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Avoiding other habits

Discussion in 'Sobriety Tips and Inspiration' started by JoanMcWench, Apr 14, 2015.

  1. JoanMcWench

    JoanMcWench Community Champion

    I think a sobriety tip that sometimes falls by the wayside (because there are so many) is staying away from other bad habits. We have the tendency when putting down one bad habit to fill the hole that's left with another one. Has anyone here had this situation occur to them? Any experience picking up another bad habit &, if so, was there any success with putting that one down as well? Or did it become a lesser of two evils situation for you?
  2. kana_marie

    kana_marie Community Champion

    Originally, my issue was drinking about a case of beer a day and blacking out every night. My husband, (boyfriend at the time) basically said I was killing myself and he couldn't have me around his kids that way... And he obviously wasn't going to give up his kids. I started taking pain pills and benzos to quit drinking. That habit became worse than drinking had been. I managed to quit that, too. I still smoke cigarettes, but at least I'm not stealing from friends and family whenever I run out. Lol
  3. FuZyOn

    FuZyOn Community Champion

    That was something that happened to me and it is still kind of happening. I used to eat a lot more after I quit smoking and drinking. I just filled the void with food an whenever I craved something I would just go and eat. That was a really bad thing.
    I got clean after a long process, although I still have trouble from time to time.
  4. kana_marie

    kana_marie Community Champion

    I did that at first! I gained a lot of weight because of it. I've stopped eating like that, but I'm still working on getting rid of the extra weight
  5. missbishi

    missbishi Community Champion

    Thankfully, I never really replaced cocaine with anything except work. I took on extra hours at weekends to keep myself out of the clubs - boredom would have ruined any chance I had of staying clean other wise.
  6. dyanmarie25

    dyanmarie25 Community Champion

    Other than alcohol, I have never tried any other drug/substance. :) I'm pretty addicted to books and movies now, but I don't think they are bad habits. :D
  7. JoshPosh

    JoshPosh Community Champion

    The only thing that had me by the nuts was alcohol. When I stepped back from it I took on self pitty as my new companion. There was no secondary substance. Alcohol was the jealous girlfriend that never left my side in fear I might give someone else attention.
  8. adfnio

    adfnio Community Champion

    In the absence of one outlet people do tend to find another one. For me it was either alcohol or marijuana. When I got tired from work alcohol made me relax. When I was just frustrated with life, I turned to marijuana. I cheated on both of them, never at the same time. I stopped drinking for awhile but mari jane was there to take over the reigns
  9. Jericho Mercado

    Jericho Mercado Active Contributor

    I replaced my addiction, smoking with fitness. After giving up smoking food became the new crutch to lean on and I put on a lot of weight. I started to jog and go to the gym where I met other people who were doing fitness for the same reason as me. Weight gain after quitting smoking.

    Made some good friends, all ex smokers and this has lead to a nice little support group, to continue to stay smoke free and have someone to jog and go to the gym with.
  10. xTinx

    xTinx Community Champion

    Well the only way to put down an old habit is to create a new one that will overshadow the previous habit. For instance, if you're addicted to television and want to stop, then you can start exploring more productive hobbies such as writing stories, working online or cooking. Once the new habit takes up much of your time, you'll slowly forget and let go of the old one.
  11. serenity

    serenity Community Champion

    I tried alcohol and I hated it's taste. I did like weed and cigarettes, but the liking never turned into an addiction. Right now I have a tendency to buy and collect things I don't need, but I can manage it.
  12. oraclemay

    oraclemay Community Champion

    I did eat a bit when I stopped drinking and smoking, but it did not last long. Luckily I came right as I never frequented the same places or hung out with the same friends. I got myself some new healthy habits and friends.
  13. imperivm1

    imperivm1 Community Champion

    I have a friend who replaced smoking regular cigarettes with an electronic one. I'm not entirely certain what the differences between those two are but in my humble opinion, I don't think he managed to achieve a drastic change for the better. He's still smoking; he's just not so much exposed to toxic fumes as he was when he was still smoking regular cigarettes. That's what I call replacing one bad habit with another.
  14. missbishi

    missbishi Community Champion

    That's exactly what I have done for the last 4 months and whilst I completely agree that I've just replaced one habit with another and that I haven't addressed my nicotine addiction, I feel so much healthier, I can run faster, I smell better and I have a little more spare cash. I'm currently titrating down on the amount of nicotine my vapes contain, but this is the longest I have ever gone without a cigarette in over 20 years of smoking.
    imperivm1 likes this.
  15. kassie1234

    kassie1234 Community Champion

    I do believe a lot of addictive behaviors go hand in hand. For me when I used to drink, I would always smoke too. Like peanut butter and jelly...they just went together. When I decided finally to stop smoking, I really found I had to stay away from drinking too -- because I know if I had too much to drink, it would be an automatic that I would want to smoke too. I'm sure many people will agree that as hard as it can be, you've gotta go completely cold turkey with avoiding other bad habits or it can be too easy to relapse.
  16. missbishi

    missbishi Community Champion

    How true is this! Having an alcoholic drink always made me want to smoke more and I'll be honest and say that now it makes me vape more too! I wonder what it is that causes this effect?
  17. Adrianna

    Adrianna Community Champion

    Some have this notion that they need to have some kind of a bad habit. Make excuses for why they should be able to do this. Some kind of sarcastic joke of it even. Good habits that are productive and make sense should be the ones that stick. But I guess some find all the ones they shouldn't do. It takes time and effort to get those going.
  18. Iconoclast85

    Iconoclast85 Member

    I'm an impulsive sort of individual so switching from one habit to another can be problematic. You can turn this to your advantage however - find a habit that's positive instead. It could weight lifting, it could be running, it could be marital arts, it could be alternative health and herbal supplementation. There are plenty of positive habitual activities that you can invest yourself in - you just need to discover something that suits your own personal disposition.
  19. Vinaya

    Vinaya Community Champion

    I had issues with alcohol and substance use, however, it has been many years since I have given up my alcohol and substance use. Currently, I am a social drinker, which means I drink one or two drinks only when I am in party or social gatherings. I have not touched substance since many years. However, my problem us with tobacco use, which bean after I ave up other addiction.
  20. Coolkidhere

    Coolkidhere Community Champion

    I have substituted my addiction to another addiction. For a while, I chose the lesser of two evils, so food addiction it is. And it's not just food addiction, it's junk food addiction which can be every bit as bad as a smoking or even an alcohol addiction. I had one time of my life where all I ate were chips, sodas, canned foods, fast food and instant noodles. Not good I know! They are packed full of sodium, sugar and artificial flavourings.

    To combat that addiction, I had to inform myself. I read all articles about the bad effects of such foods especially in excess. I gained so much weight that time as well. I figured I had to stop this madness. I started exercising and eating more fruits and vegetables. I lessened my rice intake as well. Since then, I'm at a healthier weight and I have become more active.