do you need their support, but you also need them to remove temptation and to understand that you might feel a little irritable, angry, tired, or sick. It’ll mean that they won’t ask unreasonable things of you during the peak of your withdrawals. They won’t put temptation in your way.

More importantly, they are your accountability. You can’t relapse because you don’t want to disappoint your loved ones.

It’s not just about you anymore. It’s about them.

Get Help

If you’re struggling with addiction and need some support, contact the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) at 1–800–662–4357.

Photo by?Brett Jordan?on?Unsplash

I also recommend this?guide from Brooke Goldner?(also available as a?YouTube video). Although it doesn’t touch on addiction, it does discuss raw food diets and how you can use food to treat a range of issues. If you’re addicted to drugs or alcohol, switching your diet can make a massive difference.