What is Addiction? How Can Therapy Help?
Addiction is what happens when we engage in a pattern of behavior despite adverse consequences.
Struggling with an addiction does not make you bad or weak. It means you are likely engaging in your addiction to cope with other life stressors.
Common underlying factors that contribute to addiction include: mental health struggles, history of trauma, interpersonal conflicts, genetics, grief/loss and more.
Chances are you turned to substances or other addictive behaviors to help you manage these other difficulties. The key to treatment is to identify the underlying issues and learn new ways to manage them and heal.
Recovery from addiction is possible! In therapy you can expect to learn how to successfully navigate the feelings and experiences that trigger your use/behavior, heal from underlying traumas, and manage other present mental health conditions.
Loving someone with an addiction can be painful, scary, aggravating and lonely. In fact, it can be classified as a traumatic experience.
Due to this trauma, many family members find themselves engaging in behavior and communication patterns that become unproductive and even harmful to themselves and to those around them.
Engaging in individual and family therapy to help heal and learn new ways of engaging can be tremendously beneficial and life changing.
