A sneaky trick of the mind is how addiction takes hold. The dopamine system was designed to drive you to make good decisions about things such as eating and resting. Addiction takes this same system and takes it hostage. This creates endless loops in which you have a promise of achieving a quick high that keeps bringing you back in.
With regard to addiction, when specific cues occur, they trigger you to act and achieve an intense rush. This rush, then rewires your brain to repeat that action (pattern) over and over again. As time goes by, these loops become chains that are impossible to break.
To defeat addiction, you must take a direct approach to your patterns. You will learn about cognitive shifts, changing the environment around you, and using effective rewards as ways to replace old bad habits with new and better habits.
Cognitive Restructuring: Disrupting Automatic Reinforcement
Your thoughts drive the bus in addiction. They justify the next slip. Rewire them, and you cut the cord to automatic urges.
This approach uses proven mind tools. It stops reinforcement before it starts. Let’s see how.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) Techniques for Relapse Prevention
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is great for identifying distorted perspectives. For example, “Just one more time won’t make a difference” sounds like an innocent thought, but it does not factor in how that one time will lead to a full blown out relapse.
Challenge that thought by identifying evidence that supports it, and what the likelihood is of experiencing the worst-case scenario from missing out on that one drink. Replace it with evidence-based facts; **i.e.** if I have one drink, that will ultimately lead me to having multiple drinks (5).
People managing broader emotional challenges alongside addiction sometimes benefit from professional support addressing mental health disorders as emotional stability often strengthens recovery outcomes.
When it comes to preventing relapses, decatastrophizing is the technique to utilize. High levels of stress can create the illusion that the world will come to an end if you do not have your fix. Break down your feelings of stress and anxiety into smaller and manageable steps, such as going for a walk or calling a friend. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, data has shown that CBT can reduce the rate of relapse in trials by as much as 50%.
Mindfulness and Urge Surfing
By being mindful of your urges and not acting on them immediately, you are capable of sitting on the bank of a river and simply watching the current jar past. You may see the current and feel the urge to “dive” into the water, but you will simply remain seated, watching.
There is another way of doing this called “surfing the urge.” Your cravings will usually build up to a peak, similar to the way a wave is created in the ocean, and then they will recede. To ride the urge out, you can simply take deep breaths and verbalize what you are feeling, e.g. “I am experiencing tightness in my chest.”
To ride out the wave of your urge:
- Take a breath in for four counts.
- Hold your breath for four counts.
- Exhale your breath for four counts.
- Continue this pattern until the wave passes (this usually takes only a few minutes).
The easiest way for a beginner to learn how to surf their urges is through the use of an app such as Headspace. While not necessary, it is suggested that you practice daily even if you do not have an urge to surf, as it will increase your ability to pause or break the cycle of reinforcing behavior.
Environmental Control: Modifying the Cue Landscape
Your surroundings scream cues at you. Change them, and the pulls weaken. It’s like clearing weeds from a garden.
Control what you can. This section covers practical moves. They make staying on track easier.
Stimulus Control Techniques
Ease of access must go. Uninstall wagering programs on devices if you regularly do this. Remove alcohol from your house (or keep it locked away) if necessary.
Change your environment. Move furniture around to disrupt old habits. If you habitually binge-watch tidily on your couch, try to reorient to face out a window instead and read.
Develop alternate routes to get through difficult moments. Avoid the bar for at least your initial outings with friends who drink. Use a different route home that avoids passing by the liquor store. Research indicates that making these changes reduces cues related to cravings about 50%.
Structuring Time to Eliminate Boredom and Idleness
Trouble comes from boredom. Without something to do in an empty hour, old habits surface. Smartly fill empty spaces.
Create a daily schedule that has time slots for meals, exercise, and hobbies. Start at the very beginning: get up at 7 a.m., walk at 8 a.m.
- In the morning write out 3 things you will do that day.
- Put in your schedule times for fun, such as doing a puzzle or calling someone.
- Review these fun times at night. Change any time you did not use as intended.
Putting fun in these spaces takes them away from boredom and after a period of time will become routine while cutting off the supply of fuel for your addiction.
Leveraging Positive Reinforcement for Healthy Habits
Punish less; reward more. Positive boosts carve fresh paths in your brain. Turn recovery into something you chase.
This flips the script. Use these tools to make good choices stick. They build momentum.
Implementing Contingency Management (CM)
CM connects rewards to accomplishments – if you remain drug-free for one week; the reward could be watching a movie. If you participate in therapy, then you could use that as an opportunity to buy a book you have wanted.
Rewards should be fast and small; an example would be giving a sticker for your daily progress. Clinics also use vouchers providing proof that up to 70% of clients continue their program after receiving a reward for having stayed sober.
Make it custom fit for you – if you use exercise to help you fight your addiction to being sedentary, reward yourself with new running gear. The connection between your brain and how it loves fast reward relates to health; it can help keep you healthy.
Tracking Progress and Visualizing Success
Accomplishments are motivating to continue. Create a calendar that shows sobriety days with large X’s and observe the growth pattern of your achievement.
Habitica and other applications make this experience fun through a video game-like platform. You can log your workouts and journal entries, and the action of tracking your progress gives you motivation due to your accumulating “streaks”.
Some individuals struggling with substance use disorders find structured treatment programs helpful when self-managed strategies alone are not enough.
Select only one measurement, such as the number of urge-free days to track. At the end of each week, look back at your week and celebrate your accomplishments.
Ask a friend to share in your efforts so they can help motivate you as well.
Seeing a visual allows your mind to subconsciously produce more dopamine and gives you the ability to convert your progress from an abstract concept into an actual tangible source of motivation.
Cultivating Intrinsic Rewards
External rewards do not last—but internal rewards can last a lifetime! Find a way to associate healthy habits with what is important in your life: spending time with family, maintaining your health and having a sharp mind.
Conclusion: Sustaining Change Beyond Initial Motivation
Reflect on your values and what has motivated you to quit smoking. Write down your thoughts. Focus on how good you will feel when you complete the first full day without smoking.
Develop your self-esteem through small victories, and notice how clearly you are able to think and how much more energy you have after quitting smoking. Over time, these early victories will become your motivation to continue to not smoke as opposed to your previous addiction to smoking. To reinforce this connection, create daily affirmations to use, such as “I am stronger today.”
