If you are sick of abusing drugs, consuming alcohol, or taking tobacco-containing products, you may need some motivation in order to stop these behaviors. You may have noticed a decline in your overall level of functioning or may notice that your life isn't as enjoyable or happy as it was once--before you became a user of drugs, alcohol, or tobacco. Rather than live in a downward slide, you can use these motivations in order to help you gain and maintain a normal life.

Motivations to Stop using Drugs

If you are a drug addict or just think you need to lay off using drugs, these are some motivating factors that might sway you toward a better life:

• Your body will be healthier. Most drugs of abuse are unhealthy for you and will have some harmful effects on your body. Illicit drugs are basically poisonous to your health. The effect a drug will have on your body varies from drug to drug. For example, painkillers or heroine will interfere with lung functioning, leading you developing lung abscesses, pneumonia, or tuberculosis. As another example, marijuana can change the brain and can do damage to your lungs. The brain changes brought on by marijuana use can be similar to those changes seen in schizophrenia. Even methamphetamines will adversely affect your body's health--causing changes to the brain and nervous system. Many drugs will contribute to malnutrition and weight loss that can lead to illnesses and infections. If you stop using drugs, you will be much healthier.

• Your risk of death will decrease. Some drugs can result in your death--even if you have only used the drug once. Others won't kill you outright but will damage your body with long term use. For example, cocaine causes stress on your arteries and heart and you will have an increased risk of heart attack or even cardiac arrest. Alcohol can kill you if you get into a car accident from drunk driving or if you overdose on the substance. Opioid drugs can cause an overdose, resulting in respiratory depression and death. Ecstasy and other synthetics can overheat your body, resulting in a breakdown of your organs. If you stop taking drugs, you will have a decreased risk of death.

• You will have a better employment outlook. One of the common problems with drug addiction is job loss. Many addicts will blame others for their employment difficulties when instead the problem has been poor performance in the workplace. Addicts take more sick days and fail to complete projects. Addicts make more mistakes on the job than those who do not use drugs. They neglect customers and alienate coworkers. If you stop using drugs, you will have a better chance at not losing your job and will have a better employment outlook.

• Your relationships will be better. If you are an addict that lives with people who don't use drugs, you can have an increased risk for relationship problems. The relationship can end because your spouse or other loved one can't deal with your drug use. If every adult in the house is an addict, CPS can become involved and you can lose your children. You may suffer ill effects in your relationships, whether you are the only addict or if others in the household are addicts as well. If you stop using drugs, your relationships will be better.

• You will lose less money. If, for example, you have a heroin addiction, you may spend up to $200 on this addiction. If you are addicted to painkillers, you will have even more money problems. The same is true of being a cocaine abuser. Even if you just use marijuana, you may spend thousands of dollars per year and alcohol use can cause you up to $500 per month. This is money that you can use to improve your quality of life. If you committed crimes in order to obtain drugs, you will save money on bail and lawyer's fees. If you stop using drugs, you will lose less money and can spend your money on healthier endeavors.

• You will have more authentic emotions. Using drugs can blunt emotions, such as sadness, joy, and happiness. Both alcohol and drugs can block your real emotions so you experience life events with blunted emotions. Tranquilizers and sedatives will also blunt your emotions, while marijuana and opiates can cause you to feel placid, even when things are going poorly in your life. Stimulants such as methamphetamine will create delusional reactions and will blunt your true emotions. Any drug you use for a long time will trigger depression and apathy, especially when withdrawing from the drug. If you quit taking drugs, you will have a richer emotional life.

• You will be more likeable. Many addicts and alcoholics become aggressive and mean toward others, especially when they are using the drug. If you are a heavy marijuana user, you can experience panic attacks or changes in your personality that will make you unlikeable. If you take an overdose, your friends will be forced to care for you or take you to the emergency department, which is something they may resent. Methamphetamine, cocaine, and other stimulants can lead to paranoia and aggressiveness. If you quit using drugs, you will be more likeable.

• You will stop engaging in a dead end behavior. Addicts usually end up in jail, dead, or, if they are lucky, will be able to achieve sobriety. While it is difficult to imagine giving up drugs, if you don't make this choice, you may have a decrease in your quality of life. The trick to ending this dead end behavior is to find a good treatment program that can help you get off drugs and live a healthier life. Good treatment programs will help you get through withdrawal symptoms and will help you find a path toward sobriety. If you quit drugs, you will put an end to this dead end behavior.

• Your will be able to change your life. Using drugs is a dead-end activity that can be monotonous and can put you on a path toward boredom and the repetition of using drugs rather than living a healthy and happy life. Addicts often destroy their lives through deceit and hurting others. If you stop using drugs, you can change your life for the better. No one can force you to change but, if you decide that drugs aren't for you, you will have a better life.

• You will have a better self-esteem. Addicts often feel worthless and feel they are no good to loved ones and other people in their lives. Others will find that you are unreliable and will stop asking you to participate in their lives. The only way to have a better self-esteem is to try and stop taking drugs.

• You will be a better parent. Addicts often spend more time on drug use than they do on being good parents. They may not physically abuse their children but they are certainly affected by your drug use. Addicts make poor parents because they focus too much on their drug use and end up yelling at their children, forgetting to take care of them, and missing important school events. They spend time on drug use rather than paying attention to their kids. They don't care about their children when they are using drugs. If you stop using drugs, you will be a better parent and will be able to spend more time with your children.

  Interested in learning more? Why not take an online Understanding Addictions course?

• You will be a more loveable spouse. Addicts often steal money from their spouses, lie to their spouses, and treat their spouses more poorly than they would if they didn't use drugs. Even if your spouse sticks with you, the relationship will be strained. What spouse will be able to put up with the changes in your behavior and with the way you are treating them? If you stop using drugs, your spouse will want to be with you more and you will be a more loveable spouse.

• You will be less embarrassing. Addicts often do embarrassing things. They may be so embarrassing in their behavior that their friends and family can't stand having them around. Some addicts embarrass themselves by being cruel or obnoxious. They may be flirtatious with other people's spouses and will spend time at parties focusing on their drug use and on having a good time rather than genuinely interacting with others. If you quit using drugs, you will be less embarrassing and people will want to be around you more.

• You will remember things better. Many addicts have an interference with their memory both while using drugs and when withdrawing from them. They may have short term memory loss as well as long term memory loss. They may miss out on memories of their children as they grow up and may forget things like birthdays and anniversaries. If you quit using drugs, you will remember things better and will be able to participate in life more fully.

• You will be better able to provide for your family. As a parent and spouse, addicts need to be responsible for the finances that keep their family going. They will be better able to hold down a job and keep up their end of the finances necessary to keep their family going. Drug use also causes you to spend money on things related to drug use rather than on things that will benefit the family. If you stop using drugs, you will regain a sense of purpose and will be better able to provide for your family. You will have more money and will be able to contribute to your family's financial situation.

Motivations to Stop using Alcohol

If you are an alcoholic, you need to find things that will motivate you to stop drinking. Being an alcoholic can wreak havoc on both your life and on the lives of those you love and care about. Here are some motivations that will help you make the decision to quit using alcohol:

• You will have an improvement in your health. Alcohol can wreak havoc on your health, causing various kinds of cancer, dementia, memory loss, liver disease, esophageal varices, ascites, and pancreatitis. If you decide to quit alcohol, your overall health will improve and those things that have happened to your body that are reversible will begin to normalize.

• You will have an improvement in your looks. Alcohol makes you look older than your stated age. You may have more wrinkles and you may be too thin from malnutrition. Alcohol can make your skin look sallow and you tend not to take care of hygiene and your looks as well as you would if you weren't an abuser of alcohol. If you decide to stop drinking, you will care more about what you look like and will have an improvement in your looks.

• You will begin to think more clearly. Alcohol can impact the way you think. Alcohol can interfere with your short term memory and can cause cognitive impairment so that your judgment will be poorer and you won't think as clearly. If you decide to quit alcohol, you will be able to think more clearly.

• You will have a better memory. Alcohol can cause short term memory loss so that you forget some of the obvious things in your life, such as where you left your keys or when you were supposed to have a doctor's appointment. If you decide to stop drinking, the hippocampus, the memory center of your brain, will function better and you will have a better memory.

• You will have better relationships. Alcohol can damage relationships in many ways. You may be focused so much on drinking that you don't take the time to focus on your relationships. You can take your spouse for granted or you may be in a situation of codependency with your spouse. If you decide to give up alcohol, you will have more time to focus on your loved ones and will have a better relationship with those you care about.

• You will start to have more money. Alcohol is expensive and, if you are an alcoholic, you will have difficulty in your employment so that you don't have the ability to make the kind of money that you would be able to make if you are sober. If you decide to quit drinking, you will spend less money on alcohol and will have a better chance of advancing in your job so that you will be able to make more money at your workplace.

• Your romantic life will be better. Alcohol can decrease your libido and can cause men to have erectile dysfunction. Sex is just not the same when you aren't sober and you are more likely to have multiple sex partners that will increase your risk of having an STD. If you decide to quit drinking, you will have a better chance at being monogamous and will have a better sex life and a better romantic life with your spouse or partner.

• Your future will be better. Alcohol is a dead end activity that prevents you from progressing in life. Your focus is on drinking and not on hobbies and other activities that can make your life better. You will be able to have a better future if you decide to stop drinking.

If you are a smoker, you will likely be addicted to nicotine and will spend lots of time and money on supporting your cigarette or tobacco habit. Here are some reasons and motivations to stop smoking:

• You will breath better. Smoking interferes with your lung function and you are more short of breath and may have a smokers' cough that will interfere with your ability to participate in activities of daily living. If you can quit smoking for 9 months, you will have an improvement in your lung capacity by up to ten percent. You may not notice an impairment in lung function if you are a young smoker but, as you age, the effects of smoking on your lungs will be greater. If you decide to quit smoking, you can live a more active life and will breathe better throughout your life.

• You will have more energy. Within a couple of weeks of stopping tobacco abuse, the circulation of your blood will improve. This will make it easier to have more energy for exercise, such as running, walking, cycling, and swimming. Quitting smoking will also help improve the function of your immune system so you will be better able to fight off energy-zapping illness. You will have more oxygen in your body that can decrease your chances of having headaches and shortness of breath with physical activity. If you decide to quit smoking, you will appreciate having more energy

• You will have decreased stress. Withdrawal from tobacco products can increase the amount of stress you are under. The stress is usually from nicotine withdrawal and will usually go away once you are off tobacco products. Research has shown that people who do not smoke have less stress when compared to people who are nonsmokers. If you find that you are prone to having stress, you can replace smoking with healthier ways of dealing with stress. If you decide to quit smoking, you will have less stress once you get over the effects of nicotine withdrawal.

• You will have a better sex life. Smoking will negatively impact your circulation, which can lead to erectile dysfunction and women will have less of an ability to have an orgasm. Smoking can interfere with libido and in men, smoking can contribute to erectile dysfunction. Non-smokers have been shown to be 3 times more attractive to their partners than those who smoke. If you decide to quit smoking, you will have a better sex life and will enjoy sex more.

• You will have better fertility. People who don't smoke have an easier time getting pregnant. When you quit smoking, the inner lining of the uterus is thickened, making it easier for the zygote to implant in the uterine lining. Men will have an increase in potency when they quit smoking. If you don't smoke cigarettes, you will have a better chance of having a successful IVF procedure and a decreased chance of having a miscarriage. If you decide to quit smoking, not only will you have better fertility but you will have a better chance of having a healthy baby born to you

• You will have a better sense of taste and smell. When you smoke, your sense of taste and smell are blunted by tobacco use. Quitting smoking can enhance your sense of taste and smell so you enjoy food more readily. It takes time for your nose and mouth to recover from having been dulled by the chemicals found in tobacco smoke. If you decide to quit smoking, you will have a better chance to enjoy your meals, and will have a better sense of taste and smell.

• You will have younger-looking skin. Smoking ages your skin and you have an increase in the number of wrinkles you have. You will have less collagen in your skin, making you look sallow and unappealing. If you decide to quit smoking, your skin will have better nutrition and it will like better. You will have fewer wrinkles and your skin will look more refreshed.

• You will have fresher breath and white teeth. Smoking can stain your teeth and will interfere with your ability to have fresh breath. People who stop smoking have a decreased chance of having gum disease and will have less tooth loss than people who continue to smoke. If you decide to quit smoking, your breath will be fresher and your teeth won't be as stained.

• You will live longer. Smoking causes an increase in premature death. About 50 percent of smokers will have an early death from a disease related to smoking, such as death due to chronic bronchitis, lung cancer, and heart disease. If you can quit smoking by 30 years of age, you will add ten years to your life and if you quit smoking by 60 years of age, you will add three years to your live. If you decide to quit smoking, your body will be healthier and you will have a longer life.

So there are a lot of reasons why you should quit using drugs, alcohol, and tobacco products. Search within yourself to have the motivation to quit these bad habits so as to improve your quality of life.