Addiction is a terrible thing. Many of us during our lifetimes end up with an addiction of some sort and it can become something which potentially has a huge negative impact on our lives. For the new year you might want to make a new start, and whether you are addicted to social media, alcohol or something else, we have some handy tips for you.

1.Use friends

When we suffer from any kind of addiction the hardest thing we can do is go it alone and try to cope with it ourselves. The best option is to have a group of friends or even just one dedicated friend to help you through and make sure that you are on track. They will be the one who will help you back up again when you fall and this can be totally invaluable to you if you suffer from an addiction.

2. Read

If you don’t like to impose on your friends and you feel as if you are going to take up too much of their time with your issues you do have another option which you can do to make you feel better. Reading might seem like something which will be useless to you but actually it can be a great way for you to escape from the real world for a while and get lost in another one. Reading is always a good thing to do for yourself and it can be relaxing as well as making you feel more positive about things.

3. Be Accountable

The most important thing you can do to help yourself if you want to get over an addiction effectively is to be accountable to someone. If you try and go the whole thing alone it can be incredibly easy for you to fall off the wagon and make bad choices all over again. When you use Resolutions Behavioral Health or a network of people in your recovery this can be the best option for you and it will make all the difference to your progress. Being able to talk to people every day and tell them how you feel and what you have achieved is a great way to feel motivated to carry on and do this for yourself.

4. Predict triggers

When you try to manage an addiction one of the best things you can do for yourself is predict when you are going to be triggered by the world around you. It could be that when you see someone healthy and lean you want to immediately check Instagram and compare yourself, or perhaps at 3 pm you want to head out for a smoke break. Whatever the trigger is, learn to spot it before it manifests and make sure that you don’t let it break you.

5. Distract Yourself

Distractions can be the best medicine for you in any situation and when you are trying to get over an addiction, having a distraction for your mind is a powerful weapon. It will allow you not only to avoid your triggers but eventually it might even help you to not need your addictive habits any more and let them go completely. Great ways to keep yourself busy could be cleaning the house, going for a run or playing a game with your family.

6. Sweat

If one of the main triggers for your addiction is a history of depression, then this next thing should be the ideal help for you. Working out or exercising the body in any way can be amazing for your state of mind and it will make you happier. When it comes to thinking about working out this can be a good way to release happy hormones into the body and fight any depressive feelings you may have. This is effective for those of you who might have issues with your self esteem and it can be something which acts as both a distraction and a medicine too.

7. Start a Project

One of the really great things you can do for your mental state if you are struggling with depression is actually to sit down and start a little project. It could be baking and decorating a cake for someone’s birthday, making a photo album for your family or something else. The act of having something to work on and to achieve can be exactly what we need and when we do manage to finish the project and present it to others it will give us a sense of pride and achievement which is great for the soul.

8. Write it down

The value of having a diary or a journal to write down your thoughts is something which a lot of people don’t realize. When you have a journal to use for yourself and your issues you can write down your habits every day and the way you feel and it can lift a weight off your shoulders. You’ll also be able to read back and see your good and bad days, and this can help you to see what patterns of behavior are good and bad for you to practice each and every day.

9. Have a happy item

It might sound like something which is more aimed at children who are homesick, but it is true that even in adulthood certain smells and feelings help us feel relaxed and happy. For example if you have a partner and you love to wear their clothes, this is likely because the clothes smell like them and this can make you feel more relaxed when you are around them. This is why it can be a great option for you to bring along a security item with you wherever you go and use this to help you stay focused on your recovery and to make you feel more confident and happy. There is a huge value to having items like this for yourself and it can make all the difference to your mental health.