How can I stop using drugs?

If you’re reading this, drugs are probably a big part of your life—and you’re ready for this to change. The big goal of stopping your drug use can be broken down into smaller steps. But truthfully becoming substance-free is a journey. Your mind and body will experience changes throughout the way—both good and bad—but your decision to stop using will put you on the path of healing, feeling better, and becoming sober.

Prepare for detox and withdrawal

Your first step to stop using drugs is to detox.

Detox is the process where the drugs are removed from your body. During this time you will experience mental and physical symptoms called withdrawals, and they can be miserable.

The exact withdrawal symptoms depend on the type of drug you’re using, but it’s common to experience things like anxiety, nausea, and trouble sleeping. The heavier your drug use, and the more quickly you stop, the more intense the symptoms will be.

For certain substances, like alcohol or opioids, it is dangerous to detox alone. So making a plan for how and when detox is crucial. This could look like detoxing in a hospital or treatment center, or calling a loved one to sit with you while you detox. This is to help make sure that you get the support that you need. And if there is an emergency then someone can be there to make you get medical treatment.

Consider your next steps

Deciding to stop using drugs is helpful for your overall wellbeing in the long-run, but it’s not as simple as stopping and never using again. Addiction is a disease that requires long-term recovery and management. It’s also not something that you have to do alone.

Thinking through it by writing it down or telling someone about your thoughts can help when the cravings become overwhelming. Or when you experience hard times, and you just really need support. These are the moments where it can feel hard to commit to your limits. But you can do it!

Staying committed to your health means building the skills you need to succeed. This can include coping strategies you find useful, knowing who you can call in a crisis, and any other information that you can help with your recovery.

Learn your triggers

Knowing your triggers can help reduce cravings.

Triggers are things that remind you of drugs and make you crave them. Common triggers include places you’ve done drugs, friends you’ve used with in the past, or anything else that brings up memories of your drug use. You can also experience emotional triggers, like depression or anger. Everyone’s triggers are different.  And taking time to learn yours will help you stay substance-free.

Early in the process, it’s best to avoid your triggers as much as possible—especially while you’re still in withdrawal. There may be some triggers you can’t avoid forever, and you’ll eventually need to learn coping skills to face them.

Find new coping skills and support

Finding support while becoming substance-free is vital to your recovery.

Supporting yourself looks like building a coping skills toolbox with new, healthier coping skills. For example, journaling, going for a walk, grounding yourself, etc. are all examples of healthy coping skills that can help. Support also looks like walking away unhealthy coping skills like using drugs, isolating, or other risky behaviors.

Finding support from others is also important. And having a peer recovery specialist, sponsor, or loved one or friend who is in recovery, can really help. They may understand what you are going through, and can offer perspective and advice. When life happens, they can keep you accountable and on your recovery journey. You can also find people at recovery meetings like NA or online support groups. Remember, you are not alone.

Address trauma and mental health needs

Addressing your mental health needs can make it much easier to quit using drugs.

About half of people who are addicted to drugs also have another mental health condition.[1] In fact, many people start taking drugs as a way of self-medicating for an underlying mental illness. People have also used drugs to numb pain, feelings, and memories from trauma that they’ve experienced. For many people, coping with the trauma and addressing their mental health has helped them in their recovery.

If you think that you have a mental illness, consider taking one of our mental health tests. While it is not an official diagnosis, it can help affirm your experiences. And help you start a conversation with a loved one or mental health professional.

If you relapse, keep going

For many people, relapse is a part of recovery.

Each time you relapse, you learn more about your triggers, and which coping skills aren’t working for you. Take some time to reflect on what happened. And give yourself grace and compassion. Recovery is a process, and progress is not always linear. The important thing is to keep going.

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