Process Addictions
People with mental health disorders often experience accompanying process addictions that require specialized treatment to address the complete scope of psychological distress and disrupt the cycle of suffering. At Bridges to Recovery, we have extensive experience treating complex psychological illnesses with co-occurring process addictions using a unique combination of individual psychotherapy, group therapy, holistic therapies, 12-step peer support groups, and judicious use of psychotropic therapy. Our multidisciplinary team will conduct comprehensive assessments and consult with your outpatient care team and loved ones to gain a detailed understanding of your history and current symptoms. With a clear diagnostic picture, we tailor a treatment plan that targets acute symptoms and lays the foundation for long-term wellness. Through intensive, targeted therapies, you can begin the recovery process, end the cycle of self-destruction, and build a more stable, emotionally fulfilling life.
Co-Occurring Healing
Process addictions encompass a wide range of damaging behaviors that threaten your emotional, interpersonal, physical, and financial well-being, including sex addiction, shopping addiction, internet addiction, and compulsive eating. While process addictions do not involve substance abuse, the addictive impulse can be just as damaging and difficult to resist as drugs and alcohol. This is particularly true when the behaviors are accompanied and aggravated by a pre-existing mental health disorder; the complex relationship between self-destructive impulses and psychological distress can create a cycle of suffering that is difficult to break and requires professional intervention to create meaningful, sustainable change. Unfortunately, process addictions are widely misunderstood and minimized, their symptoms seen as arbitrary character flaws or a lack of willpower or self-control, rather than serious medical conditions. This fuels the isolation and shame many people may experience, distancing you from the social support networks critical to your recovery and increasing depression, self-loathing, and self-blame.
Symptoms of process addictions include:
- An overwhelming compulsion to take part in the addictive behavior
- Feelings of euphoria when engaged in the behavior
- Planning your life around the behavior and neglecting other areas of your life to allow you to participate in the behavior
- Engaging in the behavior even as it threatens your psychological, social, physical, or financial well-being
- Hiding your behavior from family and friends
- Continuing to engage in the behavior despite increasingly negative consequences
- Not being able to stop the behavior even when you want to
At Bridges to Recovery, we offer a small, intimate environment in which you can begin to heal in a holistic way. With a maximum of only six clients at a time, we provide highly individualized treatment and close monitoring to ensure that you have the resources you need as you progress through the therapeutic process. Our clinical team guides you through an exploration of both your primary mental health disorder and the co-occurring process addiction to help you gain insight into your psychological state and addictive impulses while developing the skills to respond to triggers and stressors in a healthy, purposeful manner. To ensure your continued success after treatment, we work hand-in-hand with your outpatient care team to craft detailed aftercare plans, maximizing your chances of lasting recovery. Through our structured, supportive care, you can release yourself from the grip of process addiction, fortify your sense of psychological tranquility, and create long-term emotional and behavioral wellness.
