What Nobody Tells You About Addiction: Driving Forces Behind Addiction

Identifying The Driving Forces Behind Your Addiction

Behaviour is always purposeful, so let’s find the driving force behind the unhealthy way of coping.

1. One may find that those (or yourself) who’re enduring a substance or behavioural addiction are experiencing an undiagnosed or unmanaged mental health concern.

2. One may be experiencing feelings of loneliness, or overall emotional discomfort and not know how to cope with it in a healthy manner.

3. One may feel they need to escape a horrible reality.

4. One may feel they need to enhance what they feel to be a boring existence.

5. Another reason one may find difficulty in obtaining sobriety is due to avoiding withdrawal symptoms.

6. One may feel they need the substance to “fit in” or be accepted.

The reason’s in which an individual experiences severe and persistent addiction concerns are complex. However, the root of addiction is in some form masking what one feels they can’t manage in one way or another. Intrinsic motivation for change occurs in accepting, empathetic relationships in which the person discovers that their current behaviour’s keep them from achieving what is wanted and valued within their lives.

 How To Identify What the Underlying Driving Force is For the Addiction or Maladaptive Behaviour

There are five parts to any problem: Environmental/Life situations, Physical reactions, moods, behaviours and thoughts. Each of these five parts interacts with the others. Small changes in any one area can lead to changes in the other areas. Identifying these parts may give you a new way of understanding your own problems and give you some ideas or how to make positive changes in your life.

 Environment/Life Changes/Situations 

1. What recent changes have there been in my life?  (Positive and Negative)

2. What have been the most stressful events for me in the past years?

3. Do I experience any long term or ongoing challenges? (Ex., discrimination, harassment by others, family members, physical health/challenges, ongoing financial problems?)

 Physical Reactions

1. What physical reactions are you having?

2. Consider changes in appetite, mood, energy levels, pain levels, sleep, muscle tension, tiredness, rapid heartbeat, stomach aches, sweating, dizziness, and breathing difficulties

 Moods

1. What single words describe my most frequent or troubling moods?

(Sad, Nervous, Angry, Guilty, Ashamed) 

Behaviour’s

1. What behaviours are connected to my moods? At work? At home? What friends?  By myself?

2. Behaviour’s are the things we do or avoid doing.

 Thoughts

1. When I have strong moods, what thoughts do I have about myself?

2. Other people? My Future? What thoughts interfere, with doing the things I would like to do or think I should do? What images or memories come to mind?

Addiction really is such a complex experience and concern for so many and their loved ones. Everyone deserves to create a life worth living, free from the limitations of unmanaged mental health and addiction concerns.