How to Break Any Addiction
- 1). Choose to do what is best for you and your life. The first step is always admitting that you must change in order to lead a healthier, happier life. It is a hard choice to make, but it is the most important first step.
- 2). Make it personal. Every journey is different, and when trying to break any addiction, it must be a series of personal choices to make to go from addicted to recovered. Make your recovery personal by keeping a journal of your ups and downs or keeping a calendar of your steps to show your progress.
- 3). Enlist the help of a professional. Especially when dealing with physical addictions, in order to break the cycle you must get help to find the root of your problem. Counselors and mental health professionals have the right tools to help you find what your reasons are for turning to any addiction.
- 4). Talk to your family and friends. Once addiction strikes, the person addicted tends to shut their loved ones out of their lives. Break any addiction by reconnecting with those you love to find the strength to kick the habit.
- 5). Remove yourself from temptation. If you are an alcoholic or shopaholic, you must give yourself time to recover by redirecting your free time to places that can't tempt you to relapse. Steer clear of bars, shopping malls or other addicting hang outs to break any specific addiction.
- 6). Change your routine. Habitual addictions are those that take up your free time, and they are the ones that allow you to redirect your thoughts from the things that upset you. Choose to take a walk, exercise or hang out with loving friends to help you break any addiction.
- 7). Give yourself a pep talk when you feel the need to relapse. Recovery is never easy no matter what you are addicted to, and there are times when you feel the need to return to an old crutch. Talk yourself down by reinforcing the positive steps you have taken and list the advantages of not returning to the addictive substance or activity.
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