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Some links in this article are affiliate links. We may earn a small commission if you make a purchase through these links, at no extra cost to you. We only recommend products we find useful to our readersAddiction is a very umbrella term, given the fact that we have so many things and habit that we are addicted to. Smoking, social media or even drug addiction, the possibilities are quite endless. But overcoming them and finding ways to overcome addiction is what matters in the end after all.
Quitting an addiction is never easy. The process is not just taxing mentally but sometimes physically as well. Given everything, it does go without saying that in order to give up an addiction, it is important to ensure that you do know the ways around the same.
By the end of this article, you will have an overall amazing knowledge about how to get rid of the addiction, be it of any kind.
Is Addiction A Disease?
You won’t technically realize this but addiction is actually a disease that involves changes in the functioning of both the body and the brain. The condition does make compulsive use of substances or even conditions that they feel more inclined towards.
According to the National Institute of Drug Abuse (R) (NIDA), Addiction is defined as “a chronic, relapsing brain disease that is characterized by compulsive drug seeking and use, despite harmful consequences.”
Although it is believed to be a disease, there are some people who do view it as a choice. Over the course of years and with the changing medical advancements, people’s outlook on the prospect of addiction has changed as well.
How To Overcome Addiction?
As easy as it is to fall into an addiction, getting over it is just as hard. Not many people realize that they are addicted until it is too late to come back from it.
In order for you to have a better idea about the ways to overcome addiction, we do have some amazing ways that come in handy for tackling the situation valiantly.
1. Stop with the Blame Game
It is very easy to blame the others about a condition that you have been suffering from. It goes without saying that the condition that you are suffering from, addiction, in this case, is not someone else’s fault but your own. Maybe someone else introduced it to you but that doesn’t mean you couldn’t abstain yourself from it in the first place.
There are a number of ways in which one can handle their addiction but the same can’t really happen if you keep on putting the blame on others for no apparent reason.
Own up to your mistakes and the same makes it a lot easier to handle the stress and help quit an addiction effectively without any kind of roadblocks along the way.
2. Write Down the Harmful Effects
One of the hardest parts of the recovery process is technically acknowledging that you have a problem. You would not necessarily realize this but knowing that you are in a problem can be quite good in helping you recover.
Instead of brushing it aside, make a note of the harmful effects of your addiction in a journal. What this does is help you reflect on the consequences that you are bringing about to your life.
Once you are done writing them, read them through and through and let everything sink in. Let yourself know about the consequences and the rest will effectively fall into place.
Take out a pen and just write down what you think are the downsides to the addiction and you will find that it helps a lot in fighting through it and overcoming addiction effectively.
3. Rely on a Book for Assistance
Books are nothing short of a best friend for man. Not many people realize this but books do have the potential to help you learn a lot about the process of recovery that not many people are even aware of.
It is often believed that when you are struggling through a weak spot in your life, the best way to swerve through it is by ensuring that you keep a book by your side to help you through the process.
Holding onto books that depict stories about this does help in fighting through the process even further. Whatever the consequences be, it is quite important to ensure that you don’t let your weakness get the best of you.
4. Seek Pleasure in Things that are Healthy
We are often so clogged up with our thoughts that we do fail to acknowledge our issues altogether. It has been found, especially in substance abuse that people fail to get over their addiction because they base their lives out of it.
In order for overcoming addiction, the best way is to base your happiness out of things and activity that will boost your health and won’t end up doing the complete opposite of it.
This does fall well for every single one of the addiction practices but if you have been struggling along with the addiction for quite some time now, the best way is to seek for healthier alternatives that won’t end up causing harm to your life.
5. Be Realistic about the Expectations
Often times, one of the worst things that make overcoming addiction tough is when you end up having unrealistic expectations. The last thing that you want is to end up suffering through and through with the process.
In order to control or quit an addiction, it is very important for you to be realistic about your expectations. Given the fact of how hard it is to overcome a situation, it is very important to ensure that you understand that failing through the process is a possibility.
Don’t let it deter you from your goals because the failure doesn’t define what or who you are or what you are capable of.
6. Be Patient with the Process and with Yourself
Patience is virtue. In order to successfully be able to recover well and good from the disaster of an addiction, it is important to ensure that you are patient with not just the recovery process but also with yourself through and through.
What this does is help you find a better way to deal and cope that you possibly didn’t even know about. Everything aside, yet another one of the amazing ways to fight through is to know for a fact that it will end up taking you more than one attempt to get everything right.
The process of recovery isn’t easy at all and does take quite a lot of time. The best way to combat the downsides is by ensuring that you take your time and patience through with the process and not let it get the best of you.
7. Make a list of the Positive Changes You want to see
Nobody technically likes to be an addict because not only is it draining, it demands a lot on your health as well.
In order to get over it, the best way is to ensure that you start making a list of the positive things that you want to witness in your life.
When you have goals and aspirations and expectations to look up to, it does make it a lot easier for you to handle the situation through and through and is one of the best ways to overcome addiction.
Imagine a life post addiction and if you assess the entire positive scenario around, it does make handling the overall condition a lot easier than what you would normally expect around.
8. Predict your Weaknesses
When it comes to the addictions, every single person has their triggers and situations that make them more prone to relapse.
If you want to successfully give up addiction, the best way to do so is by ensuring that you identify your weaknesses and triggers that tend to make the situation worse for you.
Often times, there are times throughout the day that make it harder to deal with the addiction. If you have been struggling more with the condition, chances are that you will be well aware of such weaknesses.
In order to overcome them successfully, the best way is to ensure that you jot down those weaknesses and points of “failure”, so you know what to expect and how to handle them accordingly.
9. Indulge in Some Hobbies
One of the primary reasons why it is hard to overcome the addiction is mainly because of the fact that we have too much of things running around in our mind.
Indulging in hobbies is actually an amazing way to handle the problem of addiction because not only does it keep you occupied, it also helps you harness your creativity in a way that is fruitful and effective all along.
Reconnecting with your creative side helps you enjoy the activities that you are indulging in which is one of the reasons why it is always best to ensure that you take your time out and do things that you classify as your hobbies – something that you think brings you peace of mind.
10. Look for Good Recovery Programs
There is an abundance of recovery programs available in the market as of now, the one thing that you do need to ensure and do is to take into account how good the program is.
Don’t simply rely on just about any program just for the sake of it. It is best advised to do proper research and see what works best for you. The one thing that you can do is to search through the best recovery programs around you and get yourself enrolled in that.
Know this for a fact that what works for someone might not necessarily work for you as well. Every person has their individual path to recovery and it is very important to ensure that you focus on getting the same done without letting the setbacks take its course.
11. Workout
Yet another one of the amazing ways to overcome addiction is by working out. This has been found to not just help get rid of the negative string of thoughts that are constantly flowing around in your head.
Exercise is believed to increase the release of endorphins (R) in the body which further helps in getting rid of the gloomy and depressed feeling which is one of the primary roadblocks through the way.
Many of the addicts who have been struggling through and through has confessed stating that indulging in a workout does help them a lot in recovering from the problems effectively.
12. Meditate your Way Through
Last but not least on the list of things on how to overcome addiction is by doing meditation. You might not realize this but meditation does have an amazing way to help you overcome the constant stream of thoughts in your head that you have been struggling through.
Meditation has been found to help you deal with the ongoing struggles that have been making the process of recovery a lot harder to deal with.
If you have been trying to find ways to overcome addiction, the best way to do so is by ensuring that you meditate well and through every day to bring yourself that peace of mind.
Additionally, meditation also takes you to a world where you don’t have to seek happiness because happiness itself is a state of being in there.
Finding effective ways to overcome addiction is not that hard, adhering to them is. It is often hard for addicts to stick to the factors that will help them through. If you have been struggling with the same, the best way to combat it is by believing in yourself and accept the process as it comes.