If you are someone with an addiction, you are by no means alone. This is a very common situation to find yourself in, and one which you are absolutely going to find a lot of people have been through before you. Because of that, there are always a lot of ways in which you can hope to understand your addiction better and learn how to manage it more effectively. Ultimately, this can lead to an improvement in your ability to overcome it, which is obviously the final goal here.
So what does that entail and include? In this post, we’ll take you through some of the main ways in which you might be able to overcome your addiction, regardless of what it is and how long you have had it. Let’s take a look and see exactly why hope is never lost when it comes to addiction.
Defining Addiction
First, it might be helpful to try and find a definition for addiction, because not everyone is entirely certain on what it actually is. There are in fact competing addictions that you might find you want to be aware of - some of them may be somewhat more useful to you at one time, and then another one might be another time, so it can definitely help to have a few of these in mind. The question is, which definitions of addiction might be the most useful, and which might you want to try and ignore altogether?
A very common one is the inability to have control over your behavior towards a certain thing. That might be a drug, a situation, or really anything at all - if you find that you struggle to control yourself in relation to that thing, then you might think of that as an addiction. You might conversely or additionally think of addiction as something that happens at the level of the brain, or the nervous system. As you can probably already imagine, these can be helpful to different degrees at different times.
However you define it, the important thing is to be able to recognize it when it happens within yourself. However, this is much easier said than done, and something that you might really struggle to know how to do, so it is worth delving into a little as well.
Noticing Addiction In Yourself
If you are concerned that you might be addicted to something, then the mere fact that you have that feeling is probably an indication that there is at least something to look into and think about. It may or may not be an addiction, but either way it is certainly something that you are going to want to focus on, because you have identified a problem that you need to try and work through.
There is good news here too, which is that you have done much of the hard work already. When you can honestly say that you have spotted an addiction in yourself, that is a really important step, and it means that you are well on your way to recovery - in whatever form that might end up taking. So that’s a great thing to celebrate, and to try and make use of as best as you can. You will be glad that you did in the long run.
Why Overcoming Addiction Is Difficult
At some point or another, you might find yourself wondering just why it is that overcoming addiction is so difficult. That is a feeling that a lot of people have, and it’s definitely something that is worth investigating, because it can actually lead you to a better understanding of what you need to do to get through this tough patch in your life. There is no doubt about it - overcoming any addiction that is well-established - and they are all well-established by their very nature - can be enormously challenging. So why is this so?
With an addiction, you essentially have changed the brain’s reward system to such a profound degree that you no longer have the ability to exercise proper control and judgment over that particular thing that you are addicted to. That is why you find it hard to stop doing it - your brain is sending very powerful signals that it’s what you should be doing, and those signals are hard to ignore.
The good news - and this is always to be remembered as well as you can - is that addiction is treatable, and you should always be able to overcome it given enough time and effort, and with the right kind of support. No matter how lost you feel now, try to remind yourself of this, because it is true and just the act of reminding yourself can help you to make it a lot easier on yourself.
The Decision To Change
Early on in the process of recovery has to come the actual catalyst, the reason that you have decided to change. This is important - without it, you might not be inspired to actually change anything at all, so that is something that you will need to remember here. Of course, the nature of this kind of moment is that it can’t really be forced, so you need to make sure that you are doing all you can to simply aim for it and see what happens. For many people, there comes a famous rock-bottom moment, where they realize deeply that something has got to give. That can be a remarkable experience, but it is often a difficult one. Nonetheless, it is the catalyst for change that many addicts need.
Bear in mind however that it might not happen for you like this. You might not need to reach rock-bottom, and your rock-bottom might look very different to the next person’s. So you should aim to remember that, and especially if you are feeling as if things couldn’t possibly get any worse. Everyone’s process is different too, and that is vital for you to remember in all of this.
Finding Help
Whatever your addiction is and what your process looks like, however, one thing is for sure: you are unlikely to be able to recover alone. The vast majority of people need help overcoming an addiction, because that is just the nature of the process. It’s essential that you look out for this help as soon as you can, and that you are doing everything in your power to make use of it when it comes. Fortunately, there are many kinds of help out there that you might want to make use of. You might find yourself needing the assistance of a rehab facility like https://rdoutpatientrehab.com/, or you might simply need the help of some loved ones. If you are like most people, you will actually need both. Programs like living free 12 step program can help you regain your former sense of self in a safe, calm, and supportive environment.
The important thing is to ask for help when you need it. That can be challenging for many people, but it’s essential if you want to make sure that you are actually likely to overcome your addiction. In fact, often asking for help is one of the really important early steps that you need to take in order to move on, so it is good practice in itself in that sense.
Those are some of the main things to be aware of if you are wondering how best to overcome and manage your addiction. As you can see, there is a lot to consider. Just try to remember that it is always possible and you are capable of change beyond anything you might imagine.
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