Quit it! Nip bad habits with the help of the Net

Find web sites that help curb cravings and addictions

By Donna Paris

“My mom is going to die because she smokes and I don’t know what to do about it.” That’s what Kim Jarvis’s nine-year-old daughter, Angela, wrote in a school project.

“That ripped me apart,” says Jarvis, who had smoked for more than 20 years. Angela’s words gave her the impetus to quit, and e-Quit, an online program run by Health Canada, gave her the tools. “Every day they sent me an e-mail, which made me feel accountable,” recalls Jarvis. “It was very motivating. I logged on whenever I felt like it.”

Bad habits — smoking, drinking too much or overeating when you’re stressed — are tough to shake, says Dr. Kingsley Watts of the Substance Use Medical Service at St. Joseph’s Health Centre in Toronto. “Most people want to make healthy changes, but they set high expectations,” he says. “They should stop beating themselves up and set realistic goals.”

Start strong, stay strong

Dr. Watts offers the following tips to kicking your bad habits.

• If you’re finding it difficult to change a habit, get support. Enlist a friend, your doctor or a fitness instructor, or join a support group. When you make a commitment with someone else, it increases your dedication.
• “An online chat group is great because it’s a 24-hour self-help group. It’s good to have someone to talk to — especially when it’s the middle of the night,” explains Watts, an assistant professor in the Department of Family and Community Medicine at the University of Toronto.
• Set small, achievable goals and keep a journal to track them. Instead of quitting smoking altogether, start by limiting the number of cigarettes you smoke and write down when you are going to have them. This trick delays an addiction. You can also substitute a walk, for example, for a cigarette or change patterns, such as no longer smoking in the house.
• Be patient — it takes months to change a pattern. Recognize your triggers and be vigilant. In terms of health behaviours, making any change is a process, not just a one-time event. It’s normal to slip up. It doesn’t mean you’ve failed; it’s just part of the process.

Click on a group for assistance

As Watts mentioned, online support can provide help and inspiration when you’re trying to kick a bad habit. But beware: much of the information on the web can be anecdotal. The best places to visit for information are accredited sites affiliated with a health centre or an organization. For example, the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health can give you information on symptoms of addiction as well as references for support groups.

Declare yourself a smoke-free zone

According to a recent Canadian tobacco-use monitoring survey, trends continue to track slightly downward to about 20 per cent of the current population among Canadians 15 years and older who reported smoking. For information and tips on quitting or to sign up for online quitting, check out Quitnet or Go Smokefree!

Know your alcohol limits

Recent studies have shown that moderate drinking lowers the risk of heart disease and that moderate drinkers tend to live longer than heavy drinkers and those who don’t drink at all. Moderate means no more than one drink per day for women and two for men. For more on how much is acceptable, visit UC Berkeley’s Wellness Foundation.

Heavy drinking can lead to all sorts of health problems, such as hepatitis, cirrhosis, brain damage, high blood pressure and hemorrhagic stroke. For help and to find an individual group, try Alcoholics Anonymous, which also runs online meetings.

Drop the slots

There are more than 100,000 places in Canada to make a bet, including casinos, video lottery terminals, slot machines, lottery ticket centres, bingo halls and racetracks. It’s easy to gamble.

In fact, total gross profits for Canadian provincial and territorial governments were estimated at $9 billion by Statistics Canada in 2000; the average total loss for each adult on provincially run gambling was nearly $400. Meanwhile, few provinces spend more than 1 per cent of their gambling revenue on problem-gambling treatment, education or prevention programs.

For helpful resources, check out the Responsible Gambling Council. The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health has a gambling page, too.

Put down the donut

Our bodies do need food, but some of us overeat for many different reasons, such as stress, boredom, habit or emotional problems. Overeaters Anonymous offers a subscription (US$15 a year) to Lifeline, an online magazine that features true stories about the challenges of dealing with overeating. Visit the site and click on Lifeline magazine. Or, sign up for online weight loss support with an accredited organization like Weight Watchers.

Avoid procrastination pitfalls

If you put things off until deadlines loom or time runs out, you’re a procrastinator, which can cause you a lot of stress. Visit the Time Tips section of Get More Done to deal with the reasons for procrastinating, such as perfectionism, distraction and fear of failure. You’ll also find helpful hints on turning time wasters into productive pursuits, such as planning a workday, handling paperwork and using e-mail effectively.

Shake the salt habit

Many North Americans eat too much salt, which can lead to high blood pressure and increase the risk of stroke, heart disease and kidney disease. To learn how to reduce your salt consumption, visit the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada.

Cut down on cholesterol

Excessive cholesterol in the body may be deposited along the walls of arteries. As this fatty material thickens and hardens, it can eventually block the arteries and damage the heart. Visit The Cholesterol Center at Your Total Health for tips on how to cut down on fat- and cholesterol-laden foods.