A Great Way To Stop an Addiction

You have realised that something was wrong in your life? That you are probably addicted to something that is not necessarily good for your health. Or you might simply want to stop an addiction?

When you first started using this thing, you probably thought, “I’ll never be an addict”. And here you are, not spending any day without it.

Whether there are cigarettes, coffee, gambling, sex, porn, alcohol or drugs, they’re all considered as addictive. And there are tons of what we can be addicted to.

You might realised that this addiction was hurting you in your daily life and you are ready to stop. Good for you. You came to the right place!

Before reading our great way to stop an addiction, let’s talk about its real meaning that you probably don’t know..

What’s an addiction?

An addiction is a complex disease which can affect the functioning of your brain and your body. They can cause damages on your relationships, family, workplace and obviously on your health. The addiction can also be related to the failed attempts to quit, tolerance and withdrawal.

Ok, thanks wikipedia. Now let’s quit this thing.

 

Steps to quit

1. Decide to quit

First of all, in order to be able to put an end to your addiction, you must want it. In this first step, you will therefore write.

Indeed, you will start by writing down on a notebook or on your phone everything that caused you this addiction. And what are the things could be harmful for you. Whether it’s damaging  your health, your relationships or even your wallet, you must record everything.

Moreover, addictions can lead to shame as this is the case with gambling or alcohol, for instance. This may be one of the explanations of depression. That’s why you can note whether this addiction can interfere with your relationships or even your job.

It’s also important to make the calculations to know how much it costs you per week, month and year. That can give you some bonus motivation to stop any addiction as well. So note it as well.

Then, it’s important to ask yourself why you start this addiction at the beginning. You might realise that it was because of something happened in the past, that’s it’s not present anymore. For instance, you might have started smoking because your partner let you down. But now, you are perfectly fine with that. So again, write it.

Now that you wrote about all the bad things. Take your pen. It’s time to dream and imagine this bright future without this addiction. Write all the advantages you can have if you stop being dependent of that. For instance, for smokers, it would be to recover your breath, taste or money. In addition to reduce your risks of cancer obviously.

There must be more reasons to stop this addiction and you must always have a look on it to remind yourself why you should stop.

This first step can be quite difficult, but no one else can do it for you to stop. So without going any further take the time and do it now.

 

2. Make your own plan

Then, it’s important to set a date to stop your addiction. Don’t set it too late because you may lose your motivation. And don’t put it tomorrow either because it could be too hard mentally. This date must make sense to you. So note in your calendar the date you want to stop and stick to it.

In addition, if you think you need medical support, don’t hesitate to see a specialist for some advices.

Furthermore, it’s important to have support and not to be alone in this operation. Whether it’s your family, friends or even institutions to help people who want to stop their addictions. It’s important to have one. These people will be able to encourage you, congratulate but also reprimand you. They can help you to keep the momentum and the motivation.

Afterwards, identify your triggers. For example, if you have an alcohol addiction, try to avoid going to restaurants or bars as well. If you want to quit smoking, avoid going to parties. At least during the time that you can feel you’re still addicted.

This is why it’s important to know the places, the persons and the triggers of your addiction. You’ll be more able to avoid the situation when you are more likely to break your challenge.

We know that it can be very difficult to stop overnight. That’s why you have to stop gradually. For instance, reduce the number of cigarettes, take just few with you. Then, don’t buy it anymore and ask just to friends. Last step, you should be able to not smoking.

Be careful to always stick to your original plan. Have it all the time with you. You could have some note of your first step that you could reread when it’s getting hard.

Finally, replace all the elements of your daily life that remind you of your addiction with much more healthier things.

 

3. Quit, you are ready

This is now the day you have to stop as you planned. Stick to it and stop your addiction. These are going to be the most difficult days.

If you have some troubles, take your time and try to have fun with sports or cooking. After all, when you start this addiction it could be because you missed something and you wanted to feel a joy by doing it. It’s all about playing with our hormones in our body. We’re all looking for that. The pleasure that we’ll get when we start something or meet someone. So, go to different beneficial addiction like sport, which can be one of the best in the world.

Also, don’t hesitate to join a sports or a gym club which can be great ways to stop any addiction. It’s the path to a better and healthier life as well. Exercises will make you happier and feel better with these hormones that will be released (Endorphins). So, in addition to being very healthy, exercises will help you get rid of your negative thoughts. Positivity will be one of your best allies.

As mentioned above, avoid as much as possible the places or people who are the triggers of your addictions. You will need to build a new routine towards a healthy lifestyle.

Moreover, don’t let yourself down to the temptations of returning to the bad addiction. Because if you start to regain bad habits, you can easily fall back. In difficult times, read your notes on why you wanted to stop.

If unfortunately, you smoke a cigarette, gamble a bit or drink once, it doesn’t matter. Don’t worry for that, if it’s just once of course. The most important thing is to not continue. An exception may be allowed, if it remains an exception. Don’t blame yourself for this because we know it can be very hard.

Just don’t let shame or guilt get the better of you.

Finally, celebrate your successes after one day, three days, a week and a month! Taking into account that science says, that we need 21 days to stop any bad habits.  Of course, don’t celebrate your smoking or drinking cessation with a cigarette or whiskey. But it’s very important to celebrate successes because it will give you the desire to keep going on your efforts.

Cause you might want to stop another bad habit and get to another healthy one.

 

To takeaway

If you are still following us here, it’s because you’re on the right way to stop an addiction!

It’s important to follow the steps described above with the writing, implementation of your action plan and finally the “doing part”.

Ending your addiction will be one of the things you will be most proud of, so don’t forget to celebrate them.

Read –> What happens after you quit smoking? – Timeline

 

Sources:

Verywellmind: https://www.verywellmind.com/how-can-i-quit-my-addiction-22390

Allweneed: http://allweneed.lu/les-types-daddiction/

Centeronaddiction: https://www.centeronaddiction.org/addiction

Wikihow: https://www.wikihow.com/Overcome-an-Addiction

Webmd: https://www.webmd.com/depression/guide/exercise-depression

ScienceAlert: https://www.sciencealert.com/how-long-it-takes-to-break-a-habit-according-to-science