If you want to quit addiction, there are a few things that you need to do. These include identifying your addiction, determining your motivation, finding support, and establishing goals.
Taking these steps can help you fight your addiction successfully. It will also help you stay on track with your progress and prevent you from relapse.
1. Identify Your Addiction
Identifying your addiction and how it affects you is an important step in getting help. It can also help you support a friend or family member who has an addiction.
An addiction to a substance or behavior can lead to negative effects on your life, health, and relationships. Identifying your addiction is the first step in quitting it. It can take a few months to a year for most people to get through the first stage of recovery, but it’s worth it.
2. Identify Your Motivation
Identifying your motivation to quit is a crucial step in the process of quitting addiction. It determines how you plan to quit your substance abuse and what support system you will rely on during recovery.
Having an external motivator is a great way to keep yourself on track. This can be anything that matters to you, such as a job, a significant other, or your self-image.
3. Identify Your Support System
Whether you are trying to quit drugs, alcohol or other addictions, finding the right support can make the process easier.
A support system is a group of people you can turn to for emotional and practical help. This could be a 12-step program, recovery community or online group.
It’s important to find a support system that works for you and your lifestyle. You may need to try several groups before you find one that’s a good fit.
4. Identify Your Reward System
The reward system is an intricate part of the brain. It helps make activities like eating or falling in love feel pleasurable.
However, addiction can hijack the system by flooding it with more dopamine than is optimal for healthy living. The good news is that you can get back on track and have a better quality of life. The key is to understand what you’re addicted to and learn how to control it.
5. Identify Your Environment
Your environment – where you live, work and socialize – can affect your ability to quit addiction. If you live in an unsafe, chaotic or stressful environment, it’s harder to stick with your recovery goals.
If you’re trying to quit drug use, consider changing your environment to one that is safer and more conducive to sobriety. Get rid of anything that reminds you of your substance abuse and make sure to avoid places where you might be tempted to relapse.
7. Identify Your Goals
If you’re serious about quitting addiction, it’s important to set specific goals. Addiction recovery is a long process, so setting small, achievable goals can help you stay on track.
Be sure to include short-term, medium-term and long-term goals in your addiction recovery plan. These goals can be as simple as getting more sleep or as complex as reconnecting with your family.
8. Identify Your Reward System
The reward system of the brain is a group of structures that help us learn, remember and respond positively to stimuli. They include the striatum (the centre of the brain that produces feelings of reward and pleasure), the amygdala and the dopamine pathways.
The reward system can be activated by a variety of stimuli including food, sex and drugs. It’s important to identify your reward system and find ways to overcome your cravings.
9. Identify Your Environment
A lot of people who use drugs or alcohol have trouble quitting because they are in an environment that encourages their addiction. So it is important to identify what environment you are living in and how to change it.
Identify the things that trigger your addiction and eliminate them from your life. This will help you quit easily. It will also help you avoid relapses.
10. Identify Your Schedule
Identifying your schedule and how you spend your time can make quitting that much easier. For example, you might want to consider cutting back on social engagements that might trigger your addiction. Having a supportive network is also helpful. Getting help from your health care provider may be your best bet for a successful quit. This could include prescription medications, behavioral therapy and counseling.