How does an addiction arise? What helps those affected? How and why do you become addicted? What is addictions counselling Calgary for?
Alcohol, drugs, binge eating, nicotine, etc.: Addiction is - even if some outsiders think so - not a weakness of will or character but a chronic mental illness that can affect anyone. The disease arises from the interaction of various biological, psychological, and social factors on our health.
Hereditary predisposition can be a cause of addiction
A biological factor can be, for example, a hereditary predisposition: If the parents or one parent is already addicted, scientists assume that the children also tend to be at greater risk of becoming addicted. Individual tolerance also plays a role: 'If a person can tolerate a lot of alcohol for genetic reasons, they will tend to drink more. This person, therefore, has an increased risk of addiction and should seek Calgary addiction counselling.
Psychological factors that can promote addiction
The psychological factors include, among other things, the reward effect: an addictive substance triggers positive feelings in the brain that you want to experience repeatedly (“positive reinforcement”). In addition, the addictive behavior alleviates or eliminates negative emotions that you do not want to feel (“negative reinforcement”). A person affected also tries to cure themselves of a deficit (such as low self-esteem or a lack of impulse control) with the help of a substance and accepts an addiction in return.
Conditioning also plays a role in this area: If you always drink alcohol with dinner or watching TV and feel more relaxed as a result, after a while, this triggers an unconscious desire in your brain: You drink more and more often, and more, a possible introduction to one seeks. Enroll with addictions counselling in Calgary here.
Addiction can be related to negative experiences.
A significant proportion of search patients - experts assume around 45 percent - also have post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). So, at some point in your life, you have suffered a psychological wound that leads to a subsequent disorder.
Which social factors can play a role in the development of addiction?
Social factors can also lead to addiction: Anyone who loses their regular life through losing their job has less reason to remain abstinent. If a parent is addicted, this can also have consequences for the children in the form of an increased risk of becoming addicted themselves.
Friends party together with alcohol and drugs.
If alcohol or drugs are regular in your friends' everyday lives, you are more likely to turn to the corresponding substances yourself. You are, therefore, more at risk of developing an addiction. Do not miss the help of Calgary addiction counselling.
Addiction and dependence - is there even a difference?
No, there is no difference between the term addiction and the topic of dependence. Addiction is a term that is only used in common parlance. To know whether someone is physically or psychologically addicted to a substance or behavior, experts have identified signs. These are noticeable both physically and psychologically.
Six signs of addictive behavior
Strong desire to consume: The desire for a particular substance or behavior is so strong that it is felt internally like a compulsion.
Loss of control: You are unable to limit yourself. You consume more and more and always want to start earlier than planned, for example, by smoking a cigarette or drinking schnapps before breakfast, even though the desire may not have been felt until lunchtime some time ago.
Increasing the dose or tolerance: The body can tolerate or wants more and more, so the amount has to improve to feel the longed-for kick.
Withdrawal symptoms: If consumption is reduced, the body reacts to it. The symptoms can range from a merely unpleasant feeling to tremors to life-threatening symptoms.
Neglecting other interests (e.g., social contacts): Addiction dominates everyday life; one is only concerned with obtaining drugs or meticulously maintaining one's alcohol supply. Friendships and family relationships are neglected. The phases that you need to recover after consuming alcohol, for example, are becoming longer and longer. What matters is only the present. The past and future lose meaning.
Consequences for health: The harmful behavior is not stopped, even though the body's organs are already clearly impaired and the risk of severe health damage is high. For example, liver cirrhosis due to alcohol, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD for short) due to smoking, kidney damage due to drugs, a stomach ulcer due to taking pills.
When those affected should seek Calgary addiction counselling
To seek addiction counselling in Calgary requires a lot of courage, energy, and suffering from many people. That’s why people with an addiction often only come to addictions counselling in Calgary after decades of addiction. After such a long time, a lot has usually already been broken: There have probably already been severe problems in the relationship, with the family, or with the employer due to alcohol and other addictive substances.
Many of these problems could be prevented if people suffering from addiction sought help and received information as early as possible. Then, addiction counselling and therapy in Calgary can most efficiently lead to success.
You must be logged in to post a comment.