How do you wean yourself off addictions?

Everyone has bad habits. Some we know about and try to fight them, and some we don’t even realize. Some practically do not interfere with us, while others can seriously complicate life. And it is often not so easy to fight them. Together with psychologist Nadezhda Pozharova we find out how to get rid of bad habits once and for all, and analyze the most common mistakes.

What are bad habits?

Nadezhda: Bad habits are a story of self-destruction, autoaggressive behavior, that is, aggression directed at yourself with different goals. Someone gets pleasure from them or thinks they get pleasure from them. These tend to be habits that in one way or another affect a change in the state of consciousness.

People often correlate bad habits and addictions. The psychologist notes that in the second case, a person does not have the ability to control his actions, and more often he commits something unconsciously, by an irresistible pull. With addictions should be addressed to a specialist who will help to consistently solve the problem. But bad habits are easier to control and you can get rid of them on your own.

As a rule, they are formed and developed according to three main patterns:

1. A person realizes that something is harmful to him, and he wants to do something about it. Here the work on oneself will flow more effectively.

2. The person realizes that something is hurting him, but he is not ready to work with it. He thinks that it will pass, he thinks that next time it will be different.

3. the person does not realize the harm he/she is doing to himself/herself. This can be noticed by his loved ones, but until it becomes a problem for him, the situation will not move from the dead point.

What are bad habits?

The expert conditionally divides bad habits into three categories.

Causing harm to the bodily state. This includes habits such as smoking, drinking alcohol and any other substances.

Causing harm to the psycho-emotional state. This category includes habits of scolding oneself, not giving time for rest, denying oneself pleasures.

Causing harm to other people as well. These are bad habits that affect other people, causing them harm and inconvenience. For example, gambling, “collecting” garbage and so on.

How can you not fight bad habits?

Hope: One of the most common mistakes in the fight against bad habits is the word “fight” itself. When people begin to work on themselves, they use various violent methods, put ultimatum prohibitions. In the vast majority of such cases, or they return to their former way of life, or they have nervous breakdowns and replacement of one bad habit with another.

Harmful addictions are formed in a person to compensate for certain conditions. This is a way of reacting to external circumstances. Therefore, in the process of getting rid of bad habits, a conscious approach and gradual solution of the problem are important.

How to correctly give up bad habits?

Psychologist says that this problem should be approached systematically. If you decide to get to the bottom of the true causes of your behavior, the most important thing is to notice at what moments you start doing certain things, and think about what you really want to do.

For example, most often people go out for a smoke at work because they need a change of scenery, rest, and movement. Attention is scattered and the person needs to switch. This can be done without smoking, but many are convinced of the opposite, since such a pattern of behavior has already formed.

It is important to take care of yourself: do not try to squeeze the maximum out of your body, but listen to the needs and feelings.

Hope: It is necessary to learn to get to know yourself on all levels: bodily, emotional, mental. What do I want right now? What am I feeling? What is this for? Being mindful of oneself is the key to conscious behavior.

If you have difficulties in working with bad habits and addictions, you should not let everything go to waste – it is better to consult a specialist.