Dallas Bragg argues willpower fails in addiction recovery because it depletes under stress and fatigue. Instead, change your environment: lock away your phone, block apps, delete social media. Build new routines like walks, pottery, yoga so using meth becomes impossible to fit in.
When it comes to quitting crystal meth, willpower and self-control are basically bullshit. Your willpower and self-control are finite resources. They may be strong during certain parts of the day, or right after you come down when you vow never to use again, but they vary. Catch you on a stressful day with not enough sleep and you're scrolling Grindr looking for the next party before you even realize what's happening. When you allow your environment to stay the same, The same routines, the same friends, the same available apps, the same habits. Then it becomes up to how you feel in the moment. And early on when you're trying to quit meth, that's a huge gamble. Only so many temptations can be easy to say no to, especially if it's the right time— 2 AM when you can't sleep and you're off work the next day. Willpower and self-control go out the window. That's why you have to make the normal cue that causes the craving completely invisible. This may mean locking your phone up in a timed lockbox, blocking all your apps completely and the sites from your phone and your laptop, surrendering your phone for the weekend, deactivating social media. Build a daily ritual that, that is new, like a walk in the woods, painting, a pottery class, yoga. Fill your schedule with commitments to the point where choosing to use meth couldn't even be an option. What's been your secret to success? Tell me in the comments.
