Addiction
You may choose to call it a craving, a fancy, or a bit of reliance. Whatever the word, anyone who feels increasingly dependent on an activity—alcohol, drugs, food, shopping, gambling, sex—is often trying to fill a gap or block something out. Addiction generally begins when something essential feels absent—stability, meaning, comfort or connection. Perhaps following a loss, such as the death of someone close, the end of a relationship, redundancy, or illness. Or addiction may emerge from a quiet, persistent dissatisfaction: boredom, numbness, or the sense of being trapped. These circumstances can first lead to low mood, withdrawal, or anxiety—then into patterns of coping that feel harder and harder to step away from.
Whatever the activity, it’s often an attempt to solve or remove — temporarily, at least — what feels intolerable. And for a while, it may work. But anyone caught up in addiction will intuitively know it’s a false relief. The experience long since stopped delivering on its promises. An activity that once felt enabling — a reward, a release, a way to feel something or nothing — has slowly become disabling. As such, you want to curtail how it influences your choices and undermines your freedom.
To get away from addictive behaviour, it is necessary to understand two things: the way our natural reward mechanisms work, and the way life should be constructed in order to receive the natural rewards that make addictive activities less attractive. Our work together will support you to:
- Understand what causes and fuels addictive behaviour
- Isolate destructive impulses that keep you locked in on autopilot
- Ensure important emotional needs are constructively met
- Develop new expectations for your life and the future
- Find pleasure and fulfilment in new and meaningful ways
- Develop practical skills for dealing with withdrawal symptoms
- Learn to deal with stress or temptations that might lie ahead
- Have a solid plan for relapse prevention