Addiction Recovery Tips

The Merriam-Webster dictionary describes addiction as a "compulsive need for and use of a habit-forming substance... persistent compulsive use of a substance known by the user to be harmful." Some go so far as to call it a disease.

Once you have admitted to yourself that you are in trouble, an addict and that you trully want to save yourself can the healing process begin. You will never be able to stop this abusive behavior If you're going to try and stop because other people are asking you. You have to want to stop for yourself and only then can you take that giant leap into the abyss of pain and madness. Recovering from an addiction is nothing more than torturing yourself into sobriety and it will be hell. The one thing you must remember and keep reminding yourself of is that while you're in pain there will be a light above the pit of dispair you've plunged yourself into.

So you've taken that first step and unfortunately it's not a step up but down into the blackness. The next and most important thing you have to do is to tell everyone what you've been going through and that you want to change. Family and true friends will be the ones to reach down into that hole and try to pull you up and out. They will provide you with the support you'll need when the future seems its most bleak. You must also tell those monsters who provide you with the materials of your addiction that you are going to change your life. They will laugh and belittle your decision. Perhaps they will taunt and ridicule you by saying that you'll be back. A true test of who loves you and who doesn't is to see the reactions of those you tell. If they really care for you they will come to your side and support you and if they don't you'll see it in their faces and hear it in their words. Decide then and there who is best to be around.

The decision has been made to change your life and to save yourself. So what's next? Removing yourself from situations that could and will lead you back to failure should be next. Stop going to places where your addiction lives and festers. Don't allow yourself to be alone when temptation will be its greatest. Always make sure you have someone around you to keep tabs on what you are doing and putting yourself on "house arrest" wouldn't be a bad idea. In this stage of the game professional help will be required. Some people may be strong enough and their addiction weak enough to fight it alone but if you are trully addicted then you will need an army to fight back the demons that plaque you. Seek out support groups of which there are plenty. You don't have to look to hard to find others who have been where you are now and who would lower a ladder into the pit so that you may escape as they did.

Patience should be your moto because you will never kick the habit overnight. Just as when you started using substances, whether it be alcohol, drugs, food, etc., it takes time to recover. As with any program, such as New Year's resolutions and weight training, writing down your goals and setting reasonable time limits could help you succeed. The key is to make changes to your life and life-style that led you down the wrong path. Addiction recovery is all about choice and when you stop making excuses you'll see that you still have a choice to live a clean and healthy life.