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.
Teen Addiction… and Recovery
The saddest part of lip balm addiction is that it ensnares people as young as five years old or even younger. Unlike cigarettes, alcohol, or hard drugs, it is socially acceptable to get your kids balmed. The inherent dangers of such practices are described in this testimony we received this week.
After ten years of a crippling addiction to Blistex, I am finally free. My name is Sarah and I am fifteen years old. When I was at the tender age of just five, my poor, uninformed mother noticed that my little lips were badly chapped.
And so the addiction began.
Blistex Lip Medex
I can recall several mornings when we were standing outside my house, and I would suddenly exclaim, “Mommy! I FORGOT TO PUT ON LIP MEDICINE!” Little drama queen (and addict) that I was, I would proceed to scream, cry, and wave my little pudgy arms in practical hysteria as my dear mother sprinted into the house, grabbed the little barrel of evil, sprinted back outside to her bawling daughter, and applied it to my dependent lips, all before the bus even arrived to take me to Kindergarten. Over the years, it saddens me to tell you that my addiction only worsened. Blistex became my constant companion, always ready and eager to soothe my lips (and my soul). Sadly, I had no idea of the danger of my obsession until my mother happened to inform a friend of hers of how much I adored Blistex. He quirked an eyebrow and wondered suspiciously, “When she puts it on, does it tingle?” My mother, of course, had no idea what he could mean by this strange question, and when she relayed it to me, I, too, was oblivious. Finally, the turning point in my painful addiction: I happened to Google “dependence on Blistex,” and a world opened up to me. I discovered that there were two dangerous ingredients in Blistex, Camphor and Menthol (which cause a tingling sensation), that had led not only to a weakening of my poor lips but also to further dryness, thus increasing my want (and need) for the malevolent Blistex.
I was distraught; I had nowhere to turn. How could I destroy my addiction when it had all but consumed me?
Finally, the heavens smiled upon me: I stumbled upon Lip Balm Anonymous. Without your fantastic web site and liberating 12-step program, I would surely be applying Blistex at this very moment! I just had to write you and thank you for the wondrous new life you have given me! “Free at last, free at last, thank God Almighty, I’m free at last!”
Very Sincerely and with Many Thanks,
Sarah
