Substance use disorder (SUD) is usually not the only thing affecting us when we seek help. Likely, there are other issues affecting us concurrently alongside our SUD. Sometimes, these issues can be tied to the roots of SUD itself, like mental and emotional health issues. Other times, the issues affecting us can be behavioral addictions. These resemble SUD in many ways. Bright Mission Recovery strives to produce lasting healing and freedom from all types of addiction. We do so with a personalized, holistic approach.
Behavioral addictions can be difficult to identify, even when they carry negative effects as equally devastating as SUD itself. These problematic behaviors are things we become addicted to. Despite any negative consequences, we find ourselves unable to stop on our own. Experiencing behavioral addictions is much like experiencing SUD; only there is no substance involved.
What Are Behavioral Addictions?
While addiction can be difficult to classify and must often be personally diagnosed, there are also many different kinds of addiction. While SUD is centered around the compulsive use of a particular substance, behavioral addictions are centered around certain behaviors, actions, or activities. Any behavior that becomes compulsive or addictive can be a behavioral addiction.
This can run the gamut from screen time with electronics to gambling, sexual behaviors, and even eating. Any behavior that we compulsively participate in and cannot stop on our own may be a behavioral addiction. Behavioral addiction can take many, many forms. We become unable to stop participating in a behavior that is detrimental. This is because of the dopamine we receive, and it may signal an addictive behavior.
If we gamble frequently, even when the effects are damaging to our lives and finances, we may have a behavioral addiction to gambling. There are many common behavioral addictions, such as gambling, sexual acting out, compulsive or binge eating, and self-harm. This is hardly a complete list, as addictive behaviors can come in many varied shapes and forms. The important thing to watch for is that we experience taking part in an action or behavior that we no longer wish to participate in. We are addicted to the behavior and its effects despite the consequences or our true desires.
Participating in any behaviors like these can carry consequences as equally devastating and destructive as SUD does. These behaviors can affect our personal and professional lives, as well as our mental, physical, and emotional health. Behavioral addictions are unique in that they often begin innocuously and become out of control in subtle ways. Such behaviors do not always carry the stigma of using substances. Nor are they always as outwardly obvious as substance use.
These subtleties can make behavioral addictions more insidious than outright substance use. This, however, does not make them any less treatable than SUD. Given that behavioral addiction is very much like SUD, healing is always possible. Bright Mission Recovery has one goal. That is to produce healing and lasting freedom from SUD with co-occurring behavioral addictions, as well as mental and emotional health issues.
Healing From Behavioral Addictions
Given that behavioral addictions often occur side-by-side with SUD, Bright Mission Recovery treats all conditions simultaneously. This holistic approach helps ensure total healing and freedom. We address all mental, emotional, spiritual, and physical health issues concurrent with sobriety practices. There is no point chasing symptoms when we can address the cause of the disease and produce lasting healing at depth.
Bright Mission Recovery believes that the sober journey is one of discovery. While working to break free from SUD and co-occurring disorders we discover so much about ourselves. We discover our reasons, our modes of living, our causes, and our conditions. Sometimes on this sober journey of healing discovery we may identify troublesome behaviors. They are ones which have gone past an acceptable threshold and become addictive. This should not be a cause for deflation.
The process of discovery is a beautiful thing, allowing us to identify, uproot, and adjust any behaviors, thought patterns, emotions, or wounds that need healing. At the same time, the process of discovery also helps us capitalize on our strong points. This teaches us how to have real self-esteem. Uncovering troublesome behaviors is merely an opportunity to put into practice all we learn at Bright Mission Recovery. We can apply sober healing techniques to these behaviors. It is an occasion for growth, not discouragement.
Indeed, what we learn in treatment at Bright Mission Recovery is widely applicable and vitally helpful. The coping mechanisms, insights, tools, and strategies we pick up in therapy can be used to address SUD. They can also be used to heal mental or emotional health issues and even behavioral addictions. Given the nature of addiction, many of the sobriety practices we learn can be applied to our behaviors as well as our SUD.
When a holistic approach is taken to healing, the way it is at Bright Mission Recovery, we can address all the issues simultaneously. This means as we heal in one area, it helps us heal in all the other places, too. Healing from behavioral addictions and SUD is possible, and many of the healing techniques produce freedom in both arenas.
Behavioral addictions often occur alongside substance use disorder (SUD) and mental and emotional health issues. While behavioral addictions can often be less obvious, they can be as equally detrimental. Behavioral addictions can take many forms. They can be anything from gambling to binge eating; almost any behavior we participate in can become addictive. We can recognize an addictive behavior when we continue participating in that behavior despite negative consequences and the desire to stop. If we find we cannot stop, we have most likely developed a behavioral addiction. Luckily, there is a solution. The same techniques used to heal SUD can work for behavioral addictions, too. Call Bright Mission Recovery at (747) 444-3284.