Substance abuse is a serious mental issue. Addiction can be of various types and can get extremely challenging to get rid of. Let’s review some of the most useful tools that can be used to overcome addiction.
- Socialize (with non-addicts)
Interacting with people without a habit that you’re trying to beat is a very basic yet effective way to overcome it. It works by providing a perspective of how people behave in normal settings and shows that it is possible and easier to normalize than perceived in your head. It also provides motivation and encouragement. In ideal cases, the company provides support and anchorage when it seems that succumbing to your addiction is the only way to survive. - Read
Reading books is a very engaging experience. It keeps your mind from staying in the vicious circle of thinking about your “fix” and you may have a better chance of not succumbing to your craving. Books can serve as wonderful reminders to stay on course. - Being Accountable
Find a friend (or work with your counselor) to whom you can honestly account your feelings, cravings, and indeed, slip-ups. Having such a person to confess to and get feedback from helps us to stay the course and focus on facing reality and not lie to ourselves as addiction tends to make people do. - Work on your weak spots
Contemplate on what triggers your craving psychologically or if there are certain cues that you in the state of mind – an event, occurrence, place, environment, person, feeling, memory, etc. Then see if you create a situation where you are least confronted with those stimuli – especially places and people. - Distract Yourself
You can have a list of “distractions,” activities that can take her mind off of your addiction. It can be anything like crossword puzzles, novels, Sudoku, walking the dog, card games, movies, etc. Like reading, it helps to keep you engaged and from succumbing to your craving. - Exercise
This is extremely helpful. It helps your mental health tremendously to perform light, regular exercises. It is obviously good for your physical health but it also gives you a sense of purpose, motivation, goals, engaging sessions, and a brighter perspective. If done at a gym, it can lead to socializing with healthy people who are likely to motivate you to have a healthier lifestyle and approach to things. The release of endorphins is also thought to help you fight addiction and feel happiness. - Keep a Record
Record your thoughts, your feelings. Jot down accounts of how you faced your craving, how you resisted, or reacted to it -especially your small but important successes overcoming it. If you look back and read your journal entries about your down times, it will give you perspective as to how you’ve fought and how far you’ve come. It will provide an opportunity to build upon that and do even better. - All these tools can help you fight what seems to be an undefeatable enemy within. With some support and persistence, using these tools go a long way in giving you strength in this fight.
