It was a scary moment for me when I tried for the umpteenth time to get off Vicodin - something that had started out as a drug I took every once in a while for fun, but was turning into an every-chance-I-get habit - and failed.

It was around my 50th attempt to quit, and I was starting to get really scared, scared that I'd have to stay in this hell hole that was taking away my life and my money and my family, and I vowed not to give up until I was out of the clutches of Vicodin.

Finally, finally, finally, I DID quit Vicodin, and in this article I want to share with you a couple of the things I did that made a huge difference.

First of all, I used an acupressure technique I'd learned where you TAP on different points of your body. There's not enough room here to explain it in detail, but it was something that I did that miraculously made my cravings for Vicodin MUCH, MUCH less, to the point that I could actually decide not to take the pills, wheras before I'd be running out the door to score before I knew what hit me!

The first time I discovered the power that this technique had, I was awestruck. I knew in that moment that I would be able to get rid of this addiction, and I was overjoyed.

Next, I set up a CD to run all night long, to saturate my brain with positive suggestions.

You're getting ready to fight a deadly enemy, and I say the more weapons you have on your side that enable you to kill the beast, the better. That is why I recommend you get and play this CD all night long (set your player on "Repeat"), to bolster your courage and your resolve, and to make it as easy as you can to make it through the critical first few days and weeks.

It's a CD that you can order at http://www.innertalk.com called "Freedom From Substance Abuse" (Item 5234), that will saturate your brain with positive affirmations, such as "I am drug free. I am strong and powerful. I make my own choices. I make wise choices. I make thoughtful choices. I make healthy choices. I protect my health. I am healthy. I feel great. I love living. I love life."

You don't actually hear the phrases spoken, as they are subliminal (beneath conscious hearing), and are buried underneath sounds of natures, so all you "hear" are waves of the ocean, or other nature sounds, but if you play it all night long, your subconscious mind gets a megadose of positive, healing, move-forward type words that are incredibly powerful.

I discovered the InnerTalk series of products when I wanted to lose some weight and discovered that after just one night of playing a weight loss CD, I felt NO HUNGER. It made a huge difference in my weight loss program. I was so absolutely blown away by how differently I felt about food after just one night, that I've become an ardent fan of theirs.

I know some of you may balk at this idea of being "brainwashed," but I stillI heartily recommend you order the Substance Abuse CD just to give yourself that added weapon. It certainly can't hurt. It's not an absolutely necessary component to your get-off-Vicodin program, but I think the more fortification you can get, the better off you'll be.

NEXT, I know this will probably be the last thing you'll feel like doing as you're going through whatever level of withdrawal you're going through, but I heartily recommend doing a few minutes (10, 15) of yoga every day.

It's just simple stretching that leaves you feeling like you really don't want to take any substance to alter your peaceful feeling. It is awesome. A great tool for staying clean.

Beginner's books and videos for yoga are all over the place. I'd recommend the age-old Richard Hittleman's Yoga: 28-Day Exercise Plan.

One Other Little Thing To Do To Get Ready: Getting rid of a bad habit requires you to use a "muscle" that you probably haven't used in a long time: self control, will power, taking charge of what you put in your mouth, whatever you call it, you know when you first start flexing that muscle because it's a little bit tough.

Like lifting weights for the first time, it may feel strenuous, difficult, uncomfortable. Getting any muscle in your body in shape, by strengthening it, toning it, using it, takes practice and time. It gets easier the more you do it.

Say you've just started lifting weights. You do 20 reps lifting 10-pound weights.

The first day it's really, really hard, but as time goes on, it gets much easier and soon you're ripping through the reps without difficulty.

So if you've ever overcome any other bad habit, it helps to bring that to mind when you have a desire to take Vicodin, and remember how you used the "No" muscle before.

Have you ever been on a diet and said "No" to a candy bar? If you've done that successfully, you know what it feels like: maybe a minute or two of feeling uncomfortable, uneasiness, a brief battle, walking past the candy and not giving in to the desire.

It's a whole sequence of events that are at first difficult and then easier the more you do it. THAT is the muscle that needs to be strengthened. It takes focus and practice, and it helps if you've used it before so you know a little bit which muscle it is and what it feels like to flex it.

In fact, since this muscle is so important to getting off Vicodin, I'd like you, if you're willing, to take a day so you can become familiar with (or familiar again, if you've ever used it before) what it feels like to flex this muscle and say "NO!" to desires that come up. Pick a day coming up soon here, maybe a day you have off work so there will not be many distractions.

On this day decide that you are NOT going to eat a favorite food of yours that you usually eat every day. Sugar is a good one. Make it something big enough that you will miss it, so you get lots of opportunity to see what it feels like to tell yourself "No."

For purposes of our example, we'll take sugar. You've declared a "No sugar day" for 24 hours, whenever you decide to begin. When that day comes, I'd like you to notice all sorts of things about the desires that come up, and what that muscle feels like when you flex it and tell the child in you there will be no sugar today.

I want you to notice throughout the day: How quickly does the desire come up? How long does it last? What kind of reaction do you have to "no"?

Different possibilities: Anxiety, sweating, discomfort, edginess, grouchiness, extreme wave of the desire ("BUT I WANT IT!"), blood "crawling," you feel uncomfortable in your body, you can't believe you signed up for this! Your mind gives you all kinds of reasons why today isn't the day to do this.

When you keep going, in other words, don't give in and don't have the sugar, what do you feel?

Possibilities: Pride, strength, self-confidence, "Wow, I can do this!," disinterest in the sugar that not so long ago was begging you to eat it, a distance from sugar you hadn't felt before: take it or leave it

It's such a lesson to go through something like this and see what it feels like to triumph over a desire, again and again and again throughout the day.

And another interesting thing to notice is the feelings you have towards sugar the next day after having said "No" to yourself for 24 hours: you want it much less than before; you wonder why you ever liked to eat it in the first place, etc.

Same thing happens with Vicodin: the more you say no to it, the less appeal it has, even after as little as 24 hours.

I've told you a few little tips and tricks in this article that may help you as you get off Vicodin.

Obviously, though, there is SO much more involved in quitting Vicodin. It's not something you can just enter lightly and hope for the best.

You need really powerful systems in place ahead of time to help see you through this difficult task.

And know this: Getting clean is SO WORTH IT!