Addiction Therapy
Are you feeling trapped by addiction? Is it starting to impact your health, relationships, work, or daily responsibilities? Addiction can feel like a relentless cycle, leaving you exhausted, overwhelmed, and unsure of how to move forward. The feelings of guilt, shame, or isolation that often accompany addiction can make it even harder to reach out for help, and lead you to believe you are going to be stuck in this cycle forever but it doesn’t have to be that way. The truth is that recovery is possible for everyone. With the right support and guidance, you can break free and regain control of your life.
What is Addiction?
The definition of addiction varies depending on who you ask, but a general explanation is that it is a condition where someone feels a strong need to use a substance or engage in a behavior, even when it causes problems with their relationships, job, health, and daily life. Over time, addiction changes how the brain works, making it harder to resist urges and control behavior. This creates a cycle that begins to feel impossible to break, and is why despite the negative consequences, someone who is addicted continues to engage in the behavior that is causing these consequences.
Addictions fall into two broad categories: physical addictions and behavioral addictions.
Physical addictions are what most people think of when they hear the word “addiction.” They involve a person using or consuming a substance and frequently lead to a person becoming physically dependent. Common examples include:
- Alcohol
- Marijuana/THC
- Nicotine
- Opioids (like prescription painkillers or heroin)
- Cocaine
- Hallucinogens (like LSD or mushrooms)
- Benzodiazepines & Other Sedatives (like Xanax or Valium)
- Methamphetamine & Amphetamines
- Caffeine
- PCP
Behavioral Addictions
Behavioral addictions, on the other hand, don’t involve a physical substance – they involve compulsively engaging activities that activate the same brain reward systems as physical addictions. While behavioral addictions are less talked about, they can be just as damaging.
Some common behavioral addictions include:
Gambling Addiction
The uncontrollable urge to gamble, even if it is causing financial problems and hurting your relationships.
Social Media Addiction
Spending excessive amounts of time scrolling or posting on social media despite having harmful effects on your self-esteem, mood, productivity, and relationships.
Sex Addiction
An unhealthy preoccupation with sexual thoughts or behaviors that interfere with your daily life and relationships.
Food Addiction
Using food for comfort or out of habit, leading to overeating or feelings of guilt.
Love/Relationship Addiction
Obsession with finding or maintaining relationships at any cost, often staying in toxic relationships to avoid being alone.
Chaos/Drama Addiction
Creating or seeking conflict and emotional intensity to feel excitement or attention.
Pain Addiction
Turning to emotional or physical self-harm to cope or to gain a sense of control.
Screen/Technology Addiction
Excessive use of electronic devices (phones, tablets, laptops, televisions, video game consoles, etc.) to the point where it impacts real-life responsibilities, relationships, or overall well-being.
Shopping Addiction
Overspending to distract from problems or boost your mood, even if it causes financial problems.
Porn Addiction
Compulsive use of pornography that negatively impacts your relationships or your life.
Exercise Addiction
Feeling an obsessive need to work out as a way to cope with difficult emotions or body image issues.
Adrenaline Addiction
Constantly seeking thrill or excitement through risky or dangerous activities.
Video Game Addiction
Prioritizing gaming over real-life responsibilities, relationships, or self-care.
Work Addiction
Overworking to avoid personal issues or gain a sense of self-worth.
How Mental Bloom Therapy Supports Your Recovery Journey
While addiction can manifest in many forms and they may look different on the surface, they all share one thing in common: compulsive behaviors that take over your life and are difficult to stop. Addiction therapy is designed to help you understand and overcome addictive behaviors, and provides the support, tools, and guidance you need to move forward and regain control of your life.
At Mental Bloom Therapy, we know there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to addiction recovery. Your journey is unique, and your therapy should be too. Our personalized approach to addiction therapy focuses on understanding your specific needs, values, and goals to ensure you receive the treatment that works best for you. Whether your goal is complete abstinence, reducing harmful behaviors, or finding a healthier balance, our focus is on helping you to heal from the inside out to achieve the change you are looking for.
Through evidence-based approaches, we work with you to:
Explore Underlying Issues
Healing from addiction requires more than just addressing the surface level behavior – it is about addressing the deeper-rooted issues that are causing you to rely on these unhelpful ways of coping to begin with. Together, we’ll dig deeper to explore what is contributing to your emotional and psychological struggles so that you can heal the wounds that are fueling your addictive patterns.
Develop Healthy Coping Strategies
Breaking free from addiction requires more than willpower. One of the biggest challenges in recovery is replacing old, harmful coping mechanisms with healthier ones. In addiction therapy, we’ll work together to identify new, healthy coping skills that are designed to help you navigate real-life situations.
Rebuild Relationships
Addiction can take a toll on your relationships. In sessions, we will help you to repair these relationships and rebuild trust with those closest to you. We’ll work on improving communication, setting healthy boundaries, and fostering relationships that support your recovery journey. If you are interested in involving loved ones in treatment, we can also schedule couples or family sessions geared towards supporting you in your recovery.
Create Lasting Change
Recovery isn’t just about short-term change—it’s about creating a sustainable lifestyle. Through relapse prevention planning, we will help you to identify your triggers and warning signs, and create a plan to address them so that you can feel confident in navigating life’s ups and downs.
Contact Us Today
Whether you’re just beginning your recovery process or have been in recovery for a while and are seeking additional support, we’re here to support you. Asking for help can be scary, but it’s the first step in regaining control of your life. Reach out to schedule a consultation today. Together, we can help you break free from the cycle of addiction and start building the life that you deserve.