Addictions

“When I was the master you served me well, but now as a slave, a prisoner I am trapped in a whirl of meaninglessness”. 

What do we mean by addiction?

People have always used chemical agents to alter their moods, their energy levels and their perception of the world around them.  This activity can lead to an addiction when it occurs too frequently, excessively or over a long period of time.  Both legal and illegal drugs can be involved including alcohol, prescription and over the counter medications, illicit drugs and solvents.  The term addiction can also refer to other activities which become compulsive habits, for example, gambling, eating, sex, working and physical exercise.  An addiction can developed to such an extent that it has a very serious effect on the physical and mental health of the user and a detrimental effect on their family and friends. It can eventually lead to the loss of financial security and the loss of social contact including the user's own family group.  

How can counselling help?

Counselling can help you in several ways. We can often feel alone and isolated when we have an addiction. Having someone to talk our problems through with can make all the difference. The counsellor can help you explore issues that might have lead to an addiction and enable you identify patterns, cues and triggers, make connections and enable behaviour change. The counsellor will be able to support you through this difficult time and help you to make the changes that you decide you would like to make.

Some of the underlying issues behind addictions can be traumatic and might need long term work to ensure you do not relapse. Akousis counsellors have many years experience in the addictions field.The SWAN Project is a support and stabilization project, which runs from Akousis.