Conquering Addiction In 2026: 10 Steps For Success
This is a contributed post.
Thankfully, people today have a much better chance of overcoming addiction than those of the past. There’s more awareness these days and a greater acceptance of the struggles addicts face, as well as better infrastructure and systems that function to see people through recovery to the end.
Nevertheless, if you or a loved one is about to start the journey, it’s a long road, and it can be difficult to know where to start.
This article is here to help with a simplified ten-step process for winning the fight.
1. Defining Recovery
The reality is, the term ‘recovery’ has a different meaning from one person to the next, and in the beginning, it’s extremely important to define exactly what yours or your loved one’s version looks like.
What’s the main impetus for getting better? And what does the person’s life look like once they’ve recovered? You need both a good motive and a vision for the future to focus on when the going gets tough, as it’s these overarching goals that serve as anchor points for avoiding relapse. If it’s you who’s struggling with addiction, get a loved one to help you identify your goals and definitions if you’re struggling.
2. Seeking Out a Professional Diagnosis
While you or your loved one may feel like it’s redundant to officially diagnose the addiction, it’s always a good idea to have it officially recognized. This is an important step for getting therapy, and it can even help, from a mental perspective, to feel heard.
Having a consultation with a doctor and a psychiatrist can also help the person pinpoint other co-occurring conditions like anxiety or depression, which will better inform the therapeutic approach later on down the line.
3. Choosing a Detox Centre
For the vast majority of people, a detox or rehab center forms the basis of their recovery, and modern institutions are much better equipped today than they were in the past.
These are far removed from the cold and clinical centers of old, and are instead focused on making the recovery process as supportive and relaxed as possible for the sufferer. They’ll offer initial mental-health screening and then a fully tailored recovery program based around evidence-based protocols, all delivered in a welcoming environment.
To find a center near you or your loved one, just do a search for ‘rehab’ and then where you live (rehab Boston, for example) and start there.
4. Applying Small Tweaks to Daily Life
Outside of the work done at the rehab center, the individual will also need to make sure they’re following through at home so that they stay on track, and what this means for one person may be very different from the next.
For example, it could mean avoiding certain events, such as drinks with friends after work, instead choosing to go for a coffee with one or two people on a weekend morning. It may also be the case that the person’s general routine needs to change if it’s linked to substance abuse (the therapists will go through all of this).
5. Strengthening Support Networks
Strong support networks are a crucial step in the recovery process for everyone, no matter what sort of addiction they face. Friends and family are the ones who boost the person up when they hit the inevitable tough spots, and they’re often responsible for preventing a full-blown relapse.
Strengthening a network may mean cutting off certain people who are tied to the sufferer’s substance abuse, and it might involve stipulating certain rules that friends and family can follow to help their loved one stay on track.
6. Learning to Sit With Discomfort
Someone can learn the ins and outs of the therapeutic process, redesign their routine, and have a good support network, but none of that matters if they’re not regularly practicing the skill of sitting in discomfort.
This is at the very core of a successful rehabilitation, and the therapist will teach a variety of techniques to help. This usually involves building better emotional regulation and self-compassion, and mindfulness and meditation strategies may also be employed.
7. Using Hobbies
A big part of recovery is also taking one's mind off the substance and focusing it on something worthwhile. Sitting with discomfort and tolerating it is at the core, but it’s also important to pivot to something else valuable.
Hobbies are the best go-to, and preferably those that involve socializing with others. This could mean returning to hobbies that have already been established or starting something entirely new.
8. Exploring Technology
While smartphones can undoubtedly be problematic in their own right, they can also offer assistance for the recovering addict.
There are dozens of great apps that help support addiction recovery – those that help the user track their cravings or gamify the therapeutic process, for example. Many therapy sessions can also be taken virtually, from the comfort of the person’s own home, if they’re in a bad way and can’t make it physically.
9. Focusing on the Future
As the addiction begins to wane and a new life awaits, it’s natural for the sufferer to feel a little hollow; addiction has consumed them so much that now it’s difficult to know what to do with all the free time.
It’s only natural that you or your loved one will feel this way, and it’s at this point that it’s good to reassess values. What truly drives life now? And what actions should it be filled with?
10. Sustaining Recovery Over the Long-Term
And finally, there’s the matter of staying recovered.
Right off the bat, it’s crucial to continue to go to therapy check-ins. The therapist never simply leaves a client on their own once therapy has ended, and they will expect continued weekly and then monthly sessions.
It’s also key that the person’s support network remains in place, and that those supporting don’t simply assume everything’s fine now – this is an ongoing, life-long commitment, both for the individual and their friends and family.
Wrapping Up
You should now have a good idea of how to support yourself or a loved one through the addiction recovery process and what it takes to get there. Again, everyone’s different, but the important thing is to take it one step at a time and lean on the supportive shoulder of the professionals. Good luck!
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