Addiction is a difficult disease. It is an involuntary habitual dependence, whether physiological or psychological, on substances or practices. Addiction, which may also be called dependency, may be to physical substances such as drugs and alcohol, as well as to activities such as gambling, internet usage, exercise and sex. While many people engage in these substances and activities without becoming addicted, others are driven by involuntary compulsive tendency towards them.
A habit is an action that is done by choice. A person with a specific habit can choose to engage or stop whenever they so wish. On the contrary, addictions have no element of choice. Addicted persons cannot control their interaction with the activities or substances to which they are addicted, whether that’s an addiction to synthetic drugs or natural. Habits can develop into addictions, whereby the element of choice is lost.
The perception that addicts are weak-minded people who cannot overcome their choices is misplaced. Addiction is a disease, which is difficult to overcome. Beating addiction needs self motivation, as well as support from the people around you.
Generally, fighting addiction has some consequences of withdrawal. Addicts are likely to experience loneliness, a permanent state of restlessness, long hours of a depressed mood and constant craving of their addictive substance or activity.
Addiction, especially to certain substances, may have serious withdrawal effects. For instance, oxycontin withdrawal may feature agitation, anxiety attacks, heavy stomach problems and vomiting. Such effects make attempts to end addiction may to be difficult. Addicts might also be tempted to go back to the activity or substance that in order to overcome these withdrawal effects.
Beating addiction does not have to be about fighting alone. You can fight addiction for yourself and for others by creating a culture that addresses addiction before it is even a problem. Preventing its occurrence will save more people from addictive behaviors and activities than seeking to rehabilitate them from their addiction.
Any community can do this by using four key guides, which are explained below.
Preventing addiction in your community
Your community can help to control the development of addition by implementing these steps to address the problem before it develops. First, it should create an association of peers which support everyone within the community. This will reduce the likelihood of negative peer relationships, which will reduce the likelihood of exposure to addictive substances and activities.
The community can make addiction awareness programs part of the daily routine. By keeping vigilant on the disease, the community can ensure that people understand addiction from a young age. They will be better placed to identify addiction and potentially addictive behavior, and avoiding it as a result.
Addiction can be to behavior and activities that are not illegal. The community can identify such sources of addiction and socially disapprove of these activities and behavior even while accepting their legality. This will discourage people from engaging in these behaviors and activities, which will reduce the likelihood of addiction.
Families can help to sharpen refusal skills by allowing people to exercise refusal to anything that they might consider as addictive. In so doing, people will develop the ability to say no to the things they might consider as addictive.
This culture and awareness will help to address addiction without waiting for it to become a problem in the first place. Addiction may still exist even despite these efforts. This nine-step program will help you to beat addiction.
How to beat addiction in nine steps
It is important to realize that the treatment of addiction can be very difficult for the person experiencing it. Dedication on the part of an addict is needed to ensure the maximum benefit and effect. Support from people around you can also enhance your ability to overcome an addiction.
Commitment to overcoming addiction
The difference between successfully overcoming an addiction and relapsing back into it is in the willingness to identify your problem and desire to change it. Since addition denies you a choice, identifying it and having the willingness to overcome it are the biggest steps in the process. This part of the process of it comes from the addicted persons, who must be driven by the desire to improve their own lives
If this motivation does not come from within, you could easily fail to realize the need for improvement or the effects of the addiction, which would create a never ending cycle of attempts to overcome it. As an addict, you must be willing to accept that you have a problem and be willing to change. You can do this by writing down a permanent reminder.
Identify weaknesses
The second step involves the prediction of weaknesses and creating of workable solutions to overcome them. As an addiction you must be ready to accept that you have weaknesses and identify the possible places in which you might encounter a difficult time in staying away from your addiction.
By doing this you will unlikely to succumb to falling back to your addictive behaviors or activities.
Be accountable to somebody else
You must recognize the difficulty of beating addiction alone. Support for addicts is a concept that has been used by anonymous addiction groups successfully to address the problem of control.
By being accountable to someone else, you will be less likely engage in addictive behaviors and activities. Accountability is important, but it must combine with the first two steps to be successful.
Finding a good environment
The importance of security items such as a good environment should be emphasized. This will create a barrier between yourself and the source of addiction.
Finding healthy alternatives
Healthy alternative activities can help distract you from your addictions. Taking part in healthy substitutes will also improve your relationships with others and enable you to find activities that will replace your addiction. In the long run, these activities will help you permanently overcome the need to engage in your addictive activities or behaviors.
Acknowledge the process
Remember to celebrate milestones and keep records of your progress in overcoming addiction. This will remind you of the progress made, as well as the rewards at stake. It will also help by challenging you to improve yourself further.
Set a high standard
Set a high standard and avoid any rationalization. You’ve come this far into giving up your addiction, you can do it! Avoid any company that makes engaging in your addictive behaviors or substances seem ideal. This will keep you from falling back into addiction.
It is okay to fail, but remember to learn
Overcoming addiction can be tough. You could be tempted at any point in time as you try to beat it. In case you do, remember that it is okay to fail. You can embrace failure, understand where you failed and improve on these points of weakness.
Abstain
The last step in beating addiction is to abstain from the addictive substance or behavior. You are committed to ensuring that you overcome addiction, have already identified your weaknesses, found a healthy distraction, created a good environment and set a high standard for yourself. You have created conditions for choice, which your addiction denies you. Choose to abstain.
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