Addiction is a disease that is complicated for a number of reasons. The exact causes of a person’s addiction can be quite varied and may date as far back as childhood. Addiction is often caused by a number of factors that may range from a genetic predisposition to environmental factors.
Often, when a person is addicted to a substance, they are in the presence of a number of people and situations that are enabling or triggering an addict to use. For this reason, systemic therapy is a highly effective type of treatment because it uses a number of methods to help treat and identify problems within an addict’s entire life and body.
Physical Fitness
Many treatment centers recognize that there is a connection between physical and mental health. For this reason, physical activity is an integral part of many treatment programs. Through physical activity, a recovering addict can help gain a sense of balance, inner strength, and willingness to overcome major obstacles.
When an addict begins to find physical strength, they may naturally feel stronger in the face of uncomfortable emotions or actions that they would rather not take. Many physical activities also offer a chance to find some sense of calm and even meditation.
One thing that can be difficult for a recovering addict is achieving peace of mind and the ability to recognize destructive thoughts and then choose not to indulge in them. Activities like yoga or outdoor activities can help cultivate a sense of total mental and physical well being.
Family Therapy
Addiction is a disease that affects not just the addict but everyone close to them. Often, when one person in a family is struggling with addiction, they are part of a system of behaviors that may be feeding into and even perpetuating addictive behavior. For this reason, family therapy is often used as a means of treating addiction.
In systemic family therapy, a counselor works with an addict and their entire family and helps facilitate a number of important and constructive conversations. It is not uncommon for family members of addicts to experience feelings like guilt, shame, and regret.
It is also highly likely that when a family member is suffering from addiction, other members in the family may be behaving in a way that is inadvertently triggering addictive behavior. Family therapy offers an analysis of the family system as a whole and gives both the addict and their family a chance to find healthy ways of functioning together.
Lifestyle Choices
There are a number of ways in which an addict may be cultivating an unhealthy life for themselves. Among the most common triggers for use are stress and anxiety. It is possible that many of the lifestyle choices an addict is making may be making them more prone to use without them even realizing it.
In treatment, a recovering addict and his counselors and doctors work to assess the addict’s life as a whole. While treatment is certainly focused on using, it is also important to look at other aspects of one’s life that may be impacting the addict’s mental health. If an addict is in an unhealthy romantic relationship, for example, they are at far greater risk for experiencing stress and anxiety, as well as for experiencing the emotional highs and lows that are often associated with drug use.
Other factors, such as a job that makes one extremely unhappy or puts them in a state of real and severe stress may be contributing factors to an addict’s use. Treating the person and their life as whole helps greatly increase the chances that an addict will find lasting success and happiness in life after rehab.
