Part 1: Deciding to quit drug addiction
1. List some negative effects of your addiction. Writing down the negative effects of drug addiction on your life can motivate you to change your behavior. Don't summarize the effects of addiction-"It ruined my life" or "I couldn't reach my potential"-but write down what happened to your personal life after addiction. Writing them all down on paper may be a bit dazzling, but this list will help you through the most difficult steps. Write down how addiction affects your body. Depending on the kind of medicine you take, it may cause skin damage, organ damage, dental problems and other health problems. Even if these symptoms are mild, such as your weight has dropped a lot or your face is getting older faster, write them down.
Write down how addiction affects your mental health. Addiction will make existing psychological problems more complicated or lead to new problems. Are you experiencing depression or anxiety? You may use drugs to escape negative emotions, but in the end drugs will make the problem worse.
Write down how addiction affects your social life. It may have damaged some of your closest relationships. Maybe you don't want to meet new people and make friends with them. Maybe you find it difficult to find a job or take on a responsibility in a group.
Has addiction controlled your financial expenditure? Write down how much you spend on it every day, week, month and year.
Think about how this will affect your time. How much time did you spend thinking about drugs, looking for more drugs, using them, recovering, and needing more drugs again?
2. Write down the positive changes you can predict after abstinence. Now that you have written down those negative things, you should pay attention to how good things will be once you overcome them-you will get them. What will life be like after overcoming drug addiction? These negative things will disappear, and you finally have a chance to enjoy the good things. You will feel free again. Your spirit and time will no longer be dominated by drugs.
Your interpersonal relationship will be improved. Your friends and family will trust you again. You will have the opportunity to make new friends and pursue new relationships, and there will be no huge obstacles that will make you unable to move.
You will be richer.
Your body will become healthier.
You will be proud of yourself and regain your confidence.
3. Write down your reasons for quitting addiction. Write down some negative or positive factors that led you to decide to quit addiction and recite them repeatedly until you can recite them when the addiction becomes very strong. Your reasons must be very personal. They are more important to you than medicine, so when you are faced with the choice of persistence and medicine, you will choose persistence. Here are a few examples: you decided to quit addiction because you wanted your wife to look at you happily again, not full of worries.
You decided to quit addiction because you want to save enough money to make a living, not rely on other people's financial support.
You decided to give up addiction because you want to get well again. You want to live longer, more meaningful, and be with the people you love.
Part II: Asking for help
1, ask friends and relatives for help. When you are addicted to drugs, it is difficult for you to quit by yourself. Talk to your closest friends and family about your current situation and find out who you can really trust. When things get tough, it's very important to find someone you love to lean on. After the withdrawal symptoms are relieved, you need a support system to help you prevent recurrence. Although it is important to get the support of people you care about, don't rely on others to help you quit addiction. Don't rely on others during abstinence, because they may not have the will to change. You must stop associating with drug addicts and avoid being tempted. Learn to leave people who have been taking drugs or talking about drugs in front of you. You may need to stay alone for a while or find some new friends.
2. Join a support group. It will be helpful to talk to people who know your experience, because their situation is similar to yours. In the support group, you don't have to worry about hiding things that will hurt your friends or family, and you can also get access to resources that you can't get in touch with elsewhere. These are some low-cost options. Anonymity will encourage you to share your story with others and communicate with people who have experienced it.
Intelligent rehabilitation center helps addicts learn how to use self-management skills and abandon drugs, alcohol and addictive behaviors, which may be more suitable for people who don't like step 12 addiction groups.
Online support systems, such as restoring social networks, can also connect you with other people who are recovering and are really willing to help you quit drug addiction.
3. Contact the therapist. Find a therapist who specializes in helping people overcome drug addiction, with rich experience and good performance. Different therapists treat addicts in different ways, which may include cognitive behavioral therapy, behavioral therapy, motivational interview and life skills training. If you are not good at sharing your experience with others in groups, it is a good choice to cooperate with people you trust one by one.
4. Decide whether it is necessary to resume under supervision. If you feel that you can't beat drug addiction alone, maybe you will consider trying a drug rehabilitation program, a rehabilitation center or a sober room under medical supervision. In addition to psychological pain, withdrawal will also experience physical withdrawal symptoms, which may be painful or even dangerous. Specialized rehabilitation institutions will help you through the most painful period physically and psychologically. Depending on which drug you use, you may need to take a prescription drug to help your body quit addiction, because it may be dangerous to quit addiction suddenly and completely.
In addition to health support, most rehabilitation centers also provide individual and group counseling services.
Part III: Making a Plan
1. Find out what made you start taking drugs. Have you noticed that someone, a place, a certain situation or feeling will make you have a strong urge to take medicine? You should list these incentives so that you can start to avoid them. Although you may not be able to completely avoid them, even if you can, the lack of motivation can't completely get rid of your desires, but it can really reduce your desires as much as possible. Here are some common incentives: other drug addicts. If you hang out with a group of drug addicts, you will want to do the same thing. You must stop dating them-that's all. Your present situation prevents you from staying with them without using drugs.
Where you will be tempted to take drugs. Maybe a house, a corner of a town, a place in the Woods or the whole city will make you want to take drugs. If possible, start avoiding these places.
Scenes or emotions that make you want to take drugs. Maybe it's a seemingly harmless scene about drugs in an urban movie in the 1980s, or maybe it's your despair when you think of your ex-boyfriend. You know your emotional trigger point.
2. Reorganize your residence and make yourself look brand-new. If you are surrounded by a bunch of things that remind you of addiction, it will be much more difficult to quit. You must throw away real drugs and other drug-related items. Besides, you can also consider the following ways to clean your house and start over: clean your house or apartment.
Store some nutritious and convenient foods, such as soup, so as to maintain physical strength during abstinence and try not to do things that consume too much energy. You need to devote all your energy to overcoming drug addiction and strive for once and for all. You should pay special attention to your protein intake, which can keep your blood sugar stable and keep your mood calm.
Maybe you want to redecorate the room where you usually take drugs. You can at least rearrange the furniture and make the whole look brand new.
Buy something new to make your living environment look peaceful. Candles, new carpets, new music discs, plants-something that makes you feel comfortable and calm.
3. Set manageable goals and evacuation time. Start to control your habits slowly. When preparing to quit addiction, we should reduce the number of drug use. Set goals that you know you can stick to, such as limiting dosage and frequency. You may want to work with a drug consultant to find a plan that suits you. Make an action plan and set a date for complete abstinence. It will be helpful to record your progress with a calendar, which will keep your promise.
People often set "addiction-free day" on a special day, such as birthday or mother's day. The extra meaning of this date will help you stick to your plan.
The fourth part: withdrawal and coping with withdrawal symptoms
1, stick to your detoxification plan and stop taking drugs. Keep your promise and stop using drugs after the date you plan to stop. It is not easy, but you can do it. If you need any help, go to your support system-that's what they do. Keep yourself busy in the first few days or weeks. If you spend too much time doing nothing, you will relapse more easily.
Being with people who don't take drugs will help you stick to your goals. Being close to a group of new friends will help you stay away from drugs.
When you are tempted, think about the reasons you listed. When you first decided to quit addiction, you wrote down the reasons why you did it. Take that list with you and take it out if you have the idea of taking drugs. Remember, the reasons you wrote down are much more important to you than drugs. Your interpersonal relationship, health and "life" will all be balanced here. Every time that desire comes back, you remind yourself like this.
3. Relieve stress in a healthy way. Medicine is no longer an option, so you must find new ways to relieve stress and restore health. You should relieve stress in a way that can relax your body and mind, and spend the most depressed and anxious period without using drugs. Here are some ways to relieve stress: breathe fresh air. Get up and go out, take a deep breath, or go hiking.
Exercise. Many people find that strenuous exercise releases a lot of endorphins, such as running, swimming or skipping rope.
Play soothing music.
Take a long hot bath.
Calm yourself down with aromatherapy massage.
4. Try desire shock therapy. When your desire becomes the strongest and seems completely uncontrollable, some people find that "desire shock" is very effective. Instead of trying to ignore it, let yourself fully feel the desire. Pretend to be a wave, and you ride on it until the wind and waves subside.
5. Try to build a new life. Once the most difficult stage is over, your body and mind will no longer have withdrawal symptoms, and you can take the time to build the life you want. Maintain the relationship between you and the people you love, work hard, or devote yourself to hobbies that were meaningful to you in the past. During this abstinence, you should continue to meet people in your support group and continue to see therapists. The process of overcoming drug addiction is not short-lived. Don't judge that you have been cured when the situation has just improved.
6. Don't relapse. If you beat drug addiction for the first time, you will easily make mistakes. If you use drugs after the date of withdrawal, you should stop taking them before the situation gets out of control. Don't push yourself if you have a complete relapse-you can still do it. Try to find the reason for the failure and start abstinence again. No matter how long it takes you to beat it, it's worth it.
Tip: Boredom is the first step to relapse, so keep yourself busy.
Think of those who love you.
Tell the truth, it will help you.
Try to be optimistic and spend time with others. Don't let yourself feel lonely.
When you have nothing important to deal with, it seems easier to quit drug addiction. Of course, waiting for this opportunity may ruin you. So don't wait.
Although you may not like it, exercise can relieve withdrawal symptoms.
Avoid people with a history of medication. Change some friends. Maybe they can recover with you, but if they suddenly decide to have a relapse, they may pull you along or let you get in touch with what you are trying to avoid.
Find a support group. People who know your predicament or have overcome your addiction will support you through this stage.
Take a few minutes to do stretching, yoga or meditation, which will help you get rid of the sense of helplessness that may knock you down. Let yourself change your mood. Meditate for at least 20 minutes every day and pay attention to your breathing. Even if you overcome your addiction, this exercise is still very helpful to your life.
Reading is very helpful, so that you can concentrate on another thing.
Look in the mirror and tell yourself you can do it. This will make you more confident.
If you have a fever or a cold sweat, wear several layers of clothes that are easy to put on and take off.
You know, you're not fighting alone. Thousands of people are addicted to drugs such as marijuana or cocaine, and they fully understand how you feel.
Warning: If you consult a doctor about drug abuse, your details will appear in some medical records. Although it is illegal to disclose these records, it may happen in rare cases, which may affect your future work and insurance. Of course, continuing to take the medicine will reduce your chances. If you are the victim of illegal disclosure of medical records, go to a lawyer.
Withdrawal symptoms can be dangerous or even fatal. Please consult a professional medical professional before detoxification.
In the United States, you can seek help from social service agencies in your city, county or state. But it may take some time, depending on where you live.
Overcoming strong drug addiction is not just a matter of willpower. Drug abuse will change a person's mental and physical health. Please seek professional help at this stage.
In Britain, it takes four weeks to nine months for social services to start helping you.