THE MOTIVATION SERIES: Overcoming Addiction (3)

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Part 3 of 3: Quitting and Handling Withdrawal

 

1. Stop the addictive behavior as planned. When the big day arrives, keep your promise to yourself and quit. Those first few days are going to be hard. Keep yourself busy and stay positive. You're on your way to an addiction-free life.
   • If you need distractions, try exercising, taking up a new hobby, cooking, or hanging out with friends. Joining a new club, sports team, or other kind of community group will help you make new friends and start a new chapter of your life in which addiction is not a part. Positive social interactions can stimulate the release of neurochemicals which elicit feelings of happiness and satisfaction without the need for drugs.
2. Keep clear of your triggers. Stay away from the people, places and things that make you want to go back to your old habits. You might need to construct a completely new routine for awhile, until the edge wears off a bit.
3. Don't give in to rationalizations. The physical and mental pain of addiction withdrawal is real, and you'll likely start telling yourself it's ok to take up the habit again. Don't listen to the voice telling you to start back up. Don't give up on yourself when it starts to feel hard. Every bit of pain will be worth it in the end.
   • Common rationalizations include the idea that "it's a free country" or "we all have to die sometime." Resist taking on this defeatist attitude.
   • Go back to your list of reasons for quitting when you need to remember why you're doing this. Think about why quitting is more important than staying addicted.
   • Visit support groups and your therapist each time you feel in danger of relapsing.
4. Don't let relapse be the end of your journey. Everyone slips from time to time. That doesn't mean you should give in and throw yourself back into your addictive habits in a full-blown relapse. If you have a slip, go back over what happened and determine what you can change next time. Then get back on your feet and start again.
   • Don't let guilt and shame take over if you have a slip. You're trying your best, and all you can do is keep at it.
5. Celebrate your accomplishments. Do something nice for yourself when you meet the goals you've made, no matter how small. Kicking an addiction is incredibly tough work, and you deserve to be rewarded.
    
   SOURCE: wikihow