Step by Step, but not the 12 Steps
Think lip balm addiction isn’t a serious problem in our schools and with our kids? Think again.
Hi, I’m 15 and have been gradually getting more addicted to lip balms for the last 10 years. It has come to the point where I can no longer go 20 minutes with out the need to apply lip balm. I find your site very supportive, however there is no advise on how to quit lip balms. Please could you post a step by step method on how to stop, opposed to your current 12 step program that does not help the user stop their addiction.
Thank you for the help the LBA has already given me and I hope I will be able to post my story when I quit in the optimistic future.
Yours sincerely, Alfie S. (addict)
Our Recovery page lists three methods: Cold Turkey, Weaning, and the 12 Steps. The first two don’t really lend themselves to the step method you’re asking for.
- Cold Turkey Step One: Stop using
- Cold Turkey Step Two: there is no step two.
Weaning inherently has a step process, but this will differ quite a bit from person to person.
There’s a reason by the 12 Steps exist. For some people that’s the only way to overcome their addictions to lip balm. It doesn’t work for everyone, though, which is why we do mention these other techniques. If you have any other ideas, just leave a comment below.
New Addiction TV Show is Casting
It is a fine line between following our Tradition of attraction rather than promotion, but this is both an awareness opportunity as well as a chance to make amends. So, please move forward with cautious optimism.
Candor Entertainment is looking to help people get over their obsessions and addictions. We are a production company in Los Angeles, and we are casting for a new TV show about people who are fanatical about something to the point it has started to have a negative impact on their lives. It can be anything from Harry Potter to The Red Sox to Lip Balm. The aim of the show is to help people let the negative thing stop running their lives. If interested, tell us about it at entertainment.candor@gmail.com.
Ask the Addict: Lip Gloss or Lipstick Okay?
Lynn writes:
I am addicted to chapstick, I have been for years. I am on day two of not wearing any. My lips haven’t had moisturizer for 2 days and they are in terrible pain.
I am just wondering, after I get better…when I wear lipgloss or lipstick (down the road) I am scared I will fall into the same habit with those or go back to chapstick. Have you heard of any cases like this?
Have we heard of this? Of course we have.
Among the reasons for lip balm addiction are the psychological feelings one gets when you start your ritual of covering the lips. For some, trading lip balm for lip gloss or lipstick equates to someone addicted to drinking beer switching to wine. At the same time, lipstick especially will form a barrier between your lips and the elements. So, you definitely need to be careful to keep your use within appropriate limits.
Unless there is a professional reason to use lip gloss, however, we’d recommend staying away. Many of these are flavored, which only adds to the impact of “glossing.” These are essentially more viscous versions of lip balm anyway, so if you’re trying to cut the habit this isn’t much of a step.
Hope your sobriety continues.
