4 IDEAL WAYS TO CONQUER YOUR VICES IN 2019

As if living a full, healthy life wasn’t difficult enough. But with every passing year, it seems like there’s a new food item that could give us cancer, a new piece of technology to get hooked on, and a new health scare just waiting to take us down. Yep, modern life is hard. There is a flipside though. Where once addictions were kept in the closet and help hard to find, we’re now able to tap into the potential of tech to open up opportunities in seeking guidance in living cleaner. So, here are 4 IDEAL ways to conquer your vices in 2019.

KEEP A DETAILED INDULGENCE DIARY

It’s a piece of advice as old as the practice of psychotherapy itself; the first step on the road to recovery is acknowledging that you have a problem. By keeping a diary of every cigarette you have, for instance, you can have a realistic overview of the scale of your issue. Most who do this are surprised at the level of the problem.

Apps can assist in this. ‘Drink Less’, for example, prompts you to record each drink you have each day, as well as how much you spend doing so. The app then offers an analysis of how problematic your consumption is, how many calories your habit is adding to your diet and so on. You can set goals such as staying within the recommended weekly units limit, and get feedback on your progress. It may sound simple, but this method of facing up to some hard truths can be really effective.

SWAP IN LESS HARMFUL ALTERNATIVES

For some, the full throttle change from daily indulgence to abstinence-based recovery can be a shock too harsh to bear. The switch is just too drastic, and likelihood of regression or relapse is sometimes enhanced. While an immediate cutting out of vices can work, others find a gradual lessening of consumption, step-by-step and day-by-day, to be a more manageable proposition. This can be made easier with less harmful alternatives replacing your usual intake. These can take the form of non-alcoholic beer instead of the strong stuff, vaping over cigarettes, and playing zero stake casino games rather than gambling with actual money.

FIND YOUR ZEN

When giving up a vice which sadly has spent years defining you, many people find their new life to have a certain emptiness and lack of fulfilment. This void can be filled, expertly and healthily, with mindfulness and meditation. This way of thinking often realises itself in a new perspective on life and helps you hugely when temptation arrives unannounced and insistent. Of course, it’s not a skill learnt overnight, it requires practice and persistence, but the benefits are abundant.

ENGAGE ONLINE

One of the great paradoxes of modern times is that although technology has made it so easy to meet new people and keep in touch, it’s also made us lonelier than ever before. But in terms of conquering vices, the increasing availability of help online is a massive positive in the battle against addiction. An area where this is most true is through online forums and communities. Where sometimes those in the grip of addiction may find it uncomfortable to ask for help from friends or family, it can sometimes be easier to seek a stranger’s advice and support, or even sponsorship.

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