Substance Use Disorders
Substance Use Disorders can be diagnosed when an individual's ingestion of a substance (including alcohol) impairs their functioning in areas such as home, work and school life and creates emotional problems, health problems or disability. They can be classified as mild, moderate and severe depending on additional criteria such as: increased tolerance, risky behavior, lack of control and social impairment. If you think that you may have a problem with alcohol or another substance, have questions or feel as though your use of drugs or alcohol is impacting your life in a negative way, therapy is an excellent way to get support. Regardless of whether you have a mild or severe case, Amanda will guide you through the process and empower you to see how your use is impacting you and help you find freedom and live a more powerful life.
Process Addiction Disorders
Process addictions refer to the phenomenon where an individual gets addicted to the "process" or the ritual of the behavior, rather than the actual chemical. For example, a gambling addict gets addicted to the process of gambling and the high of winning money, which releases chemicals into the brain, rather than ingesting outside chemicals. Though there are many different processes that people can become addicted to, the most common process addictions include:
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Gambling
Overeating & Food Exercising |
Technology
Video Games Love & Relationships |
Social Media
Shopping Porn |
Process addictions are often easier to dismiss and than substance use disorders, though they can be just as debilitating to individuals and destructive to their lives. This makes them more difficult to treat because it is easier for such individuals to minimize their issues. Process addictions are even more common when an individual gets into recovery from a substance use disorder. This phenomenon is often known as addiction switching and it occurs when the individual does not fully resolve the core issues, trauma etc. that led to the substance use disorder and instead switches to another addiction to relieve his or her pain. Often, this leads individuals directly back to their original drug of choice or substance.
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