Heal the Wounds that Fuel Addiction to Stay Sober

 

There are many reasons why people find themselves with an addiction: they are genetically predisposed, it was learned from childhood, they are hooked on a feeling, or because they see all their friends using. However, the most common reason behind substance use and addiction is the inability to cope with painful emotions. A person pushes those challenging feelings away with alcohol, meth, cocaine, or heroin. The pain of past trauma, death in the family, relationship breakup, or financial trouble can come with significant and intense emotions. When facing them feels too overwhelming, a person might turn to drugs or drinking. 

Commonly, what happens is a person learns to rely upon the drug or alcohol to cope with life. When an uncomfortable feeling arises, they reach for the martini. When the painful emotion shows up, they lay out their lines of coke. Over time, a habit develops in someone where they learn to rely upon the substance as a means to cope with not only painful emotions but stress in general. In this way, substance use and addiction develop out of both the need to turn away from emotions but also from reliance on that substance to cope with life. 

Therefore, in treatment, it's important that a person work with a therapist to finally face the emotions they've been overlooking. And this alone can be a challenging part of recovery. Making the phone call to get help, going through detox, and experiencing the first few weeks of recovery might come with a certain kind of anguish. But it is when you finally face the emotions that might have been driving the addiction in the first place that you might feel challenged. For this reason, it's essential to do this with a therapist or a trained mental health provider. It's likely that if you don't call upon professional assistance, you might find yourself turning to substances again in order to avoid the painful feelings. 

In fact, even if a person gets sober, goes through addiction treatment, and begins their recovery, he or she might find themselves relapsing if the past trauma or painful experiences are not healed. One of the most common reasons why a person relapses is because they have not healed wounds of the past that continue to affect their choices today. Although they might have taken all the steps to get sober, the habit of turning to substances to feel better might still be strongly in place. 

For this reason, addiction treatment must include two components (among others): 

1. Healing the wounds that contributed to substance use and addiction.

2. Learning new and healthy coping tools for managing stress and painful emotions when they arise. 

If you or someone you know is struggling with an addiction or recurrent relapse, consider contacting a mental health provider. Working with a therapist or psychologist can help unearth those painful emotions, heal past traumas, and free you from addiction once and for all.