Wednesday 15 August 2018

Healing from Addiction: Finding the Road to Recovery

a post by Julie K. Jones for the World of Psychology blog



Addiction — and recovery — can look differently from individual to individual. As surely as we can be addicted to alcohol, substances, or medications, we can just as easily be addicted to love, work, sex, dieting, exercise, skin picking, and food. Addiction can refer to any compulsive and unhealthy attachment or behavior that one uses as a way of artificially enhancing, numbing, or avoiding feelings. Addictions have negative consequences and are difficult to just “stop” doing.

There are certainly different levels of medical and psychological risks associated with different kinds of addiction, and recovery. Individuals who are at high risk for dangerous or destructive consequences from addictive behaviors should seek professional direction, support, and monitoring from healthcare professionals, including doctors and addiction therapists, and emergency medical attention if needed.

Assuming medical and psychological stability have been achieved, the road to recovery and associated healing work has many aspects. And it truly is a road: recovery is a lifelong journey that will inevitably have peaks and valleys, joys and sorrows, highs and lows.

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