Recovery: Understanding Cross Addiction - Substituting One Addiction For Another

Many people who are recovering from addiction don't understand the concept cross addiction, which is substituting one addiction for another (see my other articles about substance abuse:  Recovery: Maintaining a Balanced Life,  "Liquid Courage:" Overcoming the Temptation to Abuse Alcohol to Cope With Social Situations, The Myth About Having to "Hit Bottom" to Change, and Coping With Addiction: Boredom as a Relapse Trigger).

Recovery: Understanding Cross Addiction - Substituting One Addiction For Another

The reason it's so important to understand cross addiction is that people who have a history of addiction often switch from one addiction to another, especially when they're under stress.

So, for instance, if someone who has been sober from alcohol for a few years suddenly finds himself under a lot of stress at work, instead of picking up a drink, he might start to abuse prescription drugs or gamble compulsively or engage in some other form of addiction.

Recovery: Understanding Cross Addiction - Substituting One Addiction For Another

It's easy to fool yourself into thinking that you can dabble with another addiction because it's not your primary addiction.

But when you're under a lot of stress and you haven't developed adequate skills, if you have a history of addiction, you're more likely to either relapse with your primary addiction or engage in cross addiction.

Let's take a look at a fictional vignette to see how this plays out:

Fictional Vignette: Recovery: Understanding Cross Addiction: Substituting One Addiction For Another:

Connie:
Connie was sober from alcohol for two years.  During that time, she struggled to maintain her sobriety, but with the help of her psychotherapist and her sponsor, she celebrated her second year as a sober person.

Soon after she celebrated her second anniversary of sobriety, she left Alcoholics Anonymous and told her psychotherapist that she wanted a break from therapy.

A few months later, her mother fell, broke her hip and had to go to an inpatient physical rehabilitation center.  When her mother got home, she needed Connie's help because she wasn't able to take care other daily needs.

Although Connie and her mother had a conflictual relationship, Connie agreed to move in with her mother temporarily to help her.  She knew that other siblings, who also had conflicts with their mother, wouldn't be willing to do it and her mother really needed help.

The stress of taking care of her mother and working a full time job took a toll on Connie after a few weeks (see my article: Are You Experiencing Chronic Stress and Unaware of It?).

There were times when she wanted to tell her mother to fend for herself, but she knew her mother couldn't be alone, so she tolerated her mother's emotional abuse.

Connie was often tempted to have a drink, but she knew that if she had one, she wouldn't be able to stop, so she refrained from drinking.  But she started using food to soothe her stress, and she gained 20 pounds within a few months.

Recovery: Understanding Cross Addiction - Substituting One Addiction For Another

When she went to the doctor for her annual checkup, her doctor couldn't believe that Connie had put on so much weight since the last time he saw her.

Knowing that Connie had a history of alcohol abuse, her doctor asked her if she was overeating.  When Connie told him that she was "stress eating" at her mother's home, he talked to her about cross addiction and recommended that she get back into therapy.

Connie had never heard of cross addiction.  Before she saw her doctor, she thought that as long as she didn't touch alcohol, she was doing well.  But when her doctor explained cross addiction to her, it made sense to Connie, and she knew she needed to take care of herself (see my article: Self Care For Caregivers).

The next day, Connie called a family meeting with her siblings and explained to them that they needed to pitch in.  She could no longer take on the sole responsibility of being her mother's caregiver.

At first, her siblings balked, but Connie insisted that either they help her out or she would hire a home attendant for their mother.

None of Connie's siblings wanted a home attendant in their mother's home, so they agreed to work out a schedule so they could take turns taking care of their mother.  Since there were seven of them, they each took a day, and sharing the responsibility made it less stressful.

Once her siblings were involved, Connie went back to her former psychotherapist to deal with her stress eating and unresolved issues about her mother (see my article: Returning to Therapy).

She also resumed attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, and she contacted her old sponsor on a daily basis.

With emotional support and reduced stress, Connie was able to get back on track so she could eat in a healthy way again and lose the weight she gained.

She also had a new appreciation for how stress could put her at risk for cross addiction.

Conclusion
The term "cross addiction" refers to substituting one addiction for another.

The fictional vignette above highlights how important it is to recognize your particular vulnerability to cross addiction and also the importance of self care, self help meetings, and getting help in therapy.

Getting Help in Therapy
Setbacks are part of recovery and part of psychotherapy (see my article: Setbacks Are a Normal Part of Psychotherapy on the Road to Healing).

If you've had a setback in your recovery, it's important to get help before the problem progresses (see my article: The Benefits of Psychotherapy).

A skilled psychotherapist, who is knowledgeable about addictions, can help you to get back on track again (see my article: How to Choose a Psychotherapist).

Rather than struggling on your own, contact a licensed mental health professional who has an expertise in addictions so you can remain healthy.

About Me
I am a licensed NYC psychotherapist, hypnotherapist, EMDR and Somatic Experiencing therapist (see my article: The Therapeutic Benefits of Integrative Psychotherapy).

I work with individual adults and couples.

I have helped many clients to establish and maintain their recovery.

To find out more about me, visit my website: Josephine Ferraro, LCSW - NYC Psychotherapist.

To set up a consultation, call me at (917) 742-2624 during business hours or email me.

Mindful Eating

The holiday season can be a challenging time for managing stress and overeating. In this blog post, I'll be focusing on how to eat mindfully and avoid overeating.

Why Do We Overeat During the Holidays?
One of the reasons that we tend to overeat during the holidays is that there's so often much more food around us during this time. If we work in an office, there are office parties with cakes, cookies, chips and many other types of high caloric foods. Family gatherings also have many of the same types of calorie-laden foods. It's so easy to fill up our plates and gorge ourselves on heaps of food without even realizing.

Mindful Eating, Instead of Overeating, During the Holidays

Whether we're stuffing ourselves out of anxiety, loneliness or other uncomfortable emotions or we're distracted by our conversations with others, it's very easy to overeat without realizing it. Considering that we can often attend several parties, dinners or other social gatherings over the holidays, we can end up gaining a lot of weight around the holidays.

So what's the answer? Should we avoid all social gatherings until the holidays are over? Should we starve ourselves and avoid eating until the holidays are over? Clearly, these aren't practical strategies. So what should we do? One viable strategy is to eat mindfully.

What is "Mindful Eating"?
What do we mean by "mindful eating"? Well, mindful eating means eating with awareness. Rather than being distracted while we eat or zoned out, we deliberately choose what and how much we're eating and thoroughly enjoy it. Rather than completely depriving ourselves, which often leads to overeating when we feel too deprived, we carefully choose our food, appreciating the color, texture, aroma, and all the other sensual aspects of the food. When we place the food in our mouths, we enjoy the taste and feel of the food, slowing down to thoroughly appreciate everything about it.

Remember the Meaning of the Holidays
The other factor to keep in mind is that the holidays are about more than food and overeating. If we're fortunate, the holidays are about getting together with loved ones, remembering those who are less fortunate than ourselves and the spiritual significance of the holidays if that's meaningful to you.

So, rather than focusing on food, it's more meaningful to focus on the meaning of the particular holiday. Even if you're alone for the holidays and you're not part of an organized religion, you can have a meaningful experience for yourself and make the holiday brighter for others by volunteering your time over the holidays.

This could mean joining a carolling group at a local hospital, serving food at a local homeless drop-in center, visiting a home bound elderly neighbor, or countless other volunteer activities that are available to you over the holidays and throughout the year. Participating in any of these activities has the potential to expand ourawareness of the meaning of the holidays.

About Me

I am a licensed NYC psychotherapist, hypnotherapist, EMDR therapist and Somatic Experiencing therapist. As part of my therapeutic work with individuals and couples, I use mindfulness techniques.

To find out more about me, visit my website: Josephine Ferraro, LCSW - NYC Psychotherapist.

To set up a consultation, call me at (917) 742-2624 during business hours or email me.