9 Tips On How To Overcome Any Addiction
When we discuss freeing ourselves from addiction a negative stigma is attached to it. Obsession or extreme dependence of one to a substance or activity when removed from the daily life causes tremendous ‘withdrawal’ symptom(s) to the subject even to a point when a choice is given to choose between death or deprivation of the substance or activity the former is chosen. This is what I call addiction.
Stroke victims who suffered damage in the region of the brain called insula lost their desire for tobacco. In other words, all addicts have had somehow formed deep pattern of ‘behaviour’ imprinted in the brain by receptors by their continual habitual behavior. Scientist recently found out by chemically blocking these receptors significantly reduces nicotine addiction.
Game addicts are actually compulsive gamers according to Mr Keth Bakker – the founder and head of Europe’s first and only clinic to treat gaming addicts. He says that the gaming is an avenue where a child felt accepted in the virtual world. Agreement is seldom received in a teenager’s life as the parent is always right.
Ask what you are addicted to? To solve the problem a problem need to be identified. The signs of alcoholism are not easy to identify. Alcoholism is when a person is dependent on alcohol, experiences a loss of control when drinking alcohol and exhibits compulsive use of the substance. So what specific behaviour you will want to get rid from your life? – Are you drinking too much coffee? Are you glued to online for 12 to 15 hours a day? Are you addicted to pornography? Are you eating way too much? Are you drinking 2 litres of cola drink in a day? Are you smoking 2 cigarettes packet a day? Are you abusing drugs?
Some addiction are realised by the society through advertisement by the media. For example drug addiction. In ancient China and in many parts of Asia opium smoking is a culture and practice. But, the negative result of opium is lethargy which is non productive to any economy. So it was banned and those who smoke were given a ‘cold turkey’.
Chinese Authorities have identified that internet use in their country is adversely affecting economic productivity in the country. They went further to propose that the use of internet is an addiction and a mental disease which is treatable. This has triggered a furious dispute among the 250 million Chinese internet users.
On a personal level, we need to gauge our behaviour towards a substance or an activity to define whether we are addicted to it. The key to do this shall be as follows:
- What is the percentage of our daily hours are spent to this activity?
- How frequently are we using this substance, for example drinking of coffee, smoking tobacco?
- How the activity has been changing your social behaviour and your body chemistry?
- Can you go without the activity or the substance?
- What is the opinion of the government with regard to the substance or an activity?
Any Substitute?
Identifying a problem is the most difficult part than problem solving. If point A is the problem then avoid it.
In the world most of us are not driven by goal or goals. A person without a goal system will live a mediocre, boring and unfulfilled life. We need to do something to ‘kill’ our time in this world. In Canada, $25,000 worth of carrot sticks, popcorn and other snacks were handed out this summer to help prisoners in Atlantic Canada kick their smoking habit.
Use comparison when choosing a substitute activity or substance. For example, if you find that you are bound to be tipsy when with friends try avoiding them and seek out a better leisure hour like watching television.
The danger is that the substitute you are seeking can be addictive too. Watching television more than 24 hours a week makes you a conservative personality. Communication needs effort but watching television is effortless. Seek out a substitute against your addiction and have a balance exposure to it.
Change your routine
Nothing changes if you do not change. You will not change unless you change your routine daily life. Obesity is a product of putting too much food into your body and not burning off the extra fat. Eating is the antidote for hunger. But then you change the pattern of your meals per day. Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner are the three meals we usually eat. My suggestion here is to eat every 3 hours 5 times daily and eat less in each cycle.
Your new routine shall be as follows:
- Breakfast
- Pre Lunch
- Post Lunch
- Pre Dinner
- Dinner
If you are an over eater you can spread out your meals 5 times a day with small bites.
Focus on the minus of addiction
When I was 19 years old and entering workforce in the State Land Department in my country I met an interviewer who was in this 40s then asked me why I am interested in the job I am applying. I told him that my mom wanted me to be a bank officer and I told him I am not so sure which one to choose. He was a polio as he walked using crutches but he was stronger mentally. He simply told me to ‘put the plus and minus’. Well from that day onwards plus and minus became my decision making tactics almost in any decision.
Loss of money, time, family, health and being unproductive are the likely result of any kind of addiction.
Anticipate changes
The opposite of addiction is apathy or detachment. An alcoholic who has accepted that there is something wrong with his drinking habit has to take the first step to detach oneself from this addiction. Before he can do this he has to use his power of imagination on what are the things he can expect by the change in his drinking habit.
But the first thing that crosses the mind is how are you going to withstand the pangs of without that ‘sip of your life’? The way to tackle this kind of thinking is to link pleasure of being sober rather than being drunk. How will your life be when you are sober? Write down ten pleasurable results when you are sober.
Stagger and Abstain
In Islamic theology, when the friends of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessing be with him) found a new way to connect to God through 5 times prayer there were incidents that they use to booze before prayers. This was going on for some time and when the instruction came to abstain from intoxicant they fully complied.
When you intend to free yourself from addiction do not carry this out overnight. If you are a smoking two packets a day cut it to only one packet a day. Cut the amount of cigarette from one packet a day to 10 sticks a day. One fine day you will go on with life without a need to light up.
Learn from people with same problem
One great benefit of the internet world is that you can get information quicker than the speed of light. You can join help support group from the net
Unwind your belief system
Most addiction started somehow with wrong belief system. I can remember my grand mother used to tell me when I was young that if I skip dinner I would be losing my ‘elephant’ strength. This misconception has made me by not missing my dinner at all times. Media advertisement also influences our belief system.
In my country Singapore the billboards and all advertisement of cigarettes are banned a long time ago as advertisement is the leading cause to distort our belief system.
Learn to try new things
All babies are born unique with unique talents and abilities. I am sure you are born with unusual talent. Perhaps you can sing well than others, paint a picture better than others, write a poem out of inspiration or tell a story. If you are addicted to something that you know it is difficult to overcome try out a creative passion that you had been doing when you were a child. Whenever you have the urge to fall into the cycle of addiction you can derail it by painting a picture, writing a poem or going for a run.
