If you are currently suffering from an addiction that is harmful to your health, or simply want to make a life change, know that you don’t have to endure the process of quitting alone. Many people in this country are addicted—some aren’t even aware that they are. Smoking cigarettes, marijuana or chewing tobacco, drinking alcohol, and eating too much overly processed food (all that processed food contains additives like high fructose corn syrup that make your brain want more!) are some common addictions.
Source: FlickrIf you’re ready to break the cycle, read on.
Face your Problem(s)
Drugs are often create the worst addictions because of their powerful chemical effects on the brain and body. The first step to ending an addiction is recognizing that a problem indeed exists. If you don’t see the error in your ways, whatever they maybe, it is unreasonable to assume you will ever be able to change them. Acceptance is often the hardest part, especially for people trying to get rid of an addiction that they have had for a long time. It takes a lot of courage to admit you have a problem, but it can also be therapeutic and life changing.
Can you own your addiction, or do you feel defensive when someone brings up it to you?
Get Help
A helping hand can truly go a long way, and this does not mean you have to seek professional guidance. The worst thing you can do is suffer through in isolated stubbornness in quitting smoking or another addiction. Open up to close friend, a trusted family member, a therapist, your priest, even an online support forum. Open up to someone you feel comfortable with, someone you don’t find judgmental. Having support will help keep you get on track and prevent you from giving up.
Support comes in other forms too. Sometimes you need help forming new habits. If you’re working on quitting dip, for example, you might find that smokeless tobacco alternatives make your goal possible. Cold turkey works for some people, but if it doesn’t work for you, that’s not a sign of weakness. Don’t assume the role of martyr. Accepting help is courageous.
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What’s stopping you from getting support? Pinpoint your apprehension. Take your fear as a challenge and overcome it.
Step by Step
The best piece of advice that can be given to anyone trying to end an addiction is to live day by day. Pace yourself and don’t rush; this process requires patience and willpower. If you skip the chewing tobacco alternatives in favor of the real thing one day, don’t beat yourself up. Tomorrow is a new day, and every little bit of improvement is one step closer to your ultimate goal.
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Your ultimate goal may seem like a destination that you have no idea how to get to. Think of it this way: you can drive across the country in the dark with headlights that only allow you to see so far ahead. You can’t see your destination, but somehow you get there by seeing only what’s right in front of you.