Addiction

Addiction:

• Compulsive use of substances or behaviors which alter our neurochemistry (e.g., dopamine)

• Function to avoid or numb intolerable emotion/trauma

• Triggered by events or relationships

• Leads to increasing addiction, rebound symptoms, and impairments in functioning and relationships

• Cured by processing the emotion/trauma avoided with addiction

When we can’t bear what we feel or what we’ve been through, we turn to substances or coping behaviors.

It often starts innocent. In fact, it often helps.

It makes you feel good, and it takes away your pain. What could be wrong with that?

But it takes a little bit more each time to have the same effect. And you don’t feel quite normal anymore when you aren’t doing it.

The cravings start to kick in, and it starts to feel like a burden.

Nothing else seems to be as important, and the valuable things in your life become neglected.

Secrecy deepens, and small fibs give way to bold lies.

Relationships start to suffer. Work, sports, and occupational performance declines.

Symptoms worsen, alleviated only be further use, which only increase the symptoms the next time around.

The addiction begins to swallow everything up, leaving destruction in its wake.

It’s like being caught in a black hole. Nothing escapes it’s orbit.

There might be nothing more overwhelming and paralyzing than being caught in an addictive cycle. Maybe this is why they call it “hitting rock bottom.”

Addictions include:

• Chronic reliance on substances (alcohol, cannabis, hallucinogens, inhalants, opioids, sedatives, hypnotics, anxiolytics, stimulants, amphetamines, cocaine, tobacco)

• Compulsive and destructive use of self-soothing/coping behaviors (sex, pornography, exercise, social media scrolling, binging television or movies, hoarding, other obsessive-compulsive rituals)

• Disordered eating patterns (binging, purging, restricting)

Symptoms include:

• Use of substance or behavior longer or in larger amounts than desired

• Struggling to cut back or stop

• Spending substantial time getting, using, or recovering from the use of the substance or behavior

• Cravings and urges to use the substance or behavior

• Continued use despite problems in relationships

• Impaired functioning at work, home, or school because of use of substance or behavior

• Giving up important social, occupational, or recreational activities in order to use

• Continued use despite danger or self-destructive effects.

• Continued use despite physical or psychological problems caused or made worse by the substance

• Tolerance: needing more to get the same effect

• Withdrawal: symptoms which can be relieved by more use

Common associated diagnoses: 

• Substance-Use Disorders

• Substance-Induced Anxiety, Depressive, Obsessive-Compulsive, Bipolar, Psychotic, Sleep, and Neurocognitive Disorders, as well as Substance-induced Delirium, and Substance-induced Sexual Dysfunctions

• Addictive Disorders (Gambling Disorder)

• Obsessive-Compulsive Disorders

• Feeding and Eating Disorders (Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimia Nervosa, Binge-Eating Disorder)

So what can we do?

At EmotionFit, we don’t just tell you to stop using. This “white-knuckle” approach rarely works.

You might stop temporarily, but without a deeper cure, relapse is just around the corner.

This is why we address the root of your addiction: the unbearable emotions and traumatic memories that led you to turn to addiction in the first place. We help you heal, so you won’t have to run away from your feelings anymore.

Once you process and release your feelings, and make peace with and integrate the traumas, the fuel is taken out of the engine of your addiction. Cravings lessen, and temptation declines.

You start feeling less on edge, more in control, and more confident that you can stay clean. Your use lessens and even stops. This momentum builds, and an upward spiral of relief and progress replaces the downward spiral of addiction. And your life becomes yours again.

We’re here to walk you through that process. We’ve been through it before, and we know how to help.

You don’t have to stay stuck in addictive cycles.

It’s time to take the first step in getting your life back.

Contact a therapist and begin the path to recovery today.

Can any peptide therapeutics help with drug addiction? If you're looking for addiction therapy near me, reach out to our trained professionals who can guide you on your journey to recovery.