Addiction Services

Addictions: Taking Hold of Your Life

The Impact of Addictions

If you find yourself or someone you love struggling with the following issues, let’s work together to find more skillful ways of coping:

Drug and alcohol abuse
Excessive gambling
Smartphone over-use or addiction
Compulsive impulses and behaviors related to sex
Excessive internet addiction
Being a workaholic
Self-defeating behaviors that always seem to undermine your growth and success
Issues of shame, guilt and a chronic sense of unworthiness

Addictions are an epidemic in the United States. It is hard to imagine but most people know someone who has been affected by addiction. People often engage in addictive behaviors such as drugs, alcohol, gambling, sex, eating, shopping, internet addictions, gaming, and smartphone addiction, to avoid difficult thoughts and emotions that seem to be intolerable. Addictive behaviors may also serve to help prolong or maintain pleasant feelings that we want to hold on to.

Unfortunately, painful experiences will present themselves, regardless of the strategies we employ to avoid them, and pleasant feelings are not permanent. These are unavoidable aspects of being human that are difficult for everyone to cope with. When we try to escape or deny this reality by engaging in addictive behaviors, we create more distress and suffering in our lives. When addictions provide only short-term relief in exchange for long-term problems, it is vital for people to understand the self-defeating nature of addiction and avoidance.

Smartphone and Device Addiction

Smartphones and devices provide enormous opportunities to stay connected with family and friends. They allow us to search for jobs, read the breaking news and stay connected with the latest trends and shifts in our culture. Although this provides amazing possibilities to help navigate the world, it also provides endless opportunities to grab your attention.

Addiction to our smartphones and devices is becoming a real and complicated mental health issue. Studies show that the more time we spend on our devices, the more we become susceptible to anxiety, depression, disconnection, and distractibility. Recent research indicates that addiction to our devices has the power to change the functioning of certain brain regions related to attention, concentration, and impulsivity.

Here is a list of symptoms that may indicate that you are struggling with a smartphone addiction:

You feel anxious and unsettled when your phone is not with you
The last thing you do at night and the first thing you do in the morning is look at your phone
You check your phone when talking with others
Any amount of downtime you have is spent on your phone
You fall asleep with your phone in your bed
The first thing you do when you get somewhere is look to charge your phone
You use your phone to avoid dealing with other issues in your life

If your connection to your smartphone or device is stronger than your connection to the important people in your life, let us help you assess how to change this dynamic.