How to Combat Psychological Drug Addiction

Drug addiction, whether it be physical or psychological (or even both), is a terrible and dark thing. With psychological addiction, you can become addicted to anything - whether it be medication or narcotics, the internet, sex, gaming or anything else. When you become addicted, it can be very easy or insanely difficult to stop - this article is aimed primarily at methods of preventing psychological drug addicts from taking drugs, but can be adapted to other addictions.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Things You’ll Need:

• Willpower.
• A positive attitude.
• Elastic band.

1. Naturally, the first thing to do is admit you have a problem and may well be addicted. I won't go into detail here, because this is for people who have already admitted their problem to themselves.
2. The most advisable thing to do is to remove as many drugs as you can from your home, even if they're legal. This includes ALL drugs, except prescription ones. If you are addicted to a prescription drug, consult your Doctor about alternative medications that will have the same medical purpose you originally used them for.
3. Every morning when you wake up, say to yourself (either aloud or in your head): "I won't take any drugs today.". Say it atleast three times. This helps you to tell your brain you don't want to take the drug, and over-time makes it easier to resist the urges. Likewise, at the end of every day you resisted the desire to take drugs, say to yourself "Today was a good day. No matter what happened, it was good because I didn't take those drugs." This helps you to maintain a positive attitude.
4. Try to substitute your drugs for vitamin tablets or such. Although this won't help you with the urge to take your drug of choice, the action of actually taking something may help you with the desire to actually take a tablet, as opposed to experience it's effect.
5. Get yourself an elastic band. You can usually buy them in supermarkets, newsagents or similar. Alternatively, you can use one off a purchased product - just make sure it isn't too big or too small. Put the elastic band on your wrist, so that it's comfortable. Keep it on at all times. Whenever you feel an urge or a desire to take a drug, snap the elastic band against your wrist. Just like your addiction, this is a psychological thing - the action of snapping the band not only gives you something to do, but also gives you something negative to associate with the urges, helping you resist them.
6. Whenever you feel you want to take a drug, just stop for a moment. Close your eyes, take a few deep breaths. This gives you time to think carefully about what you're doing. Tell yourself you don't want to take the drug, remind yourself why you must stop. Say it aloud to yourself.
7. Similarly, whenever you feel you want to take a drug, stop for a moment. Count to 10 either aloud or in your head. This also gives you time you think about what you're doing. Remind yourself why you must stop taking the drug, say it aloud to yourself. You can combine this with Step 3, so that you take 10 deep breaths or such.
8. Let atleast one trusted person know about your addiction if you haven't already. Tell them that you're probably going to be depressed a lot in the near future, and that you could use someone to be with you and cheer you up when it's bad enough. Alternatively, find out about a counselling service - someone you can talk to once a week or fortnight, or even more often. They don't need to help you with the addiction, just be someone for you to talk to. The Samaritans or similar could also be useful.
9. Meditate only a daily basis. This doesn't have to be a massively complex Druidic ritual - simply sitting down for ten minutes each day, closing your eyes and breathing deeply can make a surprising difference.
10. Finally, experiment with your own ideas. Look for other articles and advice on psychological addiction (and physical if your drug of choice has physical side effects). If you feel it would help, join a self help group like Narcotics Anonymous or Recoveries Anomnyous. Above all, remain optimistic about your recovery.

Tips & Warnings

• If you fail, try and try again. If you relapse, it doesn't mean you've failed or these suggestions don't work. Just keep trying them, as well as other ideas. A relapse is an obstacle, one you can go over, under or around with a little thought and dedication.
• You may not always be able to use these things in certain situations. Sometimes, the desire will simply be too strong - you won't even think about it, you'll just take your drug(s) of choice. Again, don't let this put you off, just carry on trying.
• Remember: being a drug addict, whether psychological, physical or both is not something you can be cured of. You will have to fight it for the rest of your life - you may recover, but you'll never be cured.
• Remain optimistic. This may seem impossible when depression from withdrawal hits, but if you can stay positive, you can beat your addiction.
• Stay optimistic!
• Stopping some drugs cold-turkey, primarily those that are also physically addictive, can have VERY dangerous consequences. Consult a licensed medical practioner for details about the side-effects of your drug. Generally, if a drug is classed as non-physically addictive, you shouldn't be in immediate danger from psychological withdrawal.
• Depression resulting from withdrawal can make you suicidal. Consult a medical practitioner first, or atleast make sure your environment is secure of items that you could use to harm or kill yourself.
• Don't put the elastic band on too tight, as this could be harmful or uncomfortable. Likewise, don't snap it too hard - the goal is to knock the urges out of your head, not to harm yourself for having the urges.
• Don't feel guilty or ashamed, especially if you relapse. This will just continue to feed your cycle of self-destructive activities.