If you have an addiction, the chances are that you have already tried to quit. Some people try to reduce the amount of substance they use or use it only on weekends or a few days a week or have switched to a different substance; for example, they leave stronger drinks and drink only beer or wine. You may even have had certain periods of time, sometimes long, without using any substance until you start to consume it again. It is also very possible that you are already experiencing some negative consequences of drug use, such as problems at your job and in maintaining relationships in the family and with your spouse. Sometimes, these issues reach the extent that you need to join family support groups for healing.
Most addicts don’t decide that they will leave it simply because they do. Usually, something has happened to them that has made them bottom-up and pushed them to say enough. But what does a person need to say enough? Sometimes, it’s about really negative consequences, like having problems with the law, running out of work, or losing family relations and other loved ones. At other times, even without experiencing many destructive consequences, there’s a process in which you realize that you feel sick and tired all day and that you aren’t the person you’d want to be, and the drugs hardly alleviate the discomfort. You no longer feel as good as before when you used the substance. Above all, you’re totally sick of feeling bad all the time. The problems that addiction entails that your life revolves around the achievement of a substance to withstand the withdrawal syndrome.
You begin to think things might be different, and you could be drug-free and feel good, have a normal life, a job, a fulfilling relationship, and a supporting family. You begin to observe yourself, to think and analyze, and you realize things that you weren’t aware of before. For example, you may realize that you have used drugs as a way to medicate yourself to withstand the anxiety, depression, or discomfort you felt and that, although it seemed to help at first, it now makes you feel even worse and begins to lack of meaning. And you’re aware that it doesn’t work. However, this doesn’t necessarily make you give up drugs.
At first, you begin to realize that you need to quit, but at the same time, you still want that substance as much as before. Then you start looking for justifications. When you seek justifications, you always find them. For example, the family itself can provide the justification you need because, in a family attempt to help, the family may pressure you, arguments occur, and you may use those arguments and stress as an excuse to continue with your addiction.
If you are aware that you are looking for excuses and justifications, it’ll be easier for you to begin the recovery process. The process begins with the realization of what is going on that makes, little by little, you cease to deceive yourself. That is why it is often a good idea to enter an addiction rehab center where you can be away from your family, work, and anything that can generate discomfort or stress, and you can use it as an excuse for using drugs.
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