CONFRONTING ADDICTIVE HABITS

L and others have given suggestions for overcoming addictive habits. A friend shared the following with me which I have found helpful:

"I read in a diet book some techniques on “how to talk back to a cookie.” These same strategies are useful to confront a variety of temptations, physical or otherwise. There are many ways you can tell temptation to “Get thee behind me !” (Matt. 16:23)
‚ The bait:“Just one won’t hurt.” (2 Ne. 28:7) Your response: “One was never enough before. It won’t be enough now!”
‚ “But it’s been such a stressful day.” Respond with: “If I do it tonight, I will even more stressed tomorrow!” (2 Ne. 4:19)
‚ “I’ve been so good, I deserve a reward.” “I don’t reward myself with things that cause me pain and guilt!” (Alma 36:12)
‚ “I feel lonely. I need comfort.” “Guilt and shame will make me feel more isolated!” (Al. 41:10)
‚ “It’s not fair that I can’t have it.” “It’s more unfair to lose the peace and joy that will come from overcoming this!” (Alma 5:16)
‚ “It’s a holiday. Time to indulge.” “I’m not going to take a holiday from good judgement!” (Is. 1:18-20)
‚ “Go ahead. You deserve it.” “I’ve come too far toward my goal to take orders from you!” (Matt.4:10)
‚ “You did it once. You may as well do it again.” “Repeating will only make it worse. It’s like consuming my vomit!” (2 Peter 2:21-22)
‚ “Taste it. It’s not wrong. You’re just curious.” “Curious is just another word for lust. I know how cruddy I will feel afterwards.” (Matt. 5:27-28)
‚ “If you must say, ‘No,’ you are not free.” “I choose the freedom to experience peace and joy. When you say, ‘No,’ to something, you are saying, ‘Yes,’ to something else!” (2 Ne. 2:25-26)
‚ “You failed! Go ahead and enjoy it again.” “Mistakes are only failures if they are repeated. I’m going to learn from this mistake starting right now!” (Ether 12:27)
‚ “You shouldn’t deprive yourself.” “This is not deprivation. It is liberation!” (Gal. 5:1)
‚ “Your rigid rules are keeping you from fun.” “Your ‘fun’ is a little bit of pleasure with a lot of pain, self-doubt and confusion afterwards!” (Moroni 10:22)
‚ “All these rules clutter up your life and control you” “I freely chose these rules because they lead me to strength, discipline, peace, joy, and confidence.!” (D&C 121:45)
‚ “It’s just a little. It’s not like you did something big.” (2 Ne. 28:8) “A little banana peel can cause a big fall. Having just a little is harder than having none!”
‚ “You cannot deny this powerful craving.” “Even the most powerful craving is just a passing desire. I am changing my thoughts and getting out of here!” (Gen. 39:12)
‚ “You’ll never make it up this mountain.” “Yes I will, one step at a time. I am going in the right direction, even if it is not as fast as I would like. I am going to get there!” (D&C 90:24; Moroni 7:33)"