Can I overcome an addiction on my own?
There are some addictions that you can overcome on your own, and some that may require you to seek out professional help. In this video, psychotherapist Mike Dow, PsyD, shares his tips for replacing harmful addictive rituals with healthier ones.
Transcript
MIKE DOW: There are some addictions that you can absolutely overcome on your own. And of course, there are others that are going to need a higher level of care, which
includes professional help. And at the extreme end, of course, inpatient rehab. [MUSIC PLAYING]
If you are going to kick an addiction on your own, so if you are drinking too much coffee, if you are eating too much cake, those
are some examples of addictions that you can actually treat on your own. If you have failed one step, then it's
time to go to the next step. So if you've tried to kick something on your own and you can't do it, well, then, it's time to go to the next level, which may be once a week
outpatient therapy. And if that's still not working for you, then maybe you need to add intensive outpatient. If that doesn't work, then it's time for rehab,
or, obviously, there are some people with addictions that are so bad that they need to go straight to rehab. But if you are going to tackle an addiction on your own
with something like drinking 12 cups of coffee, one of the-- one of the things that really helps is to look at the role of ritual.
A lot of times, whether it's smoking a joint, or smoking a cigarette, or having a cup of coffee, there's something about that ritual.
There's something about wanting to have something warm. And there's actually something quite lovely about the moment
you take when the coffee is too hot, because you're paying attention to your breath. And even when you're smoking a cigarette,
obviously, there's a lot of things that are very, very bad for you, but what's good for you is that you're taking a moment to slow down
and you're paying attention to your breath. So then, you have to think about, what are other rituals that I could actually replace
those unhealthy behaviors with? So for example, if you're a smoker, number one, you want something to do with your hands, so in early stages,
maybe you want to have toothpicks or lollipops handy, or you maybe you want to have something to-- a little game on your iPhone.
But then, you also want to pay attention to your breath. Pay attention to your breath through mindfulness meditation, for example.
So I recommend 12 minutes a day of meditation where you just pay attention to your breathing.
That actually slows the breath down in the same way that smoking a cigarette helps you to do. Isn't it funny that most people go out and smoke a cigarette
when they're really stressed? And it just gives them that moment that sense of ritual. So find those rituals in your life.
Use them. Don't get rid of rituals, because rituals can be really healthy, amazing behaviors, and we need them
as human beings in our life. And when you add those, it's a lot easier to get rid of those unhealthy ones.
addiction recovery
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