Whether it be food, alcohol, shopping, sugar, drugs, gaming, cleaning, social media or porn we ALL engage in behaviours that help us to deal with the difficulties that life throws at us. However, when these behaviours become more problematic than helpful it might be time to find a new approach.
Dopamine is a key chemical that plays an important role in understanding addiction. Dopamine helps us feel pleasure and is part of the reward system, making us more likely to repeat behaviours that give us pleasure.
Treatment includes thinking about problematic behaviours, current triggers, the function of the addiction and the possible root causes, developing a map to illustrate the cycle you are be caught in. Sessions focus on identifying emotional regulation strategies and alternative, more helpful ways to get dopamine hits.
