Whether you smoked, drank alcohol, or did an another drug, did you ever treat yourself once you kicked the habit for good? I recently quit smoking and was thinking of treating myself to a new outfit with the money I have saved, or perhaps even a nice dinner in celebration. What have you done to treat yourself in celebration of your sobrity?
I can't really share my first-hand experience but based on a relative's experience. He simply switched allegiance from drugs to alcohol. He's not a hardcore alcoholic but you often see him drinking with friends or smoking an occasional cigarette. Sometimes, he plays WOW in his PC. I guess those are my uncle's methods of coping up with the loss of the substance that used to get him high.
I did treat myself everytime I kicked a bad habit just because I wanted to feel that I was not short hanging myself too much by giving up on indulgence. The biggest thing I look out for whenever I do this, however, is that I don't celebrate too early. I try and reach a point wherein I can be sure that I can be confident that I am already past my old I ways and to celebrate I usually find some way to mark the occasion.
That sounds like an excellent idea treating yourself and basically appreciating the hard work you have put in throughout the quitting process. I always find that doing something nice for yourself is another way of encouraging yourself and of course giving yourself a pat on the back. I treat myself all the time when I see that I am following the changes I have implemented in my life. I usually buy myself something I've always wanted, go out to a nice place where I get to doll up and have nice food. Go ahead and do that!
First let me congratulate you because quitting smoking is not a small task. You deserve to treat yourself like a queen for the day. Yes once in a while I treat myself to a nice meal because I love to eat a lot. I get my nails done and get a pair of shoes that I have been saving for. With getting older, I have realized that we need to treat ourselves the best before we treat others.
Sounds like a good way of rewarding yourself for good work done. I have never bought a treat for myself because I'm still struggling to overcome a crippling addiction. Maybe getting myself rewards every week I don't touch the stuff can help get me the impetus I need to keep me going.
Rainman- you should try giving yourself a treat each week that you do not give into the temptation. It can be a real motivating way to move forward and give you something to look forward to. I find that I like to have things to look forward to in life and that gets me through each day. If I can go treat myself at the end of the week, I get excited about it.
I think it's a good idea to treat yourself after giving up an addiction, because in a warped way, many times we used to think the addiction was a "treat," that is, until the addiction became a real problem. I've given up a couple (few) bad habits, but I don't really recall treating myself. For me, I think it's important to make sure that there is a healthy substitute put in the place of a bad habit, at least for a time. Like instead of smoking, chewing gum, or eating mints.
I have never been addicted but I've been stressed out which can be quite crippling and once I drag myself out I would look for a way to celebrate. I say celebrate and treat yourself to that outfit or dinner or both. Whatever you can afford with your savings.
I'll give it a try and see how it goes. So far I've clocked 12 hours without a "fix" which though not great is a good start. I'll wait one week, get myself a treat and keep doing it weekly until the addiction is a thing of the past.
12 hours is an excellent start, you just have to take it all one hour at a time. Perhaps give yourself a small treat each hour that you go without getting a fix. I had a friend who was on a diet a couple of years ago and each time she made her goal at work (her work goals, not dieting goals) she would give herself a small square of Dove chocolate. I found it to be counterproductive at first, but she actually did lose weight because she had the chocolate pieces to look forward to, and did not overeat. It is a different story with addictions, but sometimes you have to give yourself positive reinforcements for doing a good job.