Addiction Therapy in Kitchener-Waterloo
Anyone who’s struggled with addiction knows that it can ruin your life. Addiction can change you from a loving, kind person into someone who’s willing to sacrifice anyone or anything in order to get your next fix. Addiction leads to misery, hopelessness, ruined relationships, broken trust, and profound shame. Sadly, many people who struggle with addiction feel powerless to change their behaviour, and they watch in horror as their lives crumble around them.
What Is Addiction?
Addiction is one of the least understood forms of psychological distress. Addiction is not caused by a lack of willpower. It is a response to trauma, which means that the purpose of addiction is to help the addict to avoid overwhelming feelings of worthlessness, shame, terror, or loneliness. This has three important implications.
1) Most people in our society are addicted to something, whether it’s Netflix, buying stuff, success, alcohol, sex, or benzos.
2) Addicts are not selfish monsters. They are people who are desperately trying to avoid their overwhelming suffering by any means necessary.
3) The only way to deal with addiction is to address the underlying psychological wounds that led to the addiction in the first place.
How We Treat Addiction
At Transformation Counselling, we address addiction on two levels. On one level, we'll help you to identify triggers, manage overwhelming feelings, and begin to take care of yourself in more sustainable ways. On a deeper level, we'll help you to identify and heal the wounds that led to the addiction in the first place.
Call us at 519-954-4900 or email info@transformationcounselling.com to get started on the road to recovery. You may also want to seriously consider joining a Twelve Step group such as Alcoholics Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous - both have meetings every day in Kitchener, Waterloo, and Cambridge. Addiction is tough to kick, and, outside of in-patient treatment, the best way to deal with it is a combination of counselling and support groups.
Want more information on addiction? Check out these excellent resources from some of the top authorities on the web.