How to Handle Addiction

Coming to terms with an addiction is often difficult. It deals with admitting you have a problem, handling the loss of something that was pleasurable to you, and changing your life to accommodate your fight against it. When you’ve reached that point in your life, simply admitting that you have a problem can feel like a monumental struggle.

But there are ways to make addition easier to manage, and while it might hurt a bit, the life on the other side of that pain is more than you could ever imagine. The first tip to handling addiction is simply recognizing it for what it is. You need to say out loud, “I am addicted to ‘x’ but I will get better with time and help.” 

Embrace it, take it in, and don’t try to deny or hide it. After all, denial is probably what got you addicted to that substance abuse rehab in the first place.

Figure out why you started

No one wakes up one day and decides to be an addict to something, instead it’s always caused by something deeper. Just one drink to forget about losing a job, just one hit of a drug to escape fear over bills, just one dirty picture to escape problems in your marriage. Soon it becomes more, and every time you feel fear or have an argument with your spouse it comes back.

So, take a good look at yourself, and figure out what caused you to take the first step. That problem needs to be rectified and faced down or else the temptation will always be there. Get back out on the job market, repair your relationships, create a budget - once you get rid of the why of addiction, you’ll be able to kick it that much easier.

Don’t Go at It Alone

Chances are you have a support network of some sort around you, friends, family, coworkers, and other allies you can call upon. Despite what you might think, they will understand your problem and will work with you to make sure you can kick your alcohol addiction.

Addiction, much like many evils, wins by making you think that you are alone, but you’re not. All you have to do is reach out and communicate with the people who want to help you. Then you can take on whatever you are addicted to and start the road to recovery.