Addiction can be a challenging and overwhelming experience, affecting various aspects of your life and well-being. Whether it's substance abuse, gambling, or any other form of addiction, the underlying emotional and psychological factors play a significant role in its development and maintenance.

Addictions are more prevalent than ever

It’s suggested that 1 in 20 Aussies have an issue with substance abuse, and around 1 in 4 drink alcohol at ‘risky’ levels. As with many statistics around unhealthy habits, there is a good chance the numbers are significantly higher than those who are diagnosed and recognised as having an addiction.

And that’s before we even consider other more ‘acceptable’ forms of addiction – shopping, gambling, gaming, phone/social media use. Although these might seem less directly harmful compared to drugs, smoking/vaping and alcohol, they can have serious consequences for your mental and physical health and your relationships.

Addiction is a complex condition characterised by compulsive engagement in a behaviour or substance use, despite negative consequences. It often stems from a combination of genetic, environmental, and psychological factors. Emotions such as stress, trauma, anxiety, depression, or a lack of coping mechanisms can contribute to the development and perpetuation of addictive behaviours. Chronic stress leaves people more vulnerable to developing an addiction. It increases the risk of someone starting to use the substance or behaviour as a form of stress relief, as well as the transition from use to abuse. One way to get to the bottom of the stress & negative emotions that can exacerbate addictive behaviours is ERT, of course! You can learn more about the specifics of how ERT addresses chronic stress here.

How does ERT Help?

Emotion Release Technique (ERT) offers a holistic and integrative approach to addressing the emotional and psychological aspects of addiction by:

1. Identifying and Addressing Underlying Emotions: ERT sessions provide a safe and supportive space to identify and address the underlying emotions that contribute to addictive behaviours. By exploring and releasing emotions such as pain, trauma, shame, or guilt, you can gain insight into the emotional triggers that drive their addictive patterns.

2. Healing Emotional Wounds: Addiction often stems from unresolved emotional wounds or traumas. ERT helps you heal these wounds by releasing the emotional charge associated with past experiences. By addressing and healing these underlying emotional wounds, you can reduce the need to self-medicate or escape through addictive behaviours. ERT is an excellent option to include when it comes to trauma. And of course, the most important part of working with underlying trauma? There is no need for you to discuss the experience. This makes it far more comfortable to clear the trauma from your nervous system compared to other talk-based therapies.

3. Developing Coping Mechanisms: ERT supports you in developing healthier coping mechanisms to manage stress, anxiety, and other emotional challenges. Through releasing stuck emotions related to healthy behaviours, you can more easily implement effective strategies for dealing with triggers and cravings.

4. Reprogramming Limiting Beliefs: Relapse is a natural part of the addiction recovery process. But the more often a person relapses, the harder it is for them mentally and emotionally. So to support you in minimising relapse, it is important to use ERT to find out what your stumbling blocks are. In many cases, this comes back to one or more unhelpful beliefs. For example, you could be thinking:

• I can never give up (whatever the addiction), it’s just part of who I am
• My family member(s) struggled with addiction too, it’s in the blood so it’s inevitable
• I’m not strong enough to go without my addiction
• What if I’m boring, unlovable, have nothing to offer when I’m free of my addiction?
• It’s just one time, I can quit again later on

When this happens, the nervous system will try to protect you from harm by sabotaging your efforts. And this feeds into the relapse cycle. When I use ERT to identify the beliefs that are holding my clients back, and clear them, I help keep them on track with their recovery and other supporting health goals.

Addiction is a complex condition that requires a comprehensive approach to address its emotional and psychological aspects. Now of course it goes without saying, ERT is not here to replace the support of mental health practitioners and addiction specialists. But it can be a supportive option, and it may even be the first port of call for you if you are not yet ready to seek help from more formal addiction recovery services.