Counselling & Therapy Online

Afraid of Stopping Drinking?

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What Are You REALLY Afraid Of ?

afraid of stopping drinking

If you’re reading this post then the chances are you’re contemplating stopping drinking.

Maybe alcohol is only just starting to become a problem for you or maybe it’s wreaking havoc in your life. But whatever stage you are at, you’re likely to be experiencing a certain amount of fear.

This is totally normal and happens when we try to change anything.

The subconscious part of our brain works on a very basic principle – avoid pain and move towards pleasure.

It has no concept of time – it lives purely in the moment. And for your subconscious brain – alcohol equals pleasure and living without it equals pain and uncertainty 

So as soon as you start to think about stopping drinking, this part of your brain anticipates the discomfort it’s going to feel and churns out endless reasons not to try: Continue Reading

Need help with alcohol or drug problems? What’s stopping you?

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Need help with alcohol or drug problems? What's stopping you?

Alcohol and drug addiction doesn’t discriminate. All around the world, there are people from all walks of life trying to get by while abusing drugs or alcohol. In the US alone, over 40 million people fit the criteria for clinical addiction, yet only 10 percent of  them will seek treatment.

If you are starting to think you might have a problem, what is stopping you from reaching out for help?

You think your problem isn’t serious enough.

Maybe you just binge drink on occasional weekends. Or perhaps you just have a few beers or glasses of wine a night. You might be functioning well on the outside, going to work, looking after your children, exercising, etc, but on the inside, you feel unfulfilled. [Read more…]

Insecure Attachment – Sowing The Seeds Of Addiction

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Marijuana seedlingIn my last post,   I talked about the link between addiction and connection – or lack of it. And how our earliest experiences shape the way our brains develop and generate a specific ‘attachment’ style.

Knowing your attachment style and how it affects your thoughts feelings and behaviours  can provide an incredible sense of relief. It can help you to start making sense of the struggles that you have and can give you a focus of how to work through them.

Attachment theory is fast becoming the leading theory on why we are prone to a whole host of psychological issues including depression, anxiety, relationship conflict and addiction. Attachment theory is not new; it has been around for decades. But what IS new is the validation it now has from research in neuroscience.

So what is it exactly?

In a nutshell, the type of attachment bond we have with our caregivers in the first few years of life dictates how we live, love and learn for the rest of our lives. Or as John Bowlby, the father of attachment theory, said “from the cradle to the grave”  [Read more…]

Are you wired for addiction?

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Addiction
Are you hard wired for addiction

The link between addiction, anxiety and depression has long been known. Essentially, if you have one, you are highly likely to have the others.  But what is emerging from neuroscience research is how intricately they are all connected and how the stress hormone cortisol can hard-wire the brain to make a person vulnerable to all three.Cortisol is one of the primary hormones released when we are anxious or stressed. Its job is to provide extra energy to deal with the stressor. It does this by partially shutting down certain systems, such as the digestive system and the immune system and flooding the body with glucose. Along, with adrenaline, cortisol is responsible for the body sesnsations we get when we experience fear, anxiety and stress – rapid heart rate, shallow breathing, chest pains, tingling in the arms and hands, dizziness and butterflies in our stomach. Although these feelings are uncomfortable, they are our body’s way of giving us the strength, focus, energy and numbness to pain in order to help us get out of life threatening situations. This is all well and good when we actually have the ability to deal with and take action to remove the stressor but what happens when we can’t? [Read more…]

Ruben Bernardo III ICAP 1, CRC – Therapist

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Ruben Bernardo III ICAP 1, CRC, Substance Misuse CounsellorI’m Ruben, an internationally certified Substance Misuse Counsellor and Recovery Coach. 

I have spent the last 20 years working in premier residential addiction treatment centres in both the Philippines and Thailand. 

I have an experience working with a wide range of treatment methods including the Minnesota 12 step model, CBT, Motivational Interviewing, Brief Solution Therapy and Relapse Prevention Therapy. 

In addition to my extensive professional experience, I also have personal experience of addiction. I overcame a 15 year dependency to methamphetamine using many of the techniques and skills that I now share with my clients to help in their own struggles.
 

I place a lot of emphasis on helping clients develop and implement new tools and strategies that will help them in their journey to creating a life free from addictive patterns. I do this by allowing clients to formulate a recovery plan that is goal oriented, measurable, realistic and simple.

With life’s complications and difficulties coupled with substance dependence, going back to basics is something that will help the journey of recovery easier to understand. It’s not just about being abstinent from mood altering substances or managing our alcohol, it’s also about addressing important aspects of our lives in areas like social, spiritual, emotional, psychological and biological.

In trying to achieve health by identifying our needs in areas mentioned above, working and exploring ‘with’ client, as opposed to a directive approach is important in creating a toolbox that is personalised, realistically usable and unique to client’s needs and life circumstances.

Talking is not enough.  What’s needed is a focus on behavioural change through practical exercises no matter how simple or difficult the exercises may seem as it is equally important as the cognitive aspect of the therapy process.

A lot to say, to explore, to understand and do… Questions? Let’s start with a Complimentary Consult.

Jennetta Carter BSc, LCDC, COPSD, QCC Therapist

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Jennetta Carter BSc, LCDC, COPSD, QCCJennetta has been in the field of addiction science since 2002 and is a licensed chemical dependency counsellor and clinical supervisor.

She uses her degree in Human Services and Health Care Management to gain understanding of the social aspect of addiction and the complex role it plays in the family unit and in the clients social structure.

Her studies in co-occurring emotional disorders and addiction have given her an in-depth understanding of the complexity of addiction.“Addiction just does not happen in a bubble” is her outlook when working with an individual or with a family unit.

In 2003, she worked with specialized females in low-income areas of Houston, Texas (USA) to address the problems of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and its relationship to the continual patterns of substance use and addiction.

Since that time, she has devoted her career to addressing the origins of behaviors that lead to disorders such as eating disorders, gambling, sex-addiction and substance addiction. 

Jennetta is based in Houston, Texas

Jane Zoega, BSc, MSc, PG Dip Therapist

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Jane Zoega, BSc, MSc, PG Dip TherapistJane has an MSc in psychotherapy and counselling from Middlesex University in England and a BSc (hons.) in psychology.

Her training is in existential psychotherapy, which is person-centered and focuses on the therapeutic relationship as a catalyst for change.

She also uses Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and mindfulness as a way of helping clients to manage psychological and emotional challenges in life.

She is a member of the BACP (British Association of Psychotherapy and Counseling) and the BPS (British Psychological Society).

Jane is currently based in Dorset, UK, where she regularly conducts yoga and mindfulness courses.

Her main area of work has been within drug and alcohol services and with adult survivors of childhood abuse.

Before joining Recovery From Addiction Online as  Jane worked at a drug and alcohol rehabilitation centre in Thailand.

She has also worked in private practice in London, working with adult survivors, Substance Use Disorders and other co-occurring conditions such as depression, anxiety disorders, eating disorders, and relationship counseling.

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