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Looking To Recover From An Addiction Problem: Here Are 10 Strategies To Help You

When you are dealing with addiction, you are not trying to sue for damages against the person who caused the addiction. You are trying to recover. Throwing blame around is not the same as finding and addressing the cause of the addiction.

By Sourabh Singh Updated on September 29, 2023 • 6 min read
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The word "fault" should not be involved in discussions of addiction. Some people like to say, "Addiction is the addict's fault," while others go the opposite direction and say, "Addiction is not your fault." But there is something inherently pointless about assigning fault in addiction.When you are dealing with addiction, you are not trying to sue for damages against the person who caused the addiction. You are trying to recover. Throwing blame around is not the same as finding and addressing the cause of the addiction.That means it is not a valid strategy for recovering from addiction. But then what is a valid strategy? That is what we are here to talk about today. Here are 10 strategies to help you recover from your addiction.

  • Getting Into an Exercise Routine

You will hear people prescribe exercise as a cure for all kinds of things. Depression, anxiety, ADHD, and now addiction. But the reason for that is that exercise really does help.But not only that, exercise is something you can start doing to help you out even before you quit whatever substance you are addicted to. Much of what makes the initial period of quitting difficult is detox and withdrawal, but the healthier you are the greater your resistance to it will be.

  • Cleaning Your Environment

It is trite to tell someone to fix their addiction by cleaning their room. That is not what we are recommending. Rather, adjust your living space to get rid of the things that make you think of your addiction, as well as the things that make it easier for you to facilitate it.For a lot of people this means getting rid of the tools of their addiction—needles, pipes, and other materials necessary to consume hard drugs. But for others it will be more abstract. 

  • Adjust Your Social Media Consumption

Almost no one pays attention to how much social media they consume or what they consume. But it can have a huge impact on both what and how they feel. This is even more true for addicts. If social media is making your anxious or depressed, it can lead to a relapse or using.This is even more true if you find yourself exposed to a community that makes you feel validated in your addiction.

  • Change Your Social Circle

This is one of the best things you can do, but also one of the hardest. The two kinds of people you want to think about are those that stress you out and those that you spend the most time indulging your addiction with. We aren't saying stop being friends with these people though.Instead, start by seeing if they would be willing to go through a change with you. Only stop being friends with them if they seem to choose the stressful behavior or the drug over you.

  • Talk to a Doctor

Our tips so far have been very focused on doing what you can do without help. But make no mistake: You will need help to deal with addiction. No one handles it on their own. Talk to a doctor and get professional medical advice on what you should do about your addiction. 

  • Consider a Detox Facility

We say "consider" because there is a lot to think about with a detox facility. The question is not whether or not you should use one. Using one is a great idea. The question is how you use it.For the most part what you need to consider is whether you need to live in the facility, like Epiphany Wellness, or not. If your withdrawal is so bad that you need medical attention, then it is recommended.

  • Get Into Therapy

Another hard step. People generally do not like therapy. But people also don't like getting their oil changed. That does not mean it's not necessary. Getting into therapy is instrumental to overcoming addiction. Think back to what we were initially talking about with assigning blame.Addicts will frequently blame themselves for their addiction. Is this right? Is it wrong? It does not matter. The emotional event of blaming yourself is not helpful to recovery.

  • Look at How Others Have Recovered

One of the best ways to solve any problem is to ask yourself: Has someone else solved this problem already? Looking into how other people fought their addictions can give you plenty of more nuanced and individualized ideas than what we can put on a numbered list.

  • Talk to a Holy Man

One of the common stereotypes of addiction recovery programs is that they are religious. This is not always true. They will often be provided by religious figures or organizations, but that does not mean they are expecting you to convert. They can even have wisdom you won't expect.

  • Wean Yourself Off

We saved this for last because it is a highly nuanced method of dealing with your addiction. Whatever you are addicted to, whether it is drugs or alcohol, withdrawal will be painful. But you have two options: Quitting all at once or quitting slowly.Weaning yourself off will mean that you suffer a mild withdrawal over a long period of time, rather than a dramatic withdrawal over a comparatively shorter period of time. This can be the difference between life and death for people who have sever addictions.

Conclusion

As hard as recovery can be, it is always worth it and always possible. Because it is so hard you should go easy on yourself if you fail and relapse. But if that happens, it is not over.Start over and try again. Learn from your previous attempts at quitting. Addiction didn't happen all at once, which means you cannot expect recovery to happen all at once. It takes time, but once you have found a method you have to stick with it if you want it to work.
Categorized into General Health,Brain Health
Tagged in Exercise
Sourabh Singh

Reviewed by

Sourabh Singh

Public Health Writer

GenderMale
CountryIndia
JoinedOct 2021
Wrote570 posts

Sourabh Singh is a medical writing expert With over 11 years of experience writing and editing articles, blogs, product reviews, e-books, news, press releases, and more for various healthcare brands.

He carefully proofreads every article to ensure that the medical facts are accurate and free from errors.View Profile

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