Is It Possible To Completely Get Rid Of An Addiction?
Is it possible to completely get rid of an addiction? If you are struggling with addiction or know someone who needs help with addiction, this is an important question. Find out more about the ways people can overcome an addiction.
Why is Addiction Hard to Quit?
Substance use disorder is a chronic disease that affects a lot of people. However, you can be addicted to many things, including alcohol, sex, gambling, shopping, drugs and eating.
Essentially, an addiction makes you feel better and strong about yourself. However, it is nearly impossible to overcome an addiction if you don’t have the right people. For starters, addiction affects the brain, making it hard for substance abusers to fight an addiction.
Is it possible to completely get rid of an addiction? The simple answer to this question is YES. It is possible for someone addicted to a drug to get rid of it completely.
However, it is crucial to emphasize that an addict needs professional help to avoid and stop using drugs. The first step to getting help is ACCEPTANCE. You need to accept that you have an addiction problem and seek help.
If you cannot seek help from your friends or family members, consider seeking professional help from a therapist, doctor or rehab professional.
Depending on the substance you are using or how long you have been abusing the product, it is easier to choose the right professional and determine the right approach to curb addiction.
Since it is possible to overcome addiction, here are crucial tips you should follow:
Focus on your addiction
Firstly, you need to know how addiction affects you personally and professionally. Take your time to determine how using drugs affects how you relate to other people.
Drugs affect your social life. However, if you are addicted to drugs, you will eventually affect your social and professional life.
For example, if you fail to report to work or attend your daughter’s birthday or son’s soccer game when high, you have an addiction problem. Although most people do not seek professional help, failure to deal with your social and professional side is a call for help.
Change your environment
It is not easy dealing with addiction, but if you know what you want or dealing with, you can make it.
Those dealing with addiction find it hard to deal with others because they already have a niche of people they deal with and relate to.
While this might seem obvious, it is not. If you want to eliminate any addiction, you must change your environment.
Therefore, if you have a problem gambling, abusing drugs or having sex, you must avoid being in the company of people who indulge in such activities.
Environmental change helps you understand the importance of change and why you should embrace it. Take your time to determine all the positive reasons you need to get rid of an addiction to embark on the journey effectively.
Distract yourself
Do you have hobbies? Most people who end up abusing drugs or getting addicted to other things change their lifestyles to accommodate other things.
We all have our likes and dislikes. Be that as it may, if you know what you like doing, it is easier to spend your time and money achieving it. For example, if you are addicted to sex, you should avoid watching pornography.
On the other hand, if you like shopping or eating, you should avoid visiting malls and fast food chains.
The main objective is to distract yourself or engage in other things or hobbies. You can opt to travel, work out or read instead of engaging in addictive behavior.
Remember, it takes time and resources to distract yourself and adopt a new behavior. If you choose to exercise and distract yourself, you can:
- Improve your sleep
- Reduce stress & tension
- Reduce cravings
- Increase your self-esteem and self-control
- Improve your brain functioning
- Improve your heart health Create a network
We all need help at some point in our lives. If you have an addiction problem, consider talking to your family, friends and colleagues.
It is crucial to be open and let them know you have an addiction problem and want to quit.
If you have a drug addiction problem, you should consider telling your dealer that you want to quit and that they should not call or sell you drugs anymore.
A support network helps you avoid all the addiction avenues. It is easier to deal with addiction with professional help.
Know your triggers
While some people cannot function without using drugs, others are triggered by people, things or places to use drugs.
Knowing your triggers makes it easier to avoid or prevent using drugs. For example, if you have a problem with substance abuse, avoid people or places that promote the sale or use of drugs.
Also, if you are addicted to shopping, do not withdraw lots of cash, visit shopping avenues or spend time with people who like shopping.
It might seem like an easy fix, but knowing and evading your trigger is a real problem if you have an addiction. Some people have addiction problems resulting from the following:
- Stress
- Isolation
- Mental or physical illness
- Environmental cues
- Uncomfortable situations or emotions
- Financial circumstances
Acceptance
Although getting past an addiction is difficult, acceptance is the first healing step.
You must accept the fact that you are addicted and call for help. Feeling guilty and shameful for your addiction and past behaviors is okay and natural.
However, you can accept and make positive changes as you embrace your recovery journey.
You obviously wronged numerous people, but grace and long-term resolution come with acceptance.
Remember, we all need time, motivation, and support to achieve our dreams. If that’s the case with your addiction journey, do not shy off from accepting and seeking all the help you need.
Overcoming an addiction is never easy, but with professional help, you can do it. The key to getting rid of an addiction is time, patience and managing your expectation. It is crucial to understand that things do not just fall into place.
However, you can get rid of addiction with the right approach and support. Ideally, there is no one-size-fits-all!
Therefore, what might work for you might not work for someone else. Therefore, find the best approach for your addiction needs to cope with your addiction effectively.
We hope this article was able to answer your questions about: What are the five signs of addiction?
If you want to discover more information about addiction, follow the link to our other pages on this topic.
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