Finding What Works For You
Earlier today, I walked past a group of boys talking about addiction and how it is one of the hardest things to overcome. Apparently one of them seems to be addicted to masturbation and can't seem to stop, no matter how hard he tries.
Hearing their conversation made me remember when I used to be addicted to gambling and the steps I took to ensure I got rid of that addiction. You see, back then, I had tried different methods; I had even deleted the betting app on multiple occasions but somehow ended up downloading it back, sometimes even after weeks of not gambling.
But I was determined to stop it, so I took another strategy. I noticed that I only gambled whenever I had money in my bank account. I wasn't the kind of guy who would go to gambling shops with cash to gamble. Inasmuch as I had a gambling problem, the last thing I wanted back then was for it to become public knowledge, so I only gambled in secret, on my phone.
And that meant in order for me to gamble, I had to have money in my bank account in order to fund the betting app to gamble. And that was where I placed my focus. I began to make sure I never had any money just lying there in my bank account.
Whenever I got sent any money from my parents, I would quickly go withdraw the money and hold it as cash, knowing full well that the last thing I would do was go gamble with physical cash. Sometimes when I can't withdraw the money, maybe because it was money meant for my school fees and my school doesn't take cash, I would lock the money in some apps that allow you to lock money for a period of time, and then whenever it gets unlocked, I go to school that day and make sure I make that payment.
Doing those two things helped me a lot, because by the time I began to go back to letting money stay in my account, I no longer had those strong urges to want to gamble with it.
So you see, each addiction has its own unique way of tackling it; you just have to really search for what works for you. For example, I've heard keeping yourself busy with work is one way to take your mind off wanting to masturbate. Unfortunately, I couldn't tell this guy that because he was a total stranger, and I didn't want them thinking that I was eavesdropping on their conversation.