Dealing with drug addiction can make good people do things they never wanted to do. It can damage careers and relationships–but there is no one who is helpless or hopeless. By accepting your addiction, reaching out for help, and changing your habits, you can find sobriety and recovery. Read these eight tips to find out how to beat drug addiction and avoid relapses.
8 Key Tips to Overcome Drug Addiction
The truth is that none of the steps to overcoming drug addiction will be easy. However, there are plenty of people who want to help you find success, whatever it takes. If you are willing to focus and find the right resources and right people, you can transform your life.
1. Come to Reality with Your Addiction and Decide to Take Action
In many cases, drug addiction happens as a result of trauma in your life. However, there are many other cases when it happens almost by accident. An example of this is athletes who get addicted to painkillers. Either way, the first step to coming out of an addiction is facing the truth.
It can be easy to tell yourself that you don’t have a real problem or that it’s not causing any damage, but these lies actually deepen your addiction. Admitting that there is a problem and being willing to reach out for help is the first step to recovery. It takes courage and strength to admit this to yourself and to anyone else, so don’t diminish the importance of this first step.
Here are a few more tips to help you come to terms with your addiction.
Reflect on How Drugs Impacted Your Life
Think about the first time you tried drugs and what you were feeling. Ask yourself these questions:
- Have I seen my family recently?
- Have I seen my friends recently?
- Does my drug use make me feel shame or guilt?
- Have I broken the law because of these habits?
- Have I tried to stop and failed?
- Are these habits taking my life in a direction that I want?
You can’t outsmart your addiction. But these questions can help you think about the difference between the life that you want to have and the life that you will have because of drugs.
Think About the Positive Changes When You Quit
Even if quitting drugs feels overwhelming, think about the end result of having a life free from drugs. What will your career and relationships look like? What will your relationship with yourself look like?
You can live free from guilt and shame, and it is very possible to overcome your dependency on anything. Deciding to take action can start by looking for help. Find just one person to talk to or search online for drug addiction support.
2. Call a Drug Rehab Helpline for Guidance
If you’re not sure where to turn, you can start by calling the Rehab Helpline for Drugs and Alcohol. They will help you find and understand every aspect of your rehab options, including insurance coverage, transportation, and any other questions. They will also connect you with the right resources and support groups.
Call 877-467-4825 to connect with a rehab admissions expert.
3. Lean on Friends and Family for Support
Find the people in your life who will be willing to walk through recovery with you. Not every one of your friends and family members will be willing to tell you when you aren’t making good decisions.
Having loving, supportive friends and family will help you through this journey. If you find that your friends and family aren’t as supportive and involved as you’d like, don’t give up. You can develop a supportive group of people who will help you get through your addiction, even if it’s not easy to find them.
4. Join a Solid Support Group
If you don’t already have a few committed and supportive friends and family, a support group will be even more important. Being with other people who understand exactly what you are dealing with is extremely important. These groups will also help you find the right resources and tools to deal with the ups and downs of recovering from a drug addiction.
Even if you have family and friends who help you through the recovery journey, finding a support group will still be vital. Eventually, you may even be able to encourage others in their own recovery. If and when you or your friends deal with relapses, support groups will help you get back on track instead of going deeper into your addiction.
5. Find a New Hobby or Passion
When you do anything enjoyable, your brain releases a chemical called dopamine, and that’s what makes you feel good. Dopamine is released when you do drugs, so when you stop giving your brain that supply, it will tell you that it needs dopamine.
The best way to overcome this is to find something new–or maybe something old–that you enjoy doing. It could be exercise, like walking, boxing, rock climbing, dancing, or a hobby like building things, painting, or making music. Building these new healthy, enjoyable habits will be key to dealing with drug addiction.
6. Focus on Day-to-Day Improvement
If you allow yourself to think about all the challenges you will face in the next five years (or even in the next month), you will quickly get overwhelmed. Particularly when you’re fighting to get sober and stay sober, all you need to think about is the day in front of you. If you are able to take one day at a time and celebrate each small victory, you’ll be surprised at the amazing things you can do.
7. Avoid Triggers and Keep Cravings in Check
Knowing your triggers is a vital part of recovering from any addiction. It may take some creativity, but avoiding the things that make it too hard to stay away from drugs will make all the difference.
It’s important to continue avoiding your triggers even after you have been sober for a while. It can be easy to get overconfident and believe you will never go back to your old habits. However, this is a trap many people fall into. If you’re in a support group, you’ll probably see this happen at least once.
8. Maintain a Healthy Mind and Body
You will learn so many skills during your recovery that will be useful in many circumstances. It will be important to continue to use the skills and nurture the relationships you’ve made for the rest of your life, but you will have a newfound mental, emotional, and physical strength.
Overcoming Drug Addiction
Drug addiction can take you to your lowest point, but there is always hope. Going through recovery is difficult, but it will make you strong and help you heal in ways you didn’t know you needed. There’s nothing that can hold you back.
Call the drug addiction helpline at 877-467-4825 to get on a better path right now.
