Hi - I keep trying to quit all my addictions at once and failing over and over.
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jun 2020
Posts: 2
Hi - I keep trying to quit all my addictions at once and failing over and over.
Hello,
So I've been in and out of recovery for a long time for a few different addictions and I can never really get any time with anything. However, I've also pretty much always tried to just give all my main addictions up at once. I have been very involved in 12 steps at times and other times not, while typically being encouraged to do it this way (cold turkey on everything together). After years of failing at this I just kind of gave up and have fallen out of the program. I'm wondering if I should take a different approach and I'm wondering how people with a lot of different addictions found long term sobriety with all of them? Did you cut everything at one time or did you do them one at a time?
I recently heard the phrase of stopping what's killing you the quickest first then slowly go down the line, that taking too much on at once is not a good idea. My mind is mixed up though, because like I said I have had sponsor say you should stop all at once. I have tried on my own a few times to do a single addiction first, of my big 3 addictions that I have, and I did start to get some distance in that addiction. However, quite quickly (within a week or two) I go back to dropping everything else as I will start to feel guilt and shame for still engaging with the other addictions and "failing" at giving everything up. So, I will start this method of 1 at a time and then quickly abandon to cut all out again................then I relapse on all of them again in a few days.
Please could use feedback. I'm sitting here currently active in all of them again and look back on my attempts over many years with practically no hope that change is possible.
So I've been in and out of recovery for a long time for a few different addictions and I can never really get any time with anything. However, I've also pretty much always tried to just give all my main addictions up at once. I have been very involved in 12 steps at times and other times not, while typically being encouraged to do it this way (cold turkey on everything together). After years of failing at this I just kind of gave up and have fallen out of the program. I'm wondering if I should take a different approach and I'm wondering how people with a lot of different addictions found long term sobriety with all of them? Did you cut everything at one time or did you do them one at a time?
I recently heard the phrase of stopping what's killing you the quickest first then slowly go down the line, that taking too much on at once is not a good idea. My mind is mixed up though, because like I said I have had sponsor say you should stop all at once. I have tried on my own a few times to do a single addiction first, of my big 3 addictions that I have, and I did start to get some distance in that addiction. However, quite quickly (within a week or two) I go back to dropping everything else as I will start to feel guilt and shame for still engaging with the other addictions and "failing" at giving everything up. So, I will start this method of 1 at a time and then quickly abandon to cut all out again................then I relapse on all of them again in a few days.
Please could use feedback. I'm sitting here currently active in all of them again and look back on my attempts over many years with practically no hope that change is possible.
Administrator
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Australia
Posts: 211,444
Hi and welcome Iwanttacos 
well I had to quit everything cos all my addictions - booze, cigarettes and weed - were interconnected.
Thats the only way I know how to do it.
Some people - not a majority but some - here have had better results tackling things one at a time.
If you haven't tried that before, maybe it's worth a try?
D
well I had to quit everything cos all my addictions - booze, cigarettes and weed - were interconnected.
Thats the only way I know how to do it.
Some people - not a majority but some - here have had better results tackling things one at a time.
If you haven't tried that before, maybe it's worth a try?
D
Reality...what a concept!
Join Date: Nov 2014
Location: CT, USA
Posts: 1,232
🙋🏻♀️ I am one of those who needs to tackle things one at a time, and have a “ whatever it takes” approach. When I realized I had a drinking problem, I had to focus on not drinking. I took whatever help I could get: AA, SR, prescription sleep aids and anti-depressants, ice cream sundaes, video games... then when I no longer had the daily compulsion to drink, I weened off the “helpers”. With the exception of SR and AA, any of those things can turn into a problem addiction. But I knew alcohol was my drug of choice, so in order to completely quit I needed to put off quitting lesser addictive things (to me personally). I agree with those who say quit the most dangerous thing first, if taking it one vice at a time.
Currently Active Users Viewing this Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
