Many people, to a greater or lesser extent, depend on their weaknesses. Some like to play games, some like to drink beer every night, and some cannot imagine themselves without a cigarette. The problem with any bad habit is that it can transform into an addiction, which then creates problems in all areas of life.
What is Addictology?
Addictology is a science that studies the characteristics of deviant behavior, characterized by a person’s craving to get rid of problems by changing the mind. That is, a person wants to get away from reality, trouble, using alcohol, drugs, or concentrating on a certain activity, such as gaming. Addictive behavior first manifests itself in fixation of attention, the main feature of which is to repeat the experience of changing consciousness again. The person increasingly repeats the past experience and his or her consciousness concentrates more and more only on how to recreate that action. As a result, the person becomes completely immersed in his addiction, which is bad for his life as a whole.
Goals and Objectives of Addictology
Addictology shows that the people who are most susceptible to addiction are those who have difficulty adapting to change and have a hard time coping with psychological problems. In order to get rid of psychological discomfort faster, they prefer a simple and understandable way – escape from reality. Consider the psychological characteristics of people who may be prone to addiction:
fear of responsibility;
anxiety;
stereotypical thinking;
low adaptability and tolerance of life difficulties or crises.
Blaming others for their problems;
Inferiority concealed by ostentatious superiority.
Every person and every case of addiction is unique, so special methods have been developed to study the characteristics of addictive behavior and to determine the method of treatment.
How to get rid of addictive behavior?
The first step in getting rid of addiction will be understanding and realizing that there is a problem that keeps you from living fully. If you have been able to accept your problem, that is almost half the success. Let’s consider the following steps:
Make a decision to fight the problem. Make a promise to yourself that you will get rid of the bad habit. Make a list of the positive changes you will feel after quitting your addiction. This can be a feeling of freedom, feeling good, saving money and time. Reasons must be strong and weighty.
Make a step by step plan of action. Determine an exact date when you will start working on the problem. Identify the main triggers that provoke you to addiction. For example, if there is an addiction to alcohol, then do not visit pubs and stores with alcoholic products at first. That way you can distract yourself and shift your attention.
Gradually give up the habit. If you quit smoking abruptly, you are likely to slip away in a couple of days. Forbidden fruit is sweet, so quit gradually to definitely kick the habit. Reduce the number of cigarettes smoked per day, replace them with nuts, fruit or seeds.
Be calm on a breakdown. Many people, after getting rid of an addiction, may snap. This is normal, there is no need to blame yourself, there is nothing to worry about. The main thing is not to succumb to the addiction further, analyze the situation. Think about why you snapped, what was the trigger. How could you solve the problem without resorting to addiction. Fix these thoughts and go back to a normal life.
The most important thing in the fight against addiction is a change of activity. Fill your free time with new hobbies, developing intellectual and physical skills.