How to Overcome Addiction and Get Your Life Back

I stopped my cholesterol medicine 2 years ago.

I didn’t want to take medication for the rest of my life.  So I became a vegetarian.  I did this for 11 months.  My cholesterol improved.

But I lost focus and added back fish.  And everybody knows that fish is the gateway food to chicken.  And from chicken it’s a slippery slope to steak.  And the next thing you know, you find yourself passed out on the floor covered in McDonald’s hamburger wrappers.

And all this started because I didn’t want to take cholesterol medicine.

If you are my patient, you are thinking right now, “Wait a minute doc.  Didn’t you just recommend I start Crestor?”  Yeah, I probably did.  I just don’t want to take it myself.

I have an aversion to medications.  But I come by it honestly.  Most of the healthiest people I know have the same aversion.

But now that I’m off the wagon, I will probably have to restart my medication.  We’ll see.  Maybe I will wait a few years.  I can at least wait until I’m 40. (famous last words)

But this post isn’t about medications

At least not in the typical sense.  It’s supposed to be about a different kind of drug.  And more than that, it’s supposed to be about leaving them behind.  Starting a new life, etc, etc.

So why is it so hard for so many people?

I’ve been in the trenches.  I’ve seen the struggle.  You want to change but feel helpless.  You are stuck in the cycle of your own destruction.

You can live a life, clean and sober.

You can make this change today.

Here is how you start.

Learn from your mistakes

Or, learn from what works.

That’s too stupid and simplistic you think.  But it still holds true.  Let me explain why.

For every action, there is an opposite and equal reaction.  At least, that’s what they told me in physics.  (I didn’t pay much attention, so the details are fuzzy.)

This is how it plays out in the real world: Actions have consequences.   For every action you make, there is a reaction.  There are results.  There are consequences.

Most of the time, we think about this from a negative standpoint.  We think about karma.  You do something “bad” and bad things happen.  But it is neither negative nor positive.  It is neither good nor bad.  It just is.  It’s a tool to use for your own improvement.

If you want different results, you need to change your actions.

If what you are doing isn’t working, you need to do something different.

Your life is an arrow

Point it in the direction you choose.

If something doesn’t work, try something else.

I have a lot of patients that want help with losing weight.  Most of them tell me the same thing, “I don’t ever eat.”

I used to try and argue the fact.  I felt for sure they were overeating.  But I came to realize that this never helped solve the problem.

I decided to take a different approach.

I tell them to do the opposite of whatever they are doing.  If they only eat once, they should eat 6 times a day.  If they eat 6 times, then maybe they should only eat twice.  If they always eat breakfast, maybe they should skip it.  If they only eat fruit, then maybe they should only eat fish.  (No one tells me this though.  I doubt anyone that only eats fruit would be overweight.  Also, beware of mercury if you only eat fish)

You get the point, right?  If you are doing something and not getting the results you want, try something else.  You have to experiment and find out what works for you.

I do this with my life all the time.  I love to experiment with new routines, new diets, new workouts, new ways to meditate, new hobbies.

I have always wanted to write a book.  But I never did.  I would start and quit. Over and over.

It wasn’t until I decided to write every day that my dream started to become a reality.   Now, I’m in the editing phases.

But, it took action.  It took action in a different way than I had previously tried.

So how does this help you stop using drugs?

Quit trying to quit.

(Did he just say that?)

Yes, I did.

Focus on building a life.  A life with meaning.  Focus on repairing relationships.  Focus on giving back to others.

Focus on getting healthy in other ways.  Go to the gym.  Start running or cycling.  Learn a new hobby.  Get off the TV and read.  Go vegetarian.  Or maybe try paleo.

Just do something!  Take action, monitor your results, and make adjustments.

Stop focusing so much on quitting.  And start focusing on becoming.   Becoming You.  Maybe being you for the first time in years.

Start to build a life worth living.  Then find a physician or counselor that can help guide you through some of the trickier parts of withdrawal, cravings, and life management.

This isn’t an advertisement for you to come see me.  (I probably won’t be around much longer anyway, unless I start taking my cholesterol medicine.)

This is a call to action.

What would it feel like to live without regret?  To no longer be a slave to pills or alcohol?  To be free from anxiety?

This life can be yours.

Reach out and take it.

Your life is an arrow and will go whatever direction you point it towards.

PS 

You can read more and sign up for my newsletter by CLICKING HERE

You can follow me on twitter @Chrispark97

PPS 

If you or someone you love is struggling,  we offer free counseling.  Call 662-322-0996.