It takes time to heal from drug addictions. Deciding that you no longer want to use drugs is the very first step towards breaking the addiction. However, making up your mind is one thing, but taking steps to stop using drugs is a completely different thing. When you decide not to use drugs, the first few days and weeks are going to be the toughest. You might even feel sick and have no control over your brain and body. What can you do?

How to Stop Using Drugs

1. Be Committed

Unless you are seriously committed to the task of breaking your addiction, you are not going to make it. Understand that it takes time to get sober and you have to be patient and motivated. Your motivation can come from many things. For example, you want to rebuild your relationships with your spouse, children, or other family members. Consider creating a list of all those reasons that will motivate you to try everything to get sober.

2. Find a Rehabilitation Center

Whether you have been taking cocaine, meth, barbiturates, or benzodiazepines, you need to bear in mind that withdrawal can cause life-threatening consequences. You may experience seizures or even have to deal with other complications such as convulsions, stroke, or respiratory failure. It is therefore important to find a rehabilitation center and detox under an expert's supervision. Even when you do not experience any life-threatening withdrawal symptoms, you may still experience other problems, such as hallucinations and anxiousness. Being under an expert's supervision will help deal with these problems in a much better way.

3. Work with a Counselor

Even after you have made up your mind to stop taking drugs, you will still need help from experts to keep you motivated. This is when it makes great sense to see a counselor. Both individual and group counseling may make a difference. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is especially beneficial in identifying what makes you turn to drugs. Talk to doctors and ask them for referrals to help you find the best drug addiction counselor.

4. Exercise Regularly

When learning how to stop using drugs, you just can't ignore the importance of getting regular exercise. Your body and mind will be under stress when you are struggling to beat drug addiction. Regular exercise helps relieve that stress and make you feel better about yourself. Consider joining a gym and working with a personal trainer to improve your health.

5. Create a Plan

You have to change your lifestyle and find out what can tempt you to try drugs once again. Making and following a plan for living without drugs can help keep you on track. You should have a plan to deal with discouragement and boredom. It is equally important to determine how you are going to meet responsibilities. Work on ideas to deal with different situations, such as social gatherings, stressful conversations, and so on. While creating a plan, you have to consider every aspect of your life, such as parenting, relationships, work, interacting with others, meeting obligations, etc.

6. Try Urge Surfing

If you are wondering how to stop using drugs, you can try urge surfing. Urge surfing is a mindfulness technique of dealing with a relapse. You have to understand that your urge is going to become worse when you try to suppress it hard. You can ride them out by accepting urges. You have to understand yourself better and know what you feel and think about your addiction. Rate your urge on a scale of 1 to 10 and try engaging yourself in another activity, such as writing a list, cleaning the junk, putting away laundry, etc. Check your urge and rate it again. If it still feels strong, continue doing something else to keep your mind distracted.

7. Get Support

You can make things a lot easier by finding the right support. You need support throughout your recovery process and it can come from friends, family, or other people. You can take part in support groups and listen to people who have managed to break their addiction. Listening to the experiences and struggles of someone who has recovered from an addiction can be a huge motivation. You have to think that if they can do it, you can do it as well. A changed mindset is all you need to improve your chances for success.

8. Take Care of Your Health

How to stop using drugs? You need to plan how you are going to live a drug-free life. Rehab and treatment are important to help set things straight, but you have to plan for your future and build a healthy, drug-free lifestyle.

• Pay attention to your diet. Eat nutritious meals and get plenty of rest.
• If you have developed any health issues during active addiction, you may want to work with your healthcare provider to resolve those issues. Feeling better physically is also going to improve your self-esteem and help you stop using drugs.