Getting over an addiction is a lifetime endeavor. After getting out of rehab, the journey to live an addiction-free life will involve:
- Ongoing counseling
- Support from family and friends
- Group therapy
- Identifying your triggers
- Knowing how to deal with triggers in a healthy manner
Support groups help you stay accountable for your actions and provide you with the emotional support you need.
Overcoming addiction requires constant work on your part. You have to be willing to change your lifestyle, learn new coping mechanisms, and most importantly, be able to identify addictive behaviors before they lead to relapse. Here is how to identify and stop addictive behaviors.
Change in Patterns and Behaviors
Addiction is a progressive disease. It takes time to develop, and it takes time to overcome. However, some changes can help you identify when your drug use has taken a turn for the worse. One change is the frequency of drug use. If you start using more drugs more often, this is a sign that the addiction has worsened, and it may be time to seek help.
Another change is your lifestyle. If you are using drugs to avoid dealing with responsibilities or if you find yourself neglecting important activities to use drugs, then this is another sign of worsening addiction. It may be time to seek help as well.
Lying and Denial
Another sign that someone has an addiction is lying about their drug use or denying that they have a problem in the first place. This can be confusing because people who have an addiction are often aware of their problem but feel powerless to stop their addiction urges, so they lie to cover up their use.
If you suspect that someone has an addiction, it is important to talk to them about their drug use. This can be intimidating, but it is important to speak up if you are concerned about the person’s health and safety.
Stopping Addictive Behaviors
Intervention
If you have someone who has an addiction, you should try to help them by talking to them about their drug use and trying to get them into treatment. However, if this does not work or if the person refuses help. Luckily, there are other options that you can pursue as well. One option is an intervention. An intervention is when a group of people confronts an individual with an addiction to get them into treatment. This can be very effective because people with addictions often feel alone in their problems and do not think they need treatment until they are forced to see things differently by loved ones. The interventions should be done in a calm and caring manner so that the person affected can see reason in getting the help they need. The intervention should not seem like an attack.
Encourage them to get treatment
If the person refuses help or is not willing to go into treatment, it can be challenging for them to seek out addiction treatment independently. However, this does not mean that they can’t do so. People with addictions feel very ashamed about their behaviors and may want to avoid talking about having a problem to avoid embarrassment or shame. However, if there is no shame involved in getting help for addiction, they will often be more likely to seek it out.
Support Groups
There are many different support groups out there, but one of the most popular is Alcoholics Anonymous (AA). AA is an organization that has been around for over 100 years. The primary purpose of AA is to help people recover from addiction, but it does not have any specific rules or requirements.
There are many different types of AA groups, including weekend-long retreats and small group meetings, which only members can attend. You can join these groups as an individual or as part of a group such as a family. The main goal of this type of meeting is to encourage members to stay sober through the support of other members and to help the members who are struggling with addiction.
Recognize your Addiction Triggers
How you react to your triggers is an integral part of addiction recovery. For example, if you have a craving for alcohol, it can be tough to fight that craving if you are not in a safe environment and do not feel that your needs are being cared for. If you can recognize what triggers your addiction and then get the support you need to avoid those situations, then it can be easier for you to fight against your addiction.
For most people with an addiction problem to get the help they need, they must first admit that they have a problem and recognize that life without drugs and alcohol is possible. If you are concerned about your friend or loved one’s health, safety, or well-being, you should contact us at 772-266-5320. Our counselors are available hours a day.
