Addictions Counselling
When you are caught in a destructive behavioural pattern, Therapy for Addictions helps you to break free, and get your life safely back on track. Our integrative therapeutic approach focuses on identifying your unique emotional triggers, exploring the underlying root causes of the behaviour, and equipping you with practical strategies to sustain recovery.
Our professional and supportive addictions counsellors in Newcastle or online will pragmatically work with you to you navigate back to enjoying life again.
Help for My Addiction
Addictions and drugs are rampant in our society. And it’s not just alcohol addiction or gambling addiction, but you can find yourself addicted to sex, eating, exercise, drugs, shopping, pornography or the internet.
Other negatives associated with addictions and dependence are such things as panic attacks, obsessive-compulsive behaviour and poor sleep.
Addictions and substance use disorders are treatable, and remission is achievable. Success is always challenging, and the journey is often arduous with setbacks. We can support you in this journey.
Key Symptoms of Addictions, Drug and Alcohol Abuse
There are many misconceptions about addiction, and it is often associated with actions like drinking, gambling, smoking, vaping, and drug use – in fact, it is possible to become dependent upon almost any activity: the web, shopping, gadgets, or even healthy eating. You may identify with some of these problem behaviours:
How Do I Know I Am Addicted – Key Markers
If you recognise any of these symptoms, you may benefit from addiction counselling or psychotherapy.
Please call us
If you identify with any of these Red Flags or something similar, you may be struggling with an addiction. Please get in touch and arrange to talk to one of our specialist addiction therapists about addiction counselling in Newcastle/online – phone 01915805080 or email.
Too much of something isn’t a problem – until the day you realise that your life, your relationships or your work are suffering. Or maybe you find yourself consuming too much time or money, feeding your addictive behaviour. Even fitness where too much can mean ending up with recurrent injuries, an inability to train, and even low mood or depression.
With 2.9 million drug users in the UK in 2023 somewhere between 3.1% (UK data 2014) to 16.7% (2023 US data) will have had a substance use disorder in the past year.
How Can Therapy Help with My Addiction?
Counselling for addiction treats the underlying symptoms that give rise to your addictive behaviour. Therapy will help you to get to the root of the problem, and that creates the opportunity for you to behave differently.
Recovering from addictions is often a hard and difficult road with frequent set-backs.
“You can come out of the furnace of trouble two ways: if you let if consume you, you come out a cinder; but there is a kind of metal which refuses to be consumed, and comes out a star.”
Jean Church
How Do I Recover From Addiction?
It is possible to change, and many people do this and have recovered, or are recovering, from substance abuse and addictive behaviours. It is always challenging. You must choose to either stay the same or do the hard work necessary to become the creative, productive, loving or caring person that you were meant to be.
If you have managed to abstain (the first goal), you may benefit from working with a counsellor or psychotherapist to support your recovery:
What Happens if I Relapse?
With most addictions, relapse is a constant, with follow-up required to keep going. The various Anonymous (e.g., Alcoholics Anonymous) 12-step and other mutual aid groups can be most beneficial. However, the 12-step programme is not a good fit for everyone. That said, mutual support sessions are of great help alongside therapy. This can be discussed during treatment sessions.
The Next Step
At Reflexions Counselling and Psychotherapy we will work with you to help you to manage your addiction and we will help you work things through. If you are struggling with addiction or dependence, contact us and arrange to talk to one of our therapists about addiction counselling in Newcastle/online – phone 01915805080 or email.
Some Reflexions About Addiction
“Life is very interesting… in the end, some of your greatest pains, become your greatest strengths.”
Drew Barrymore
Addictive behaviour is for many of us a way to escape or distract oneself from the pain of our feelings – loss or anger are common. Whilst trying to avoid painful feelings may seem an attractive solution for you in the moment, left unresolved, these often make the root cause worse. It is worth remembering that pain and upset, whilst certainly unpleasant, are normal emotions that humans have been designed to tolerate, and like any others, we can learn the skills to deal with more effectively.
Detox Is Often Best Achieved Medically Controlled
If you want a drug or alcohol Detox then this may be better undertaken in a medically-controlled environment, as the body can go into shock. You may wish to look into a residential centre as the better option for you and return to therapy to sort the underlying issues that caused your addictive behaviour.