“Rock bottom became the solid foundation on which I built my life.”
At the root of all substance abuse and addiction is the avoidance of facing painful aspects of life, whether it be fears about oneself, past wounds, or present difficulties.
Whether your addiction is to substances, food, sex, shopping, pornography, or relationships, exploring and facing the underlying issues through therapy can set you free from the compulsive need to engage in addictive behaviors that hurt you and the ones you love.
When we’re addicted to something—whether it be a substance or a behavior—not having it in our reach can lead to anxiety, depression, emotional dysregulation, and severe withdrawal symptoms.
These unpleasant, crawl-out-of-your skin feelings make it difficult to resist our addictions, only making our dependence even more severe over time.
This is called a self-reinforcing feedback loop.
Addiction can be severely harmful to your health, work performance, and relationships.
It can eventually have extreme psychological and physical effects, which can be difficult to overcome on our own.
Addiction can often be brought on by genetic or environmental factors. And, some individuals may not even recognize that they are addicted in the first place.
What once started out as just an unhealthy habit can sometimes morph into a completely different beast.
This is a slippery slope and not all people are aware when it starts to shift into dangerous territory.
Regardless of how unhealthy habits start, there is always a way to end them and make a positive change to your life.
**Please note, only a mental health professional is qualified to diagnose these disorders, and diagnoses require a constellation of symptoms and other clinical thresholds to be valid. In other words, just because you experience some of these symptoms does not mean you have the disorder or meet criteria for a diagnosis. Please schedule an appointment with one of our experts if you have concerns.**
Here are some telltale symptoms of addiction and substance abuse:
Regardless of your “drug” of choice—alcohol, shopping, drugs, sex, gambling, etc.—the brain chemistry and behavioral patterns behind addiction are the same.
The common thread connecting a gambling addict to a drug addict is their avoidance of coming to terms with reality and processing difficult emotions.
Drinking, going on a shopping spree, or having sex are quick and “easy” ways to escape and make the pain go away, which is why many people turn to these habits to cope with difficult situations.
These behaviors can easily get out of hand and can cause significant damage to an addict’s relationships, work life, and mental and physical wellbeing.
Substance Abuse is diagnosed when a person displays one or more of the following in a 12-month period:
Substance Dependence is diagnosed when a person displays three or more of the following in a 12-month period:
With extensive specialized training in evidence-based therapy for addiction, substance abuse/dependence, and recovery, our experienced therapists are here to help you face the pain you’ve been avoiding and break free from the chains of addiction.
Any addiction is difficult to overcome on your own, and most people who experience it need additional help and support.
Without therapy, addiction can be very difficult to manage, but here are some helpful tips by addictionsandrecovery.org:
Our team of exceptional therapists are trained in a technique called Motivational Interviewing (MI), which is an intervention that’s been empirically proven to decrease substance abuse and addictive behaviors.
If you have not heard about motivational interviewing before, then you’ll want to read up!
It’s an innovative technique we use to guide and motivate YOU to change yourself through your own willpower.
We do this by utilizing the RULE method.
We Resist trying to tell you what path to take, and instead guide you towards making your own decisions on your wellbeing.
We strive to Understand what needs and motivations you might have to change.
Then, we Listen and even identify any obstacles you might face in overcoming your addiction.
Finally, we Empower you by helping you set goals that you can easily achieve, so you can achieve recovery.
RULE is an extremely effective method because it provides you with the tools to recognize what needs to change within yourself.
It puts the power of change in your hands rather than imposing it on you from the outside.
By taking responsibility, you will see permanent results instead of falling back into old habits.
But don’t worry, we’ve got your back along the way.
There are many additional behavioral changes as well as side effects that can happen with substance abuse.
Think mood changes, such as feeling more irritable, depressed, or having extreme, violent mood swings.
It can even go as far as thoughts of suicide or self-harm. If you ever have these thoughts, please call 911 immediately.
These behavioral changes can be extremely harmful to others as well, such as stealing, lying to your friends, family, or loved ones about your drug use, engaging in reckless or impulsive behavior, and wanting to get high rather than hanging out with friends or family.
The physical changes are the ones that are easier to notice.
These can show up as constant coughing, extreme fatigue, muscle tremors, dark-colored urine, yellowing of the eyes, or pains and fevers.
It’s important to also watch out for more serious conditions that may arise from addiction such as seizures or strokes.
Substance abuse can also be fatal due to changes in your tolerance level.
You might take the same amount of a drug every day, but since you take the same, consistent dose, the effects slowly start to wear off.
That means after some time, you will start to need more and more of the same drug in order to feel the same “high” that you felt before.
This dangerous cycle can continue until the dose of the substance gets so high that it passes the lethal limit.
It is extremely important to get help before you reach that point.
If you are experiencing any of these symptoms, please reach out to a therapist as soon as possible.
We are here to help you break free from addiction and reclaim your life.
The good news is, therapy can successfully alleviate all of these disorders by helping you minimize the anxiety in your life, identify and change underlying thought and behavioral patterns that contribute to your addiction, and provide you with strategies to decrease discomfort while restoring an overall sense of peace.
To experience true and lasting joy in our life, we must face and conquer our pain by healing our underlying trauma and confronting our fears.
See the About Therapy page for a deeper look into this process.
We also offer group therapy for addiction, substance abuse, and substance dependence.
Our evidence-based, scientifically proven interventions are demonstrated by research to be effective for overcoming addiction, substance abuse, and substance dependence.
Learn more about our empirically based therapy modalities by visiting our Methods page.
We find you the perfect therapist – or your money back.
Promenade
127 Broadway Suite 205
Santa Monica, CA 90401
Venice
130 Ocean Park Blvd.
Santa Monica, CA 90405
San Fernando Valley
16055 Ventura Blvd.
Encino, CA 91436.
Brentwood
12100 Wilshire Blvd. 8th Floor
Los Angeles, CA 90025
City
10801 National Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90064
