Beat Your Addiction through these Key Tactics

What is the best way to beat your addiction? There are certain steps you can take that will allow you to do so, but where do you begin? It doesn't matter what you are addicted to, the important thing is that you start taking action if you want to move towards changing yourself.

That is the first main point that you must understand: recovery is all about action. You can sit and read books or web pages about it all day long, but until you start taking action and doing some stuff in order to work towards a new life in recovery, you will not get the results you want. This is because your new life in recovery must be created through action. Deliberate, purposeful action.

There are a couple of other key points you will need to implement in order to achieve lasting recovery. What is critical is that you understand which of these strategies should be used in early recovery, versus which strategies are more appropriate for long term sobriety.

The first strategy you will need in recovery is that of networking with others. Now this is particularly important for early recovery because of two different reasons. The first reason we need peer support in early recovery is for the added support and identification that we get from interacting with others. We need to know that we are not alone in how we feel and reaching out to other addicts in recovery is critical for this.

The second reason we need the peer support is for learning. We have to relearn how to live a sober life. This is the first major goal of your early recovery. Continuous learning is the only thing that will sustain your sobriety and if you don't keep learning then eventually you'll end up relapsing. And how can we learn in recovery? Not from reading recovery literature but instead from our friends in recovery and their stories.

The next tactic for recovery is about self esteem and caring about yourself. Now this might sound obvious but the typical addict or alcoholic has to relearn how to take care of themselves. We have typically abused ourselves and our bodies for so long that leaning towards good health seems unnatural.

Not only do we need to care for ourselves, but we need to do it in many different ways and on many different levels. So we are talking about going above and beyond mere physical health and abstinence from drugs and alcohol. We want to consider changes in our diet, getting more exercise, getting good sleep, watching our emotional health and stability, and getting plenty of rest and relaxation. And so on. Our view of health in recovery needs to be a holistic one. That means we take care of ourselves in every area of our life.

Finally, we want to employ the strategy of personal growth. Or rather, we are going to have to push ourselves to pursue personal growth. Again, the question arises: how should we grow as a person? And the answer is again: holistically.

We want to explore new avenues of growth and keep on learning in recovery. This is the secret to staying clean for the long haul and avoiding inaction. When we get complacent in our recovery we run the risk of relapse. So we must push ourselves beyond laziness and inaction so that we can avoid this outcome.

If you consider these 3 strategies then you will see that they can work together to form a complete strategy for recovery. Focus on the networking and learning in early recovery, then shift over to holistic growth and long term health habits as you enter long term recovery. This is the most solid strategy for long term success. Good luck!