A Step-by-Step Guide to Breaking That Addiction You are Fed up With
and reclaim the right you have on your life
According to the American Society of Addiction Medicine, addiction is a “treatable, chronic medical disease involving complex interactions among brain circuits, genetics, the environment, and an individual’s life experiences.”
Addiction can be related to serious stuff like smoking, drinking, porn, gambling, or simple stuff like mobile or caffeine
People carry on with these harmful behaviors as the brain is wired to the reward system related to these behaviors. This also impacts the decision-making ability of the mind making it even more challenging to quit that addiction.
According to one model of behavior change known as the transtheoretical model, there are four stages of change i.e. pre-contemplation, contemplation, preparation, and action.
In the initial stages, people are in denial mode as they don’t want to accept that they have some problem but once they accept that, they get into a zone of uncertainty where they don’t know what to do.
They don’t want that addiction but they can’t do without that also.
However, becoming aware of the problem is the first step in the direction of getting rid of that addiction which will have more steps before you reach your final destination.
Decide to change
You have been suffering from that addiction for months and have realized that you are stuck in that.
You want to get rid of it but can’t because it has gotten over you.
But the day you decide that this is it, I am done with it and I am going to change is the day you take your first step towards that addiction-free life.
Pick a clear, Doable, and specific goal
You need to sit down and have a clear idea of the place you want to reach in the journey you started.
Let’s say you are a chain smoker. You can’t just say one day that I am quitting smoking.
You know that’s not going to happen overnight. It will take time.
So it’s very important to have a practical, logical, and clear idea of the goal you are setting for yourself with specific deadlines.
Like I am going to stop smoking fully three months from today.
Small steps
Any big journey starts with a single step. The same is the case with getting rid of that addiction you have.
Because your brain is wired to have that high every time you follow that path, it’s not going to let you deprive of that pleasure all of a sudden.
You have to do that slowly, by befooling it, by making it less dependent on the pleasure it is getting.
While small steps are easier to make, they are easier to track as well.
Your brain is already dealing with withdrawal symptoms of that addiction, you can’t pressurize it more by following on the big task you have given to it.
Like in that smoking example, set a target to reducing one cigarette, every couple of days, slowly.
This not only is easy to track, but also won’t impact your system in a big way to trigger your relapse.
Stay away from temptations
When you are in the process of getting rid of addiction, make sure you are keeping all the distractions away from you.
Stay away from that chain smoker friend, that friend who drinks daily, or that one who is all the time busy on Instagram, or stay away for that matter anything that might create a tussle with your willpower to take you back on the path you have moved forward.
Have a confidant
When you are moving forward to break that addiction, it’s always good to have someone you are accountable to.
It can be your spouse, your friend, your girlfriend, your parents, or anyone you can trust enough to share about your addiction and confident enough that they would guide you honestly to achieve your goal.
The confidant will help you to stay on the path when you are about to break that pattern, it will also give you the motivation you need to stay on track.
Replace bad habits with good habits
Whenever you are breaking a habit or pattern, you create a vacuum in your mind and in your life.
So, when you are faced with the choice to fill that vacuum, your first reaction would be to go back to the same old habit or pattern.
That’s why you must decide first hand on the pattern or habit you will use to fill that vacuum.
Let’s say you want to quit alcohol and in spite of your will to stay away from temptations, you end up in a party having alcohol, try a non-alcoholic drink. You will still have something to drink and it won’t be alcohol as well.
Or if you are trying to quit smoking, when you feel like doing it, go for a walk to deviate your mind.
Love Yourself:
Loving yourself is a big supporter in holding you against the pressure your addiction or bad habits have put on you.
It’s a fight between you vs you.
So when the urge to go back to that addiction and harm yourself will pressurize your system, that is the time when your self-love will help you to pull you out of that hole.
Whenever you feel like giving up, you need to ask yourself whether you really want to spoil your present and future for the sake of instantaneous pleasure.
You need to love yourself enough to stop letting yourself do the damage to your mind, body, and soul.
Avoid relapse
Any addiction will generally involve a relapse unless you are too determined to make that change.
Some people recover from addiction after several relapses while others don’t get into relapse mode even once.
It’s a very individual thing.
You might want to do that for one time just to get that high again but that one time might take you to another time again.
So, avoiding that relapse is the best way to fasten your process of recovery.
Sum up:
Almost all of us have some or other kind of addiction without even knowing about it.
People these days are so addicted to their mobile phones or social media that they can’t stay away from them for a long time.
Their hands will automatically move towards the mobile phone, and they won’t even know that they are addicted to it.
That’s why identification of the problem is the first step.
That can be as small and as missable as a mobile phone addiction or as big and as harmful as smoking, drinking.
But, getting rid of any addiction will have the same process as any addiction impact our brain in the same manner.
- Decide to change
- Pick a clear, Doable, and specific goal
- Small Steps
- Stay away from temptations
- Have a confidant
- Replace bad habits with good habits
- Love Yourself
- Avoid Relapse
