Symptoms Services

What is Addiction? 

An addiction is when someone becomes compulsively committed to a habit or practice or to something that is psychologically or physically habit-forming. Addiction can manifest itself in many different ways such as alcohol addiction, and/or drug addiction, social media addiction, electronic addiction or pornography addiction to name a few. Addiction can also be referred to as substance or behavioral dependence as well. 

What is the difference between addiction and habit? 

Addiction and habit are two very different things. An addiction involves a physical or psychological aspect; the person is not able to control or correctly manage the aspects of their addiction without outside help because of mental or physical conditions involved. A habit has no physical component like a withdrawal phase, but there is a psychological component involved to allow a person’s mind to adjust to life without a substance or activity.

What are common symptoms of addiction? 

Symptoms can manifest in psychological, social and physical ways. Symptoms could include: 

• Inability to stop

• Taking unnecessary risks

• Using a vice to deal with or try to solve problems

• Quitting hobbies or activities

• Denial

• Solitude and secrecy 

• Appetite changes

• Deteriorating health

• Fatigue

• Codependency 

• Anger management issues

• Changes in appearance 
  

Addiction has many symptoms that can cause damage to a person’s physical and psychological health, everyday activities, and social life. The side effects of addiction or addictive behavior depend heavily on the type of substance, personal circumstances, family life, a person’s awareness of their addictive behavior, and sometimes their current finances.

Psychologically, a substance abuse disorder can lead to continued use despite side effects on health or personal life disruptions. A person might be obsessed with getting hold of a substance or partaking in damaging activities, therefore making it nearly impossible to discontinue the use or action on their own. Substance and addictive behaviors might also lead to a withdrawal from personal responsibilities, important activities, and social interactions or events. This can lead an individual to seek solitude and engage in the substance or action in private. Regularly taking a substance or partaking in a damaging action can also cause physical damage, depending on the type of addiction. Some substances cause destructive withdrawal symptoms that include many physical effects, such as sweating, shaking, and nausea.

How can therapy help with addiction? 
Undoing the damage from addiction or addictive behavior requires understanding what personal situations intensify it and harnessing tools to equip a person to lead a life of health, wellness and self control. Recovery from an addiction is not exclusively a matter of breaking the physical dependence and cycle of a substance or action. Addiction counseling provides supplemental benefits to make a recovery more successful by clearly identifying situations which may contribute to the substance use or addictive behavior, giving direct support for addiction, introducing new behavior techniques for recovery, and reducing the possible risk of relapse.

Major benefits of addiction counseling may include:

• Addiction counseling can clearly identify situations contributing to substance use or addictive behavior

• Addiction counseling can provide personal support for addiction

• Addiction counseling can offer new behavior techniques for recovery

• Addiction counseling can reduce the possible risk of relapse

If you or someone you know may be experiencing symptoms of addiction or addictive behavior, Heritage Counseling & Consulting can equip and encourage self control and new behavior techniques in order to reduce the symptoms. Addiction counseling is performed one-on-one with an accurately paired clinician in order to create a safe and judgment-free environment. We will get to the root cause of addiction or addictive behavior and create a plan of action tailored to the person’s unique needs. Please give our office a call to discuss in more detail and schedule an appointment today.