Addictions may have started out as a way to have fun, to fit in, or just something to do. Or maybe it’s been a way to cope. Down the track these compulsions can devastate your life and create distance between you and the people you love. At some point you will recognise you have a problem. Putting an end to it may seem impossible, but an addiction therapist can help!
YOU CAN CHANGE THIS!
Addictions can take many forms. You could have developed a dependency on drugs (“recreational” or prescribed), alcohol, food, smoking, gambling, shopping, sex, gaming, social media…. it’s a long list. It could have started as a social thing, or it may have been a way to alleviate physical or emotional pain.
Whatever your poison and the reason you started – it could now be having a devastating impact on your relationships, your job, financial security, or future aspirations. Worryingly, your physical and mental wellbeing have no doubt been seriously affected also. Ultimately your sense of self-worth will be eroded slowly as you’ve grown to understand you’ve lost control.
Your addictions can also be adversely affecting those around you who want to help, or have to see you when you’re at your worst. Your addiction may have become your sole focus and you’ve put it ahead of your family, friends, job, health, and finances. Alarmingly, your compulsions and addictive behaviours may have become so habitual that your brain changes. This is why it’s so difficult to end something that you know is ruining your life.
The first step in getting help with your addiction is recognising that you have a problem. Reaching out to a counsellor is an acknowledgement of the problem, and it’s a great positive move forward!
Through counselling for addiction, we can get to the root cause of how your behaviour started. We can look at ways to address the emotional or physical pain underlying your habits in a safe nonjudgmental space. Research shows that having someone to talk with about your worst fears and vulnerabilities is therapeutically valuable and provides an impetus for change. Identifying triggers such as social settings, stress, emotional situations, loneliness, etc. can then help you to create a risk management plan. Also, developing coping skills can be beneficial to helping to gain control, along with various CBT techniques to address thought patterns that aren’t serving you well. Skills targeted at minimising cravings and relapse can also be developed. There’s a lot we can do.
Beating addiction is a HUGE achievement and will result in only positive changes to your life. No one is saying this will be an easy road – but it’s the road you need to take now, to get you the life you want to live.
"Believe you can and you're halfway there."
- Theodore Roosevelt
In the spirit of reconciliation, Beverley Stewart - Counselling / Psychotherapy / Groups acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.