Alcohol consumption is a common activity among adults around the world. A survey of 139.8 million people aged 12 and older found that 51% had drunk alcohol within the last month (The Recovery Village, 2022). With such high consumption rates and often not enough education on the possible risks and...
While the symptoms may only be present within an individual, it’s often said that addiction is a family disease (Murry, 2022). One family member’s addiction will likely affect the family unit as a whole, and genetics, generational trauma, unresolved resentment and tension within the family can...
Addiction recovery is a challenge for any individual, no matter what stage of their recovery they are on. Often, this process affects more than just the recovering addict, bringing their family, friends, and support systems into the situation (Lautieri, 2022). Anyone with an emotional involvement in...
Addictions counsellors have an important role in our society. Overall, they address consistent hardships with depression and substance misuse. While all individuals experience highs and lows in life, clinical depression can last for weeks, months, or years, and begins to interfere with all aspects...
The COVID-19 pandemic has placed individuals in unique scenarios that have required them to pivot and undertake new challenges and face new stressors. This has proved to be difficult for many with a history of addiction, where isolation and seclusion have previously been triggers for their usage...
Motivational Enhancement Therapy is a person-centred approach that focuses on improving an individual’s motivation to change (Good Therapy, 2018). When working with clients suffering from addiction, counsellors are tasked with encouraging the client to take responsibility for themselves and...
For those struggling with substance abuse and other addictions, one of the biggest challenges they face is the stigma surrounding addiction. Stigma is essentially discrimination against an identifiable group of people (National Institute on Drug Abuse, 2021). In relation to substance abuse or other...
For those struggling with addiction, practicing mindfulness can be extremely beneficial throughout the path to recovery (Conyers, 2020). Mindfulness, traditionally a Buddhist practice, has been used for thousands of years as a way to become fully present and aware (Cole, 2020). Essentially,...
Shame and addiction are closely related. People who feel high levels of shame, for example, are more likely to develop an addiction to drinking or gambling (Bilevicius, E. et al., 2018). Such feelings can lead to a negative circle whereby the addiction causes shame and that sense of shame in turn...
For many people, shopping is nothing more than a harmless pastime, as they use their disposable income to buy clothes, shoes, household items, and other consumer goods that promise some degree of pleasure or utility. For others, however, shopping can cross the line into an addiction, as they...