How to Overcome Addiction

A quick guideline to defeating your inner demons

Sources: Лечение Наркомании on Pixabay, & Yogendra Singh and Erik Mclean on Unsplash

“Everything in excess is opposed to nature.” — Hippocrates

Under the wrong circumstances, you can become addicted to almost anything you can imagine.

You may develop an unhealthy dependency on electronic devices, social media, texting, television, video games, food, and shopping. You may get hooked with the adrenaline rush that comes with gambling and betting. You can even become obsessed with activities that are universally regarded as positive, such as physical exercise, sexual intimacy, and hard work. The spectrum of substance and behavioural addictions is so wide that an entire docuseries based on it has been produced.

The perils of addiction are everywhere, and everyone is at risk of it: your neighbor next door, the homeless person sleeping on the sidewalk, or even your local preacher. Addiction doesn’t care about age, gender, sexual orientation, ideology, ethnicity, or socio-economic status.

Even wealthy celebrities like Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Amy Winehouse have sadly lost their lives in their battle with addiction. Others have managed to overcome their cravings, like Robert Downey Jr, who’s been clean from drugs and alcohol since 2003, Drew Barrymore, who recovered from her childhood cocaine addiction, and Terry Crews, who successfully broke his longtime pornography obsession.

That’s right: addiction can be kicked with the right incentive, motivation, willpower, and fair share of help. But before we get to that, we need to make sure we have a clear understanding of what an addiction is and how it works.

What can be considered an addiction?

A practice or a behavior qualifies as an addiction if:

• The afflicted individual irrationally prioritizes that practice or behavior over more immediate and important activities, such as eating, resting, driving, studying, or working.
• The afflicted individual spends questionable amounts of time and money on that practice or behavior.
• The afflicted individual withdraws from family and friends and neglects personal or professional responsibilities because of that practice or behavior.
• The afflicted individual continues engaging in that practice or behavior despite evident decline in physical or mental health.
• The afflicted individual experiences withdrawal symptoms when that practice or behavior is stopped or reduced in intensity. Such symptoms include (but are not limited to) anxiety, depression, pain, mood swings, irregular heartbeat, hallucinations, tremors, and disrupted sleeping patterns.

How does addiction work?

Let’s be clear about something: it isn’t a substance or an activity that a person can become addicted to. It’s the physiological and psychological response accompanying the consumption of said substance or the execution of such business that constitutes the addiction. For instance:

• Someone who’s addicted to eating doesn’t crave for the food itself, but for the chemical and emotional high they experience when they eat. According to WebMD, food triggers the production of dopamine, giving the addicted a feeling of pleasure that, once it’s over, creates the need for more.
• According to Healthline, the same dopamine-fueled thrill is generated by the nicotine in cigarettes. A similar phenomenon occurs with shopping-addiction as stated by Ruth Engs, EdD, professor of Applied Health Science at Indiana University.
• Bullying is considered a form of addiction, according to Ronald Bibace in his book Curing Bullying. As such, a bully isn’t addicted to tormenting people, but to the emotional high that comes with it. Michael Friedman Ph.D. from Psychology Today, explains that bullies experience great satisfaction in asserting dominance over others and in receiving positive reinforcement from their peers. This reward is what they crave, and they get it by engaging in abusive behavior directed at those they perceive as weaker than they are.

The four key elements for effective recovery

Breaking an addiction is not easy, but it’s doable. For starters, you need the right mindset and a healthy amount of the following key elements:

1. Acknowledgment: Cliched as it may sound, acknowledging you have an addiction problem is the first step to overcoming it. Addiction usually creates a state of self-deception that makes people believe they’re in control of circumstances when it is invariably the other way around.
2. Determination: Wanting to break an addiction is not enough. Talking about it all the time will get you nowhere, either. Your journey to complete recovery will be long and difficult, but it’s worth it if only you muster the courage to take the first step. Remember: Where there’s a will, there’s a way.
3. Commitment: Jeff Olson, the author of The Slight Edge, argues that the main reason we go through setbacks on the way to fulfilling our goals is that we stop doing whatever it is that made us advance in the first place. It’s like trying to stay afloat in the sea. As soon as you stop swimming, you start sinking back down.
   Think of your recovery as an all-out war against your inner demons: the only way to win is to be relentlessly aggressive in each of your battles. Take a “break” from your struggle and your addictions will start gaining the upper hand again.
4. Patience: Even in the best of circumstances, a full recovery can take months, if not years. Don’t be discouraged if this process takes longer than you expected. All good things in life require patience, and this is no exception.

How to overcome your substance or behavioral addiction

Get help, counseling, and therapy

Confessing your addiction problems to others is not easy. Marta Beck, writer of O, The Oprah Magazine argues that confessing your darkest secrets to another human being is one of the most difficult, yet most liberating things you can do. However, she recommends confiding in a therapist or an advisor before you approach your loved ones, as the former are more likely to react calmly compared to those who are directly affected by your actions.

The point is, you should involve others in your recovery. Surround yourself with people who love you unconditionally and support you through thick and thin. Make sure you follow your therapist’s instructions strictly and that you never skip appointments. Not only will you be showing respect to them, but you’ll also be reinforcing your commitment to breaking your addiction.

Be ready to deal with temptation

The trick to managing temptation is having a clear understanding of what happens to your body and mind when you give in to your urges and cravings. Rebecca Gladding M.D., the co-author of You Are Not Your Brain, argues that increasing your awareness of your addictions and refusing to give in to them is key to changing your behavior.

In the end, no matter how much you try to stay away from the object of your addiction, temptation will eventually present itself before you. Be on your guard: it’s on these occasions that your willpower, commitment, and determination will be put to the test.

My father-in-law is a former alcoholic who’s been sober for the last twenty-one years. Some time ago, my fiancée (now wife) and I bought a bottle of non-alcoholic cider and offered him a glass of it. Even after explaining to him the drink was perfectly safe for his consumption, he refused to even try it, as he feared the taste of cider alone could revive his addiction. Talk about strong convictions!

Keep yourself busy

One of the biggest challenges throughout recovery is keeping your mind away from your addiction. According to social psychologist Daniel Wegner, this can be especially hard, as consciously trying to keep certain thoughts at bay will inevitably — and ironically — brings those thoughts back to mind again.

So how do you trick your brain to stop thinking about your addiction without actively trying not to think about it? The answer is simple: by keeping yourself distracted. Brigitte Granger, a Master in Social and Behavioral Sciences from the Harvard School of Public Health, argues that keeping yourself always busy is the best way to avoid going back to your old ways.

Idle hands are the devil’s workshop, goes the saying. Keep yourself occupied and distracted from whatever it is you’re addicted to. Take up new hobbies. Read a book. Create some art. Spend more time with your family, learn to play a musical instrument, do volunteer work, and carry out new personal projects.

Make necessary lifestyle changes

On top of keeping yourself busy, you will need to get rid of anything representing a source of temptation. For instance, if you’re addicted to social networks, you can uninstall all social media apps from your mobile device, and check your accounts quickly on your computer either in the morning or in the evening.

Also, addiction loves company. According to drugabuse.com, certain friends can make your cravings worse if they insist on justifying and encouraging your self-destructive behaviors. Unsurprisingly, people attempting to recover from alcoholism or substance abuse often relapse as they give in to the peer pressure to go to a bar to have “a few drinks,” or to one of their houses to try “just a little bit of their new stuff.”

When it comes to overcoming your addictions — especially substances — , there’s no such thing as “just a few drinks” or “just a little bit.” Therefore, significant lifestyle changes must include getting a new social circle and avoiding specific places or circumstances that facilitate and encourage relapsing episodes.

Find new ways to cope with stress

Addictions often originate as a way to deal with the stress of everyday life. However, according to Lawrence Robinson, Melinda Smith, M.A., and Robert Segal, M.A. from Helpguide, the relief provided by addictions is only temporary, as it merely masks the issues at hand instead of effectively clearing the mind to deal with life problems head-on.

This is why the incorporation of stress-relieving activities into your recovery program is essential. Start practising meditation and gratitude, let go of anger and resentments, adopt a healthier diet, get enough sleep, get in touch with the natural world, and take up a moderate physical exercise routine (preferably supervised by a physician). Your body and soul will thank you.

Sign up for a medical detoxification program (if necessary)

If your addiction is based on substance abuse, then you might need a proper detoxification procedure. According to Kristina Ackermann, the Director of Content at American Addiction Centers and an expert in the field of substance abuse, detoxification is a natural bodily function carried out by cells in the liver, the digestive system, and the kidneys. However, when a substance has been used extensively, or it is too powerful for the body to handle naturally, then a medical detox program is necessary.

Now, even though there are different detoxification methods (including rapid home kits of questionable efficacy), your best option is to leave it to the health professionals. High-quality medical drug detox comes with medication, close monitoring, and personal therapy to manage withdrawal symptoms effectively. You won’t get any of these benefits from a rapid home kit, or by simply going cold turkey.

Finally, a few tips for a faster and more effective recovery:

1. Forgive yourself: Understand that having an addiction doesn’t make you a bad person. After all, you’re only human and as such, you’re prone to make mistakes. You might feel ashamed of yourself now, but once you’ve overcome your addictions, you will be able to lead a normal life again and that’s worth more than all the money in the world.
2. Be mentally prepared for some failure: You’re likely to end up giving in to temptation more than once. Don’t be discouraged when this occurs. Just because you lost a battle doesn’t mean you’ve lost the war.
3. Don’t get cocky: Overcoming your cravings doesn’t mean you’ve developed immunity to them. When you have an addiction history, all you need is a moment of weakness, arrogance, or poor judgment and all you have accomplished can be undone in an instant. Many people have fallen for this trap. Don’t join their ranks.
4. Watch out for replacement addictions: You can effectively kick a self-destructive behavior and inadvertently adopt an alternative one in the process. This is often the case of former substance users who become obsessed with otherwise normal activities, like sex, shopping, or video games. The idea is getting rid of your addiction, not trading it for another.

Bottom line

Substance and behavioral addictions bring people to ruin. Once you’ve lost control, getting your life back on track can be a real challenge. Many before you have tried and failed miserably, and they’ve paid a high price for it.

However, it is never too late to turn things around. Many before you have also succeeded in breaking this cycle and now their voices whisper to your ears: “Don’t let your life go to waste.” In the end, your fate is in your hands, and the decision is yours to make. Never forget that.