Before understanding how to overcome addiction, let’s define: what exactly can be called an addiction? How to get rid of food alcohol smoking internet or other addiction forever.
Addiction is a thing (action/substance/product) that has the following characteristics:
Addiction changes your habitual behavior.
Abandoning the subject of addiction gives you physical and/or psychological discomfort. You begin to feel anxiety of one degree or another. For example, if you refuse social networks, you realize that it was your own decision, but at the same time your mind starts frantically looking for excuses — why you still need to go there and check the situation.
Or when we decide to give up coffee, but on the first morning without this drink, we constantly think about it. Physiological discomfort is classic withdrawal symptoms in the form of headaches, sleep disorders, increased nervousness, mood swings, fatigue of an “unexplained” nature.
The subject of addiction appears in your life with the same frequency. That is, this is what you do every day, every Sunday, every evening. In general, when you start a routine course of things in a relationship with this thing / substance / action, then dependence is born.
And if this ritual cannot be performed for some reason, then you also begin to suffer and get nervous.(For example, you sometimes smoke a cigarette for the company of a friend, and if this happens outside of some scheme, then most likely you do not have dependence on cigarettes yet).
By the way! There may also be dependencies on useful things/substances! For example, many people, having started eating right, can no longer stop, and every bun with raisins, accidentally eaten under the influence of stress, takes them out of balance.
(1) -“Despite these issues and concerns, it has also been acknowledged that for some individuals, ‘food addiction’ may be the most appropriate diagnosis for their symptoms and it may help to inform their treatment. The available evidence suggests, therefore, that some individuals are capable of experiencing an addictive-type relationship with food, although the majority of individuals who compulsively overeat are unlikely to receive such a diagnosis. Considering the underlying causes of impulsive overeating has also led to the development of some exciting and potentially effective interventions. While there are differences between the addictive characteristics of food and illicit substances, there are many parallels that should not be ignored. These parallels have contributed greatly to our current knowledge of compulsive overeating and potential treatments. Both the similarities and differences should encourage more research, which is necessary to determine the extent and potential impact of such a disorder. Until then, the idea of ‘food addiction’ is expected to remain hotly debated.”
In general, now it has become clear to us what addiction is. Now let’s decide what to do with it and how to overcome it (possibly).
Step #1: Admit that you have an addiction
The classic way to solve any problems is to first admit that they exist. Therefore, to begin with, admit that there is an addiction, and the absence of these things will make your life not so beautiful and make you nervous.
Step #2: Write a list of why you need to overcome it
You will need this list of how to overcome addiction in order for you to read it in time and remember what it was all about. The motivator list. Here it is important to bring the search for motivation to the end.
It may well turn out that already at this stage you will change your mind about giving up sweets / cigarettes / alcohol / social networks. And that a cup of coffee in the morning in silence is associated with something super pleasant for you. You are not at all ready to give it up for some ephemeral increase in energy. So at this stage everything will become clear.
Step #3: Choose a disposal strategy. How to get rid of food alcohol smoking internet or other addiction forever.
Choose which method of action is closer to you. There are 2 options:
To refuse abruptly, in one fell swoop, knowing full well that it would be very bad, but not for long. This time depends on the subject and the degree of your dependence, as well as on the characteristics of the psyche and physiology. Someone suffers without cigarettes for only a couple of weeks, and someone can seriously suffer for a whole month: with physical malaise, psychological severe discomfort and similar troubles.
You can give up gradually. It sounds very comfortable. I want to warn you right away: in this case, the physical and psychological breakdowns will be calmer, but the rejection process will increase. Because you will have to test your willpower for strength for a long time.
Step #4: Get ready
Prepare methods of distraction from temptations in advance. But this is just a period when you will have to go through the first, most difficult period of struggle with addiction.
In addition, remove all temptations away! A week off the grid will be very sobering. By the way, I think that if you refuse cigarettes, this will also be a good option: to go where there are no cigarettes and there is nowhere to buy them.
Step #5: Don’t think it’s easy. Appreciate the addiction. How to get rid of food alcohol smoking internet or other addiction forever.
Most good initiatives end in failure because people underestimate the scale of the event. Only by seriously tuning into the process will you be able to get rid of your addiction. Please don’t think that it will be easy. If it were easy, then you would have already stopped at point #1, having found that there is no dependency.
Step #6: Determine the time of the fight
Having studied the experience of other people who have successfully abandoned similar addictions, choose for yourself the time — how much you plan to devote yourself to this struggle. For example, those who quit smoking are not recommended to return to cigarettes for at least a year. If you refuse sweets and caffeine, it is not recommended to use them for 2-3 months.
Step #7: act according to the planned strategy
Now it’s time to act. Here I recommend reading the written motivator from point 2 a couple of times a day to remind yourself why you started all this. It is also necessary to praise yourself, encourage and reward yourself with something useful and pleasant.
The rewards must be real! They should really please you. It is necessary to choose something that has been dreamed of for a long time, but then it was a pity for money, then there was no time. Because rewards should motivate!
What’s next?How to get rid of food alcohol smoking internet or other addiction forever.
Then you will have to be on the alert for some time and monitor your reaction to the objects of your former addiction. In general, now you can enjoy life. The only difference will be that now you will be in control of the situation. And the question “how to overcome addiction?” — won’t get in your way anymore.
(1) – National Library of Medicine (US); Food Addiction: Implications for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Overeating; Rachel C. Adams, Jemma Sedgmond, Leah Maizey, Christopher D. Chambers, and Natalia S. Lawrence; Published online 2019 Sep 4.
