Addictions come in all shapes and sizes any behaviour that has a pleasurable aspect to it can lead to addiction. For example the obvious ones drinking, drugs, sex, food, gambling, the less obvious shopping, going to the gym, running and so on. The problem is that the more we repeat the experience the less pleasure we get from it, so the more we repeat the process in the hope of getting the pleasure (buss) back. Some activities or substances can generate a feeling that is so powerful that it may seem that life without that feeling may never be worthwhile again.

Am I Addicted?

Do you:

• Unintentionally overdo it (bingeing, overdosing, etc.)?
• Need more and more to satisfy you?
• Get withdrawal symptoms such as anxiety and tremors?
• Persistently try but fail to quit?
• Find your performance at work or important relationships are deteriorating
• Use the habit to relieve anxiety, tremors etc.?
• Continue your habit even when you suspect it is destroying you physically and/or emotionally?

Who needs help for Addiction – Addiction Counselling?

If you can identify with any 3 of the above statements you may benefit from addiction counselling. Some addictions cause more damage to our health, our life, our work, our relationships,our finances than others. Whether you need help with an addiction depends on what you are addicted to and how damaging it is to your life and those around you. To put it another way, addiction to running is less damaging than to alcohol.

Why do Addictions seem so hard to beat?

So what is it that makes addictions so easy to acquire and so difficult for most people to shake off? The answer lies in the chemical reward mechanisms that the human brain uses to motivate itself to act and learn. The excitement we get when we are keen to do something is produced by dopamine; a natural brain chemical, very like cocaine in its effect it raises our emotional level so we want to take action. And the warm feelings of satisfaction we get after doing something — eating, laughing, having sex, or achieving some new understanding or skill — are produced by endorphin, another natural substance (which is similar to heroin). Working together these chemicals keep us interested in doing the biological functions that preserve the species, and stretch each one of us to learn and achieve.