Addiction And How To Move Past Them

Addiction and how to move past them
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Developing addiction to substances or activities is not a character flaw, and neither is it a sign of weakness, as one requires more than a willingness to break a habit. Addiction refers to the psychological and physical need to continue the consumption of drugs, substances and engaging in activities that cause harm because they provide pleasure or are valuable (Clark, & Theron, 2017, pp. 46). Individuals develop an addiction to marijuana, heroin cocaine, opioid painkillers, alcohol, tobacco eating, gambling, sex and working. In the United States, according to the Center on Addiction, over forty million people have a dependency on nicotine, alcohol and other substances (Center on Addiction, 2018). Further, over sixty percent of the American population suffers from food addiction issues; one percent has severe gambling addiction while a considerable percentage also suffers from addiction to sex and pornography (Horvath, Misra, Epner & Cooper, 2013). Overcoming addiction is not an easy process as it occurs in a gradual process becoming part of an individual. However, the implementation of various strategies can help an individual get past addiction.
The first step in recovery from any addiction is acknowledging the dependence and deciding to change. Admitting to oneself that one has a problem is the most challenging step by people struggling with addiction. For some, the admission comes after the occurrence of life-threatening effects while for others is due to friends, family, and co-workers telling them they have a problem. Also, it may occur due to financial, work, school, or legal issues. Whichever the reason it may be, deciding to change is paramount. An individual should identify their addiction, note down the effects it has brought to their lives, determine whether they want to control the behavior or completely stop it and note the positive impacts one wishes to achieve, for instance, to be free, enjoying other hobbies, saving money and having strong relationships with friends and family (DiClemente, 2018, pp. 147-148). It is normal to feel skeptical about abandoning a drug, substance or an activity. However, making this commitment will help in regaining control of one’s life.
The second step in recovering from addiction is taking responsibility. Accepting blame for this behavior is paramount to kick off a habit. Many people suffering from addiction, consider external factors such as their jobs, relationships, the influence of friends, horrible childhood, poverty and lack of parents to blame for their addiction. For instance, children raised by abusive parents argue that they become addicted to alcohol or cocaine to dull the pain of childhood (DiClemente, 2018, pp. 174-175). Taking responsibility should involve eliminating excuses, accepting the blame for the addiction, acknowledge the past cannot change, forgiving oneself and deciding to move forward. By doing so, an addict gets another chance at a new beginning.
The third step is preparing to change. Once you establish the goal to beat an addiction, one needs to create an environment that will usher in the change in behavior. The preparation includes clearing the house of drugs and drug paraphernalia such as weed bongs, syringes, matchboxes and telephone number of drug dealers for people addicted to drugs (Smith, 2018, Sept, pp. 3). For individuals addicted to sex and pornography, one needs to dispose of porn, delete porn websites pages and computer history while people addicted to food need to get rid of junk foods and candies. Also, one has to do the hardest part of the preparation which is saying goodbye to friends or partners involved in addictive activit...