Close your eyes and picture somebody who is struggling with addiction.
What image comes to mind? Probably something that you saw on T.V. right? Maybe a shabby, unhealthy person begging for drugs? And what feelings accompany such imagery? Compassion and empathy? Or judgement and disgust?
Unfortunately, over the years, we’ve been conditioned by society to look down upon the concept of addiction. However, addiction is more prevalent in society than you might think.
Think of the teenager spending hours glued to his or her mobile phone. The office worker who keeps snacking at the cubicle all day long. The spouse at home, surfing websites, racking up credit card purchases. These are all addictive behaviours that can severely damage our quality of life.
Is there a habit that you engage in compulsively, even though it is detrimental to your physical or mental well being? Something that leaves you feeling miserable, and yet seemingly cannot be stopped?
Then it’s time to embark on a new journey that will help you reclaim your peace of mind. You’ll take small but sure steps that are backed by behavioral science. The Managing Addiction journey is perfect for beginners. It’s also a perfect additional support system for those who require more in-depth professional and medical guidance.
Managing Your Addiction
Research has shown that one of the best ways to overcome an addiction is by understanding how it functions. This journey does not intend to just cheer you on as you try to establish a streak without indulging in addictive behavior. Instead, this is a process that starts with you becoming aware of the factors that fuel your addiction too.
The 3 R’s
Whether it’s binging on junk food, going on a shopping spree, or abusing a substance, all destructive addictions have a cycle that needs to be understood. It consists of three steps which are: Reminder, Routine, and Reward.
In order to control addiction, you must first identify what exactly triggers it. A trigger can be anything from a sight to a smell to a time of day. Most people are completely unaware that they’re even reacting to a trigger of any kind! With the help of an addiction journal, this journey will allow you to understand what cues your body is physically and mentally affected by.
Once you know what makes you start a self-destructive habit, it’s important to understand what exactly you hope to gain out of it. This can be a tricky one to comprehend because on the surface you might think you’re just buying a new pair of shoes because they were on sale. The benefit of spending several weeks on this journey is that you get the time to truly unlock the emotions hidden beneath the surface. We are all so caught up with the daily grind of life that more often than not, we’re completely unaware of what drives us.
Forming Protective Habits
There’s a reason why this Journey is called “Managing” rather than simply “Understanding Addiction”. Knowing what makes your mind and body tick is only half the battle. The best way to fight back against addiction is by forming powerful habits. Over the course of this Journey, you will slowly add defensive layers in the form of meditation and exercise. The subsequent improvement in mood and physical wellness means addiction becomes far less tempting. And whenever life becomes a little turbulent, the habits formed in this journey will help you absorb the stress rather than react to it negatively.
This new journey can also guide you through an aspect of addiction that people often overlook: your diet. It might seem silly to worry about food when your addiction is elsewhere. But giving your brain and body the nutrients and energy it needs can help you battle your addiction more easily.
By the end of this experience, you will have formed a powerful routine of self-reflection, exercise, meditation and healthy eating that will help you minimize the time and temptation for addictive behaviour. Don’t let the fear of failure hold you back, for slip ups are to be expected and gently overcome. If there is a behaviour that’s negatively affecting you but cannot be stopped, then it’s time to take action.
Addiction doesn’t need to be something that takes over your life or gets in the way of you living your potential. Managing addiction should also never be a journey you embark on alone.
Take the new Managing Addiction journey today, and let Fabulous be your guide.
