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Quitting Addictions

Started by May 23, 2014 05:49 AM
37 comments, last by Aardvajk 10 years, 3 months ago
What do you need? Friends. A social group who will support you, check up on you, and help you to change. Counselling. Willpower. Acknowledgement that change is a process, and if you slip up you can still continue the process. Changes in environment. And help from any other source you can find.

It can be done, I've done it. It is NOT easy. The hardest transition is to say "I don't do that" in your mind. I am not a person who goes to that kind of parties. I don't do that. Others might do that, but I don't. I may have done it in the past, but I no longer do. That is not part of who I choose to be. Eventually it stops becoming a question, and becomes something automatic.

Look up the Alcoholics Anonymous 12 step program. You can use it to help with any major behavioral change, including those mentioned above.

You mentioned a porn addiction, which is absolutely real, just like gambling addictions or many other behavioral addictions. Currently behavioral addictions are not classified as mental health conditions because of a lack of established research, but that is changing. Currently the only behavioral addiction with enough scientific research behind it to be classified as an addiction is gambling addiction, and that took decades of heavy research before the medical community was willing to acknowledge it as a scientific thing. Hopefully other behavioral addictions will take less time. Media addictions are not just people who watch too much TV or surf the web too long, it is something that controls them; porn and sex addictions are not just people who watch porn, but it is something that controls them; shopping addicts don't just shop for fun, the behavior is compulsive and destructive and unstoppable. As more research studies are being run, other behavioral addictions are closer to gaining classification. People try to call out individual things: internet addiction, game addiction, movie addiction, television addiction, soap opera addiction, Korean drama addiction, game show addiction, WoW addiction, youtube addiction... They will probably get lumped together as a general "behavioral addiction" in a decade or so, right next to gambling addiction.

The good news is that even if the medical textbook companies don't see enough scientific rigor and too few studies, most practicing clinicians know how to help.

If a behavior impairs your life and you cannot change it yourself, find a psychologist that focuses on behavioral therapy and get help. Not a generic counselor off the streets, or someone with a bachelors degree or masters degree and LCSW or similar labels, but someone with "Psy.D." behind their name who knows and practices behavioral therapy. Behavioral therapists can help with your chemical addictions as well as behavioral changes. They will help you identify triggers and antecedents, beliefs and thought patterns that encourage or discourage the behaviors you want to change, and help you develop strategies to change your behavior into the ones you want to have.

You mention two behavioral addictions and (at least) three chemical addictions. That is an enormous set of changes. This will probably require psychological help.

The chemical addictions may require additional medical help, depending on what drugs they are/were. It is quite likely that the damage for chemical addiction is permanent, you may need to accept that it is now physically impossible for your brain to give you the same level of pleasure that people get through 'normal' non-drug methods. For example, meth permanently breaks your brain's dopamine system, a powerful pleasure chemical. Meth users get a great dopamine rush the first few times, but it permanently ruins your ability to ever hit normal dopamine levels even through pleasurable activities like sex and skydiving and winning everything. An ex-meth user could have sex while skydiving and hear over the headphones that they just won the powerball lottery for a billion dollars, but it would still add up to a 'meh'.

Get professional help from a behavioral psychologist, get help from your entire social structure, get help from anyone who is willing to help you. Because you will need it. You can do it, many people have, but be prepared for the changes to require radical changes to your life, not just superficial changes that can be overcome with willpower.
I don't know how often that you masturbate, but I would not stop it completely.
It's an important way to get the edge off so that you can sleep properly. A friend that you may consider as "normal" may do it once a day, or every other day, for example.

Something that's very important when you're going through a hard time like that is making sure that you're eating healthy.
Make sure that you have complete and nutritious meals, and make sure to cover your recommended daily intake of vitamins and minerals, but through your diet (i.e. the food that you eat must be rich and varied), and not from supplement pills. Use vegetarian diets as reference.
You may refer to nutritional help websites for more information on staying healthy. This is something that will help you get through this.
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I don't know how often that you masturbate, but I would not stop it completely.

It's an important way to get the edge off so that you can sleep properly. A friend that you may consider as "normal" may do it once a day, or every other day, for example.

Something that's very important when you're going through a hard time like that is making sure that you're eating healthy.

Make sure that you have complete and nutritious meals, and make sure to cover your recommended daily intake of vitamins and minerals, but through your diet (i.e. the food that you eat), and not from supplement pills.

You may refer to nutritional help websites for more information on staying healthy. This is something that will help you get through this.

I think it's important to distinguish masturbating from watching porn, the latter of which appears to be OP's problem. Agreed on eating healthy, and also getting enough sleep is very important, it's easy to underestimate just how essential sleep is to our general well-being and mood (and the things that come with it, such as being productive).

“If I understand the standard right it is legal and safe to do this but the resulting value could be anything.”

What do you need? Friends. A social group who will support you, check up on you, and help you to change. Counselling. Willpower. Acknowledgement that change is a process, and if you slip up you can still continue the process. Changes in environment. And help from any other source you can find.

That's probably one of the most frustrating things being that almost everyone I know is a binge drinking, chain smoking, doped up party goer (while still being functional adults). I know that when I follow this through long enough we'll end up not hanging out very often and I'll lose most of my childhood friends.

The chemical addictions may require additional medical help, depending on what they are, and it is quite likely that the damage for chemical addiction is permanent, you may need to accept that it is now physically impossible for your brain to give you the same level of pleasure that people get through 'normal' non-drug methods.

Thankfully the effects are minor if I have them at all. I have toyed around with most stimulants (MDMA, speed), but never hit the really hard stuff. Granted I would get the normal bouts of depression/moodiness in the following days, but I seemed to revert back to normal in most cases. If I were to usher a warning about anything I'd tell people to steer clear of LSD. My thoughts felt really distorted for weeks after using that and I'm not sure if I just got used to them or I became a rational person again.

I don't know how often that you masturbate, but I would not stop it completely.

It's an important way to get the edge off so that you can sleep properly. A friend that you may consider as "normal" may do it once a day, or every other day, for example.

If left alone for extended periods with no responsibilities for the day it wasn't too uncommon to go on long binges spending hours looking for the "perfect" scene before I could deem anything worthy enough to proceed. Once a day seems far too often for me. I just don't think a properly functioning adult should spend their time performing what I think is a humiliating act. Just my thoughts though. I don't care if others do it; I'm just fed up with the whole thing.

Your authority is not recognized in Fort Kick-ass http://www.newvoxel.com

I don't know how often that you masturbate, but I would not stop it completely.

It's an important way to get the edge off so that you can sleep properly. A friend that you may consider as "normal" may do it once a day, or every other day, for example.

Something that's very important when you're going through a hard time like that is making sure that you're eating healthy.

Make sure that you have complete and nutritious meals, and make sure to cover your recommended daily intake of vitamins and minerals, but through your diet (i.e. the food that you eat), and not from supplement pills.

You may refer to nutritional help websites for more information on staying healthy. This is something that will help you get through this.

I think it's important to distinguish masturbating from watching porn, the latter of which appears to be OP's problem. Agreed on eating healthy, and also getting enough sleep is very important, it's easy to underestimate just how essential sleep is to our general well-being and mood (and the things that come with it, such as being productive).

Never had much of a problem with my diet or sleep schedule. If you drink like an Irishman and smoke like a chimney may God help if you don't eat right.

Your authority is not recognized in Fort Kick-ass http://www.newvoxel.com


That's probably one of the most frustrating things being that almost everyone I know is a binge drinking, chain smoking, doped up party goer (while still being functional adults). I know that when I follow this through long enough we'll end up not hanging out very often and I'll lose most of my childhood friends.

Get better friends. Seriously.

I recently quit drinking, and it has rapidly become evident that many people who seemed interesting/nice when I was plastered, are boring as hell when sober, and many of them are not worth the time I spent with them.

Tristam MacDonald. Ex-BigTech Software Engineer. Future farmer. [https://trist.am]

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Get better friends. Seriously.

QFE.

The number one reason for "falling off the wagon" is an 'old buddy' dropping by. You should not lose most of your old childhood friends at the end of the process: you should lose them as the beginning of the process.

Make new friends in the circles of your new replacement addictions: running groups, bro-ga classes, whatever.

Stephen M. Webb
Professional Free Software Developer


Get better friends. Seriously.

I recently quit drinking, and it has rapidly become evident that many people who seemed interesting/nice when I was plastered, are boring as hell when sober, and many of them are not worth the time I spent with them.

Isn't that the wonderful yet awful thing about it. Nobody needs to have any sort of personality what-so-ever when everyone is clutched onto their vices.


QFE.

The number one reason for "falling off the wagon" is an 'old buddy' dropping by. You should not lose most of your old childhood friends at the end of the process: you should lose them as the beginning of the process.

Make new friends in the circles of your new replacement addictions: running groups, bro-ga classes, whatever.

I consider myself pretty much a social retard having not made a friend through any other means than my poor life choices since I was a child. Maybe I'll partner up with some man dude bros at the gym by getting roided up while taking hormone supplements. Join some geeks down at the chess club by supplying Xanax and Modafinil. Isn't this how people normally make friends?

Your authority is not recognized in Fort Kick-ass http://www.newvoxel.com

Hey hey hey.... I say, lets not be hasty, its not an addiction if you can stop whenever you want right? ...right?

"I AM ZE EMPRAH OPENGL 3.3 THE CORE, I DEMAND FROM THEE ZE SHADERZ AND MATRIXEZ"

My journals: dustArtemis ECS framework and Making a Terrain Generator


How much have your cravings subdued anyway? I once made it to ~2months but it felt like my recovery had plateaued and I gave in to temptation.

I hardly ever feel like having one any more (I stopped about 7 years ago). In fact I don't really remember the last time I wanted to have a cigarette.

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