Addictions I know all too well, having been addicted to video games for most of my youth.
Back then I didn’t see it as such though, and just as a really fun hobby.
In hindsight, I wish I’d have never been introduced to these games, due to the countless, tens of thousands of hours I’ve put into them.
They quickly make me somewhat wired and make me not wanna do anything else.
No chores, no other fun or necessary stuff, just game.
You may be in a similar situation, whatever your addiction may be.
And here, in this article, I aim to help.
Table of Contents
- Why To Kick Your Addictions To The Curb
- Types Of Addictions And Overlapping
- Signs Of An Addiction
- Quitting Cold Turkey Or Gradually?
- How To Get Rid Of Your Addiction(s) Once And For All
- Addiction Anecdotes
- Restoring Dopamine Receptors And Brain Function
- Recap
- Share The Article:
Why To Kick Your Addictions To The Curb
You’ll want to kick your addictions because you’ll have a better, richer and more fulfilled life without them.
You’ll be more productive and able to have better relationships.
Mental health is important.
Types Of Addictions And Overlapping
To list a few, common addictions for you to get out of include:
- Video games
- Porn addiction
- Fast food
- Alcohol
- Drugs
- Smoking
- Cannabis (sort of a drug)
- Gambling
- Sex
- Shopping
- The internet (social media, YouTube, TikTok etc)
There are more, but this should cover the most common ones.
They can overlap, in that if you have one, you’re more prone to the other ones, too.
A downregulated dopamine receptor density makes things seem duller and you search for other addictive stuff for your dopamine kick instead.
Signs Of An Addiction
The signs of an addiction include (so you know you if you have one):
- Inability to quit – Not being able to stop.
- Intense focus on the activity or substance – As with PC games for me.
- Increased tolerance – You may need more of said substance or activity for the same effects.
- Lack of control – You may feel like you’re no longer in the driver’s seat.
- Personal, health and relationship issues – Addiction can make a large and negative inmpact on these parts of your life.
- Withdrawal – Addicts may experience withdrawal symptoms when trying to quit.
Quitting Cold Turkey Or Gradually?
Whether to quit cold turkey or gradually will likely depend on your specific addiction and on how well you know yourself.
As for me and video games, it needs to be completely because it just affects me too much and quickly.
Suddenly nothing else matters, sort of.
Addictions can mess with your reward and dopamine system, decreasing your dopamine receptors (take care of these because they take time to recover).
With other addictions such as processed food, you could do it more gradually if really needed.
How To Get Rid Of Your Addiction(s) Once And For All
Again, just quitting cold turkey might be the play, and then focus on reward system recovery.
But steps to include, include:
- Admitting there’s a problem, and reflecting on that.
- Identify your triggers. They could be stress, uncomfortable emotions, social isolation, environmental cues, mental or physical illness or more.
- Change your environment, i.e. if you’re hungry or want to play your video games, get outside, don’t keep unhealthy food at home, throw the games away, and so on.
- Exercising can be godly for stress and anxiety relief and to aid in recovery of your dopamine receptors and healthy brain, so don’t exclude this.
- Accept the past, even though it may hurt.
- Try meditation, it can do wonders temporarily for addiction.
- Try NoFap, it can make you less prone to addiction.
Addiction Anecdotes
The two last ones, meditation and NoFap, are my own additions to the list, from personal research and experience.
Meditation can really get those impulsive cravings down, and can thus be great when trying to break an addiction, or maintain sober.
NoFap for me and a lot of others can help make your body want healthier habits and choices, and for me that happens in about day 3 but especially day 5.
Basically I want to eat healthy, exercise, perhaps meditate, take colder showers and, socialize more and so on.
Try these for yourself!
Restoring Dopamine Receptors And Brain Function
A few extra mentions however include to bask in the sun (can increase dopamine receptors), and to avoid overstimulating stuff if you can (same here).
If your addiction is video games, you still want to avoid other types of behaviour such as fast food, porn, drugs etc that have similar effects.
Also, try fasting or periodic fasting, where you restrict food intake, since that’s another option for restoring those receptors quicker.
Recap
To recap, being free from addiction is the goal for both your health and quality of life, addictions really suck.
The first step is to admit there’s a problem, and then follow the 7 steps outlined above.
I’ve dealt with addiction myself, so I know how it can be.
Be well, friend,
/Emil
