top of page

Addictions and ways to heal from them:

jmanelop



Below is a list of common addictions:

• Drinking and/or using drugs,

• Overeating,

• Sexual compulsions,

• Working excessive hours,

• Exercising too often and for too many hours,

• Obsessive focus on acquiring material possession and wealth,

• Constant need for external validation,

• People pleasing,

• Gambling,

• Complaining,

• Comparison,

• Procrastination,

• Excessive use of phone, social media, television, iPad etc

• Excessive partying

• Multitasking,


Many people struggle with addictions usually to cope with stress or to avoid dealing with their thoughts and emotions.


Below are some ways that you can heal from addictions:

1) Identify the issues/emotions/trauma that the addiction may be covering up - if possible, address the issue and work on learning healthier ways to cope.

2) Keep a record of what are the triggers, such as when it happens and how you feel – so that next time it happens you are prepared with more awareness of the situation.

3) Look for the purpose your addiction may be serving, often it is because of a difficulty in a relationship – instead, talk to the people involved about the issues so that you can work together on a solution that is fair to everyone.

4) Learn to experience emotions rather than avoid them, because it only makes the problem worse if you use a temporary solution – spend 5 to 10 minutes each day mindfully sitting with your eyes closed breathing in and out deeply focusing on the sensations, honouring, and welcoming them.

5) Journal about your feelings to get them off your chest every time you feel triggered - write your thoughts and feeling you experience down so that the stop ruminating in your head and your body will start to relax.

6) Adopt solution orientation mindset whilst cultivating gratitude, this breaks the cycle when complaints come up.

7) Embrace Individuality and personal growth, this helps us to stop comparing ourselves and our lives to others.

8) Remember to take small steps each day as they help you gain momentum towards achieving your goals and you can celebrate milestones along the way, this can help people overcome procrastination because they then understand they do not have to achieve the complete goal but just part 1 of goal a simple small step.

9) Healthy boundaries in our life are important, we need to engage in real life interactions, but mentally and physically we need a balanced amount of time spent across sleep/rest, entertainment, work, chores/responsibilities/commitments, exercise, and spirituality etc.

10) Improved productivity comes from focusing on one task at a time, it gives us quicker feeling of accomplishment which boosts our self-esteem via internal validation.


Overcoming a severe drinking, drug, sex, or gambling problem requires professional help which should be sought ASAP.


It is possible to overcome any addiction if a person really wants to, by identifying/acknowledging/admitting the addictions to themselves, and any person impacted and addressing the issues/trauma/problem they are avoiding.

1 view0 comments

Recent Posts

See All

Comments


bottom of page