Comments on: Managing Addictive Behavior in Practice

By: tjean

tjean — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 23:48:00 +0000

Overall, this blog post really opened my eyes and brought awareness to different types of management styles. It also made me think about the various addictions that people face everyday, even those who have multiple. There are ways of overcoming and having blogs like this one help connect people going through similar experiences.
Awareness is so important. Sometimes we need someone else to point out the problem, and sometimes we are aware of unhealthy feelings or actions that we take part in. Ultimately, the beauty is in the knowing. I now know that I have a problem, what is the next step to fix it?
I really liked the section about keeping it simple. So often we get all the bells and whistles out to distract us from the obvious. By getting to the root of the problem and taking simple steps to reach a resolution it makes it easier to deal. “We have to begin by making small incremental changes that support new brain connections, new habits. Change is a process with many different drivers, the key is finding the one that works best, and just staying on the road.” You can’t run before you can crawl so if you continue with the baby steps eventually you will deal with the emotions, problems, ECT. that you needed to deal with but in your own time. For me, I am not one that deals with large quantities of emotions all at once. I need to think about it, what I want to say and who I want to share my struggles with. Every person has some sort of baggage whether it’s a weight problem, an addiction or a failed marriage. People carry this baggage in different forms. I tend to carry a trunk and things that I didn’t even know bother me somehow find their way in the trunk. Other people like to talk about it right away (at times obsess) cry and then let it go, this would be more like a handbag. Taking small steps to reach my goal is a tool that I know will help me be more successful in the future.
Statistics are an area where things get a little nerve racking. For me I tend to dwell on the progress or regression. Having statistical data to show that I am making progress would be positive, unless you tend to dwell on it. What can I do more of? How can I get results faster? These sorts of questions come to mind and then what once was a way to track progress and recognize achievement has become an obsession all its own. If I fell off track I wouldn’t be thinking how do I get back on track and keep moving forward, I would dwell and wonder why I let it happen to me and how I’m not at my goal yet. Obviously this is a seriously negative way of thinking but as someone that has been competitive and an athlete most of my life, mental toughness is a huge part of success. You need to be mentally and physically prepared before a game and if you let others judgments cloud your own than you allow yourself to be vulnerable. For me keeping track of the numbers is not as useful as checking in with myself every day. By gauging myself and asking questions about how I am feeling? If I’m ready for…? It helps me get the information without becoming obsessed with the answer.
Social Support is in my opinion the number one key to success. We need to trust and rely on others and receive understanding and empathy. We all have our time of listening and giving support. It’s who we are as people. We identify with those who have similar interests; in many cases we are closer to our own circle of friends than members of our family. Cutting social ties is a painful process whether you are engaged in unhealthy behaviors or not, losing friends is never easy. I like quote, “Successful change requires taking stock of our social connections, both those that support our change and are positive, and those that clearly contribute to perpetuating problems we wish to stop…This is an ongoing process of learning how our past relationships influence our present ones, and how we can heal past wounds and emotionally mature in a way that allows to both receive and give love.” This idea of how our past relationships influence our present ones is something that I could not explain but was looking for. It is easy to blame the problems on the past. It makes sense that instead of letting the hurt or disappointment go it follows you to new relationships. You could be attracted to this “type” or you could have just not dealt with the original problem.

By: Samantha T

Samantha T — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 03:11:05 +0000

I enjoyed reading this blog. I like many other young women my age have a shopping addiction. I am 20 years old and love having new clothes, designer bags, and shoes. Unfortunately it is not a cheap abit and I have been working on cutting down my spending, especially since I am a college student who is paying out of pocket. After reading the 4 keys I think it will help to find ways to not spend as much, or even to not look online as much. I find that when I have spare time I will either go to the mall or go online and browse for what I like and then temptation kicks in. Luckily I do not have the money to buy everything I want, but when I do have some money I tend to go on a shopping spree. Although it is not always for myself, I do find that I buy things for my boyfriend as well. He actually has the same habit. His is leaned more towards shoes though, but still very spendy. I think that seeing the awareness and social support section of your blog will help me cut back the most. When I do talk with my boyfriend about shopping he is trying to help me cut back while he cuts back a lot on his shoe shopping. Having someone there who will stop me and tell me “Do you REALLY NEED that?” does in fact help me stay away from buying whatever it may be.

By: Chris T

Chris T — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 02:54:52 +0000

I really have to agree with the four keys you bring are true as to how to fight your problems. I myself am the same way about eating right and working out. I love working out but then somedays I start getting into the “I don’t feel like going today, I’ll hit the gym really hard tomorrow” mode and then all of a sudden a few days pass and I feel the difference in my body. For me, when I am working out I eat better so I feel it quickly. I will start going out to eat and eat more junk food when not working out. I like the KISS and Social Support keys the most though. Again in my example of eating and exercising, it is hard to keep a routine going so I look for help from others. Sometimes the help is not always there from someone so I have to find it in myself, but when there is someone there going through the platteaus with me and hitting the gym hard with me it makes it easier to stay dedicated. Luckily I have my girlfriend who is very supportive and helps me push through those days of “I think I’ll just go tomorrow” and make me get into the gym and take care of my body. I think for me if I can keep these four keys in mind it really will help me break those habits of mine.

By: Jessy F

Jessy F — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 01:29:04 +0000

I like the KISS aspect. After having a baby I struggled with losing the 50 pounds I had gained that did not just go away like I had thought and hoped. I started out by writing everything I ate down and keeping track of all my exercise. This became very time consuming and frustrating. When I realized what a waste of time it was for me, I decided to keep it simple. I also became more aware of what was in my house and stopped buying tempted items. This article not only validates some of the habits I have changed but also gives me insight to other ideas and ways to go about my addictions with food.

By: Nafisa Skeie

Nafisa Skeie — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 09:36:10 +0000

This article is a great start to a new year. I’m glad that it’s not too late for me to use the four key things that you’ve talked about. Like you, I would also go into the same routine when it comes to trying to eat healthy and exercise regularly. One week I’d be really good, eating smaller healthy portions, go for an hour workout, and be productive. I’d feel good after knowing I was being healthy and productive. However, other times, I’d fall into the too much schoolwork therefore no time to hit the gym routine. I’d eat snacks or unhealthy food even when I know that I shouldn’t be eating it. And it would go on for days. After feeling guilty, I’d go back to the gym and work off all the calories that I’ve gained. These routines will repeat itself again and again. Some of my friends thinks that I don’t have to worry about it since I look perfectly fine, but I know that these habits are unhealthy. So this year like every other year, one of my new year’s resolution is to be healthy by exercising regularly and eating right. And I’m going to use your four key things to help me with this goal: awareness, KISs, statistics (especially) and social support. Wish me luck! Thanks for the great article!

By: Andrea

Andrea — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 23:12:11 +0000

This blog was interesting. I like how you explain everything and as i read it all made sense. I think that everyone has some sort of addiction and sometimes it can be a good addiction, like reading, or it could be a bad one, like shopping. Although reading could even cause other issues, like lack of social connections with other around you which can be very important in persons life. I completely agree with your four aspects to support change. If anyone wants to overcome a bad behavior , they must set goals in order to change it. You must be patient and keep putting effort in and not just give up after one or two tries. Everything takes time to change, it cant just happen with a snap of your fingers, you have to keep on trying if you really want to change something. Take one step at a time and eventually you can overcome your bad behavior. Once you do it can make you feel like a stronger individual. For example, i used to smoke cigarettes and i have not had a cigarette in 4 years now and by quitting it made me feel like a better person all together and stronger and now feel a lot healthier. you can actually change things if you really put your mind to it and are committed to changing things in your life for the better.

By: Lorena I

Lorena I — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 23:33:24 +0000

This article was very interesting; it not only applies to addicts. This applies to everyone; I believe that every person does something that is not healthy for them. One could even be unaware of this type of behavior. For example, someone that eats red meat every single day could be aware or unaware to what this might be doing to their health. I guess with everything there is a point where something healthy could turn into something unhealthy. Social connections according to the article could help us manage these addictions, one people that care about you could inform you of you destructive behavior, and two the unhealthy person might feel obliged to stop the negative behavior. Overall the article was very educational and was applicable to our daily lives.

By: Ngan D

Ngan D — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 04:10:55 +0000

The four keys in this article are great. They help us understanding more about how the process of changing behavior is like. People who think they have bad behavior and want to change, so this article can help. If we want to overcome the bad , we must set goal to change our bad behavior. In order to change something, we must be patient because the process needs time. It is not easy to change something in a snap of second. We must plan out, keep track during the process, and we should try the easy steps first before trying any harder ones.

By: Katie P

Katie P — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 19:43:54 +0000

This article was very reassuring and encuraging for me. As someone who has dealt with an addiction off and on for the past five years, the things that have helped me the most was social support and AWARENESS. Making conscious behavior patterns, (that aren’t too drastic or unrealistic) leaving yourself reminders, and talking to friends, family and a counselor about things are really good tools to have. Also, knowing that relapse is part of the recovery process and doesn’t mean utter failure. Being able to pick yourself up and continue with your recovery process is part of growth and healing.

By: Crystal

Crystal — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 05:57:15 +0000

I agree with both of you. I think this is brilliant and I have heard of some of these things before, just not all put together in one article. I will be using this in my life and in my career that I am pursuing. I think that these things can be used in just about eveyone’s lives rather it be with addictions in thier lives or use them to help them achieve some other goals……….. Reading this has made me want to do some investigation and I am looking forward to listening to some further information that he has. Anyhow just thought that I would say a few words