Discover with Terappin Psychologists: List of Tips to Get Rid of Addictions

Phone, lover, parents, gambling, drugs or alcohol, chocolate, people? Which one suits you or is your addiction to something that is not among these?

Is your addiction consuming you and destroying your relationships with the people around you? Do you want to get rid of this? Then let’s talk a little about addiction.

Addiction is a situation created by many factors coming together. From the moment of birth, a person begins to learn and become open to the influences of the outside world. Throughout this process, he has to develop a coping method to protect himself against the situations he is exposed to. Whether this coping method he developed is healthy or unhealthy; The environment in which one lives, parental attitudes, and sociocultural environment closely affect it. Parents’ unhealthy attitudes towards their children, a history of addiction in any family member, dangerous friend choices, an unsuccessful educational life, and the society’s perspective on addiction are among the factors that may pose a risk.

According to the Turkish Addiction Fighting (TBM) Training Program, addiction is the loss of control over an object used or an action performed by a person. When the frequency of use/behavior is reduced or stopped, withdrawal symptoms such as restlessness, insomnia, and anger occur. Ögel (2018) states that addiction; It is defined as a person losing control over a substance, alcohol, object or behavior (action) he/she uses. Any substance used or behavior performed uncontrollably carries the risk of addiction. People can be addicted to many things in life. Example: substance, alcohol, cigarettes, gambling, technology, any item or behavior.

If addiction has entered your life and you want to get rid of it, some changes may occur while you try to quit.

• You try to quit, but as your guard drops, the addiction relapses.
• As you try to stop the addiction, you experience withdrawal and you withdraw, thinking that the thing that will be good for you will happen again.
• Addictive thing changes your brain’s reward system and you think there will be no alternative to this reward.

Addiction can negatively impact your life and harm you and your relationships with the people around you. However, it is possible to overcome addiction and reduce this possible harm. Now let’s talk about some tips that can help you get rid of your addiction.

 

Tips You Can Try to Get Rid of Addictions

1. Decide to Quit

Admitting that a change is necessary means that you acknowledge that there is a problem and that you have a desire to address it.

 

2. Write Your Reasons for Wanting to Change

Finding your why can influence your decision and motivate you on the days when you feel like giving up. Take a piece of paper and write down all the disadvantages of your addiction. You can also make a list of the positive changes you want in your life to help keep you motivated and committed to your quit goal. Your list might include motivations such as:

• Spending more time with friends and family
• a new hobby
• dream job
• A better quality of life
• More financial gain, savings
• Feeling proud and confident
• feeling of freedom

 

3. Set a Quit Date

You don’t have to give up, but you can choose a date that makes sense to you to increase your motivation.

 

4. Make a Plan to Deal with Triggers

We all have triggers that make us want to fall into bad habits, which can include addiction. For example, if you are addicted to gambling, you may have a hard time passing by a casino. Knowing your triggers will help you face them when it’s time to let go. These triggers can be:

• Stress
• Certain occasions, such as parties or other social gatherings
• certain persons and,
• A restaurant that serves alcohol can be a trigger, so spend less time around them

 

5. Clear History and Change Environment

Memories allow us to remember addictions.

• Close your eyes and try to remember your first addiction experience. For example, the first day you smoked. You went to a shop and bought a cigarette. You have this memory because it was the first experience. Now imagine the same experience but without buying cigarettes. Buy something else in the store. Try to move away from the trigger.
• You have many memories related to addiction. Try to remember them. Reconstruct your memory by moving away, even if only imaginatively, from the addiction in the memory you remember.

 

Remove anything that reminds you of your addiction from your home and workplace. For example, keep yourself separate from people who might encourage you to become involved with the object of your addiction (drugs, alcohol, or behavior). If you’re trying to stop drinking, get rid of alcohol, bottle openers, wine glasses and corkscrews. If you’re trying to quit gambling, put away any playing cards, scratch tickets or poker chips. Also, do not allow others to use or bring reminders of addiction-related substances or behaviors into your home.

 

6. Create a Support Network for Yourself

Overcoming your addiction will be easier if you have a lot of support. Having people around you can make things easier and help you stay motivated to achieve your goals. Surround yourself with family, friends and loved ones who will be there for you. Join social support networks (Self-help groups: Alcoholics Anonymous, Green Crescent, etc.).

 

7. Decide If You Want to Quit Suddenly or Gradually

Some people prefer to quit on the first day. However, this can be dangerous for some addictions, such as alcohol, or it may be too fast for you. In this case, reduce your addiction little by little over a few weeks. For most people, this makes quitting easier.

 

8. Manage Stress by Filling Your Time with Useful Activities

To make it easier to stick to your goal, focus on doing things that make you happy, distractions will help you change.

• Sports and arts activities
• Spend time with friends
• Doing things that make you happy, such as cooking, reading books, watching your favorite TV series/movies, at home, which is your comfort zone.
• Discovering and traveling new places
• Yoga and meditation exercises
• Being interested in a genre of music or learning to play an instrument
• Keep a diary

 

9. Forgive Yourself If You Relapse and Celebrate Your Small Successes

If you experience a relapse, review what happened and determine what you can do to prevent it from happening again. Then, get up and start again.

• If you make a mistake, don’t let guilt and shame take over. You’re doing the best you can and all you can do is keep at it.
• Relapses are steps forward in the process and you should not think of them as failures. It takes time for new habits to fully take effect. Just keep going.
• When you reach a goal, do something nice for yourself and celebrate each milestone in your journey.
• You can celebrate every day or every week as a milestone.

 

10. Get Professional Support

There are many different treatments, including medical and psychological approaches, that can help you through the process of overcoming an addiction. Although some approaches are better supported by research than others, the “right” addiction treatment for each individual may differ.

• Psychotherapy
• Medication
• Group Therapies
• Hospital Support under Psychiatric Control

When it comes to addiction recovery, there is no one-size-fits-all approach. Lifestyle changes, behavior therapy, medications, and mutual support groups can all play a role in your treatment, but it’s important to find the approach that best suits your needs. Long-term recovery is an ongoing process of facing life and coping with addiction without retreating into addictive behaviors.