If you’re struggling with addiction, you’re not alone. More than 23 million American adults have struggled with problematic drug usage. Over 14 million American adults have an alcohol use disorder.
Overcoming addiction is no easy task, but it is within reach. Your first step is educating yourself on how to recover from addiction. Keep reading to learn how to overcome addiction.
1. Find the Best Recovery Programs
Addiction recovery is one of the best options for overcoming addiction. No cure-all approach works for every person or every type of addiction.
What helps one person may not help another. An approach that works great for learning how to quit alcohol may not work for overcoming heroin.
There are inpatient, outpatient, and partial hospitalization programs (PHP) to choose from. Familiarize yourself with the pros and cons of these options as well as the PHP requirements.
2. Consider Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is a useful treatment tool for a myriad of addictions. CBT involves speaking with a therapist to help you see unhealthy behavioral patterns and triggers. Therapy will help you learn the coping skills necessary for overcoming your addiction.
You can also combine CBT with other addiction treatments to see better results.
3. Get in the Right Head Space
Before you can change your habits, you need to prepare yourself and your environment. This will look very different depending on what the substance is you’re addicted to.
You will need to go through your home and remove any triggers that may cause you to relapse. Someone with a food addiction will need to go through the cupboards and remove triggering foods. If you have a sexual addiction, disposing of pornography and blocking porn websites may be necessary.
If your addiction is to drugs or alcohol, you need to speak with your doctor. You may need medical intervention when it comes to quitting these substances. Medications can ease some withdrawal symptoms.
Speaking to your doctor is especially important if you also have mental health issues. People with depression or anxiety may find their symptoms worsen during the withdrawal phase. This is not something you want to deal with alone.
4. Find Support
Now is the time to re-evaluate the relationships in your life. It’ll be difficult to stay clean if your friendships revolve around addictive behaviors.
Lean on friends and family members who will support you in your journey. You might consider relationship or family counseling if your addiction put up barriers in your social circle.
You might consider joining a self-help group like Alcoholics or Narcotics Anonymous. These groups will expose you to people who understand what you’re going through. Building a sober social network will prove priceless during your journey to sobriety.
Learning How to Overcome Addiction
Now that you have some ideas on how to overcome addiction, you can begin. Know that the journey won’t always be easy, but it’ll always be worth it. Once you see how good you’ll feel without drugs or alcohol, you’ll want to stay sober and healthy forever.
Keep reading our blogs to learn how to live a healthier lifestyle.
