I really need your help!

[Anushka]

I have to stop eating chocolates and cakes because my enamel has started to come off.. It has been over 15 months since my teeth started hurting whenever I eat something sweet- this is a sign my enamel is coming off.. Once you lose your enamel you will never get it back and you will have tooth decay- google images of tooth decay and you will see why I am worried. My dentist did say my enamel started to come off.

Problem 2- I started to have a very slight blurred vision about a month ago due to excessive use of mobile phone- 9 or 10 hours daily. I still continue this habit. How do I stop?

Both of these problems started as a result of my excessive involvement and faith in Christianity which led me to run away from home to emotionally abusive strangers.

Please no mean comments, I am looking for emotional support to stop these 2 behaviours.

[RealityCheck]

The best course of action for both your teeth and your health is to give up sugar entirely.  It's not an easy task and your body will crave it like a drug for the first week or two.  However, if you manage to get past that then you will be rewarded with increased energy and mental clarity.  You will also notice that your emotions are more level and in control.  I've gone further than that and cut carbs entirely as well (Keto diet) but I understand that may not be for everyone.  The discipline you build from this will also help you regulate your cell phone usage.  For that I also recommend just dedicating periods of the day where you don't use your phone.  You could start with an hour and increase that gradually.  If you would support or an accountability partner, feel free to PM me on here.

I'm sorry you've had to experience what you've been through.  I know it can be far too easy to seek routes of escapism to temporarily treat the pain.

[ToHellWithMe]

Get used to giving it up again and again. You will fail and succumb. Then you will have to try again and go through the cravings once more.

You'll get used to the cravings and the frustration denying yourself the pleasure will cause. You will also gain confidence in the fact that you are able to tolerate the frustration to a certain degree. In the end the negative feelings still be there during transitions but they will not dominate you and you can go on and off sugar according to your needs with confidence to face the unavoidable discomfort.

 

While off sugar the cravings will be intermittent and occur less and less often as time passes. For me, sometimes the worst cravings are just a day or two after the beginning, sometimes after multiple days.

[ToHellWithMe]

Also buy some mouthwash and rinse your teeth after each major sugar intake. Brushing is probably very damaging while the enamel is soft from the acids that are often used to balance the sweetness in sweets and drinks. So do not brush right after sugar intake. Then brush after 20-60 minutes or so from rinsing. This is in of course addition to brushing every morning and night. Get used to flossing six out of seven days or so. A day off to let your gums recover may be a good idea. Or maybe you won't need it, dunno.

 

This is just what I do as I have teeth that are very susceptible to decay.

[RealityCheck]

Also, try increasing your calcium and vitamin D intake.  These are essential for strengthening your enamel.  Since you live in UK, you may not be getting too much sun hence your vitamin D levels might be low.

[disillusioned]

Another vote for giving up sugar, or at least significantly reducing it. I still eat desserts sometimes, but I often go days and sometimes weeks without eating anything that exists purely for the sake of getting sugar into my mouth. Also, if you are not already doing so I recommend drinking only water, and lots of it. Coffee and tea are ok, a long as there's no sugar added, but they are both acidic which is not good for the teeth.

 

As far as the phone thing goes, I recommend trying out some good old fashioned books. Also, get outside. Go for walks. Look around. Phones are addictive, no question about it. I suggest that when you get the urge to grab your phone, do something else for 5 minutes first. Just 5 minutes. See what happens.

[ToHellWithMe]

16 minutes ago, disillusioned said:

Coffee and tea are ok, a long as there's no sugar added, but they are both acidic which is not good for the teeth.

I personally don't worry about the acidity of coffee&tea. I mean they don't even taste very sour even if you don't add any sugar. They appear to be very mild anyway around pH 5 for tea and 4.5-5 for coffee. Cola seems to be pH 2.3 which is much worse as the pH scale is logarithmic (pH 4 is ten times more acidic than pH 5) so it's sodas that I'd worry about.

 

Besides, if I hadn't caffeine to get a little bit high on, I might go for sugar instead, lol.

[Lydie]

I would recommend a book called ‘the willpower instinct ‘. It explains some of the psychology of why we do what we don’t want to do and vice versa. It also provides some strategies for change. Listen to it on Audible.

[disillusioned]

21 hours ago, ToHellWithMe said:

I personally don't worry about the acidity of coffee&tea. I mean they don't even taste very sour even if you don't add any sugar. They appear to be very mild anyway around pH 5 for tea and 4.5-5 for coffee. Cola seems to be pH 2.3 which is much worse as the pH scale is logarithmic (pH 4 is ten times more acidic than pH 5) so it's sodas that I'd worry about.

 

Besides, if I hadn't caffeine to get a little bit high on, I might go for sugar instead, lol.

 

All good points. A few years ago I lost a lot of weight, and drinking coffee/tea was one of the few pleasures that I allowed myself. No sugar, obviously, and only a bit of milk. A few years before that, though, I gave up coffee for about a year. I did notice that I felt much more rested during that year than I have since. Still. Coffee is awesome.

[LogicalFallacy]

22 hours ago, disillusioned said:

Another vote for giving up sugar, or at least significantly reducing it. I still eat desserts sometimes, but I often go days and sometimes weeks without eating anything that exists purely for the sake of getting sugar into my mouth. Also, if you are not already doing so I recommend drinking only water, and lots of it. Coffee and tea are ok, a long as there's no sugar added, but they are both acidic which is not good for the teeth.

 

As far as the phone thing goes, I recommend trying out some good old fashioned books. Also, get outside. Go for walks. Look around. Phones are addictive, no question about it. I suggest that when you get the urge to grab your phone, do something else for 5 minutes first. Just 5 minutes. See what happens.

 

What he said