Going cold turkey is the easy part. The real challenge is staying clean.
Prisoners of war who are optimistic about being rescued usually die of a broken heart while the prisoners who come to terms that they will face incredible pain for a long period of time find ways to accept their fate. When they are eventually rescued or released - they get to live afterwards. The process of getting off any addiction is going to be incredibly painful.
This is a game of the mind - controlling your thoughts and self mastery will enable you to be clean for as long as you choose to be clean.
I have personally gone cold turkey and never walked back from:
Opiates
Benzodiazopenes
Stimulants
Trycyclic antidepressants
SSRI drugs
Alcohol
Smoking substances
Most of the strong stuff you can get addicted to - I've had it. I'm not naming the substances as this is not a glorificaiton post and the human mind does not process negatives; anything you feed it is reinforced, even when you talk about it negatively. Which is the purpose of this post - whatever you are addicted to, you can get off of it but you need to control how you think.
i - Be ready to walk away
Before anything else; you have to mentally decide to walk away. Once you cut the cord there must be no going back and you must commit to it entirely, regardless of the consequences. Else you will not get clean. You must be prepared to suffer to have sobriety as you are going to suffer - there is no way around it; pain is coming. Accept you're going to get metaphorically shot and you'll survive the blow
1. Cut off your drug friends
There are no exceptions to this rule. Show me your friends and I'll show you your future. You cannot associate with anyone who uses recreational drugs in real life or you will go back
2. Stop talking about recreational drugs
Most of your conversations while using drugs were probably drug related. You need to find new conversation topics and resist the urge to give your opinions when drugs come up in a conversation. It's better to stay clean than win arguments or have people like you
3. Physically move away from the places you used drugs
You need to break your subconcious process cycles. This act causes your brain to work harder as you will spend less time on auto pilot which can be incredibly stressful when you have just come off drugs. I never said this would be easy - it is HARD. Accept it is going to be hard from day1 and embrace the pain; it is a sign you are getting better
4. Keep yourself busy
You need to be occupied and find purpose in your life. Most people use drugs out of boredom, trauma or mental health issues. When you have a purpose higher than yourself to focus your efforts on - your mental focus will shift to the tasks and you won't think about drugs
5. Donate time helping other people get off drugs and improve their mental health
By pulling other people out the pit; you reinforce your new identity as a life saver and a fixer rather than a drug user. I am not a drug user or a drug addict; I am someone with first hand experience of drugs who is fully equipped to get other people off drugs and I continue to do so succesfully.
Once you go through the process of getting and staying clean - you will become a new person with a new identity. The incredible pain you will go through will build a much tougher person who can take alot of pain. First hand experience of taking that pain creates an aura which will rub off on other people and they will get stronger. You being there for them is no longer just someone to talk to but like a soldier having a field marshall; it's alot easier to win a war when you have a commanding officer who has already won alot of fights.
You being strong will get other people out of the pit - your example will save others and the journey out will create a higher purpose than just your own life
Prisoners of war who are optimistic about being rescued usually die of a broken heart while the prisoners who come to terms that they will face incredible pain for a long period of time find ways to accept their fate. When they are eventually rescued or released - they get to live afterwards. The process of getting off any addiction is going to be incredibly painful.
This is a game of the mind - controlling your thoughts and self mastery will enable you to be clean for as long as you choose to be clean.
I have personally gone cold turkey and never walked back from:
Opiates
Benzodiazopenes
Stimulants
Trycyclic antidepressants
SSRI drugs
Alcohol
Smoking substances
Most of the strong stuff you can get addicted to - I've had it. I'm not naming the substances as this is not a glorificaiton post and the human mind does not process negatives; anything you feed it is reinforced, even when you talk about it negatively. Which is the purpose of this post - whatever you are addicted to, you can get off of it but you need to control how you think.
i - Be ready to walk away
Before anything else; you have to mentally decide to walk away. Once you cut the cord there must be no going back and you must commit to it entirely, regardless of the consequences. Else you will not get clean. You must be prepared to suffer to have sobriety as you are going to suffer - there is no way around it; pain is coming. Accept you're going to get metaphorically shot and you'll survive the blow
1. Cut off your drug friends
There are no exceptions to this rule. Show me your friends and I'll show you your future. You cannot associate with anyone who uses recreational drugs in real life or you will go back
2. Stop talking about recreational drugs
Most of your conversations while using drugs were probably drug related. You need to find new conversation topics and resist the urge to give your opinions when drugs come up in a conversation. It's better to stay clean than win arguments or have people like you
3. Physically move away from the places you used drugs
You need to break your subconcious process cycles. This act causes your brain to work harder as you will spend less time on auto pilot which can be incredibly stressful when you have just come off drugs. I never said this would be easy - it is HARD. Accept it is going to be hard from day1 and embrace the pain; it is a sign you are getting better
4. Keep yourself busy
You need to be occupied and find purpose in your life. Most people use drugs out of boredom, trauma or mental health issues. When you have a purpose higher than yourself to focus your efforts on - your mental focus will shift to the tasks and you won't think about drugs
5. Donate time helping other people get off drugs and improve their mental health
By pulling other people out the pit; you reinforce your new identity as a life saver and a fixer rather than a drug user. I am not a drug user or a drug addict; I am someone with first hand experience of drugs who is fully equipped to get other people off drugs and I continue to do so succesfully.
Once you go through the process of getting and staying clean - you will become a new person with a new identity. The incredible pain you will go through will build a much tougher person who can take alot of pain. First hand experience of taking that pain creates an aura which will rub off on other people and they will get stronger. You being there for them is no longer just someone to talk to but like a soldier having a field marshall; it's alot easier to win a war when you have a commanding officer who has already won alot of fights.
You being strong will get other people out of the pit - your example will save others and the journey out will create a higher purpose than just your own life
