Breaking Free: Steps to overcoming addiction and reclaiming your life

Breaking free is no child’s play, there’s always a chance of a relapse and painful withdrawal symptoms.

But you have to know that whatever you’re addicted to may be causing you a lot of harm than you realize and though putting a stop to it may be hard it is a step in the right direction, nothing good comes easy.

So if you’ve decided to work on your addiction here are some steps that can help you out of the rabbit hole in which you find yourself.

Admit that you have a problem; Many people who find themselves in unhealthy patterns have a hard time admitting that they have a problem. ‘I can stop if I want to’ No you can’t that’s why you’re still doing it.

If you don’t admit that there’s an issue then you wouldn’t see the need to deal with the issue. The first step to take in solving a problem is identifying that there’s a problem in the first place because if there’s no problem there’s no need to solve anything.

Get help; You can’t do it on your own, you need to open up to someone who has also overcome addiction before, they will understand you better and they can help you by telling you how they came out of their destructive journey.

It is important that you talk to someone who wasn’t addicted to the exact substance you’re addicted to or someone who may have come out of it a long time ago and has built strong resistance against it, or else you may end up drawing them back into a hole they already dug themselves out of.

Say goodbye to certain people; They may be your best friends, people you love, people you care so much about but they’re addicted to what you’re trying to stop and they’re not making a conscious effort to come out of it.

There’s a popular saying that goes ‘If you bury your past avoid friends with a shovel’ It applies to your addictions too. If you’re trying to quit, avoid your friends who will drag you back into it, distance yourself slowly, and find other things to do.

Don’t be idle occupy yourself with something even if it means, joining a gym or jogging in the hood just occupy yourself it will help you limit the time you spend with these people.

Know your triggers; Understand the circumstances under which you do the things you do. It could be that you smoke when you’re stressed, and it could also be that overeat when you’re sad.

Once you identify these patterns you can replace them with healthy habits, like reaching out to an understanding friend when you’re going through a hard time, let them understand that you’re only releasing your heavy emotions because you don’t want to take solace in certain vices or you could just listen to music and to relieve some stress.

Some people also get a diary and write out their frustrations whatever works for you is up to you finding a healthy routine is all that matters.

Be in charge; Let your body know that you’re in charge, not the other way around. If you allow your body to dictate what it wants it will dictate a lot of unhealthy habits which will end up destroying it.

Be in charge of yourself, train your body to listen to you let it know you’re in charge, you decide what’s best. Let your body work for you not you for your body.