Addiction is a product of repressed emotions

Zulu... how true is that sentence !

I disagree with zulu's sentence, clever sounding tho it is.

Emotional suffering comes from the struggle with difficult emotions IMO. Repressing is a perfect example of struggling.

Say your sad because you miss someone, maybe someone gone forever, and you have a really big cry. Is that an unwanted experience? You're directly experiencing sadness.

In this situ, we can kind of move on. If we bottle this sadness, fight it, it's still lurking. We might not even know what's wrong but somethings not right

IMO it's the fear of 'negative emotions ' which leads to avoidance/addiction. The habit of serial avoidance of negative emotions.

Not helped by this ridiculous western notion that people should be happy all the time.

I'm not saying we actively want negative emotions. But the more we learn to do what's important, in spite of experiencing difficult emotions, the richer and more fulfilling our lives become.

cardhue wrote:

I've heard that the 'gold standard' of therapy is actually group therapy - so in this respect GA has a clear advantage.

Just a note to add that GamCare also offer group therapy in our London office. Some of our local partners may also offer this option, as does the National Problem Gambling Centre in West London.

Best wishes

Forum Admin

Hi Cardhue

I think what this person was saying is that while in addiction we may repress certain negative emotions or escape from them. When we start recovery these emotions reoccur into the conscious. Feelings and emotions emerging in the awareness can be enlightening and at the same time scary as it requires having to face up to them. For some people it is not so easy and having to deal with things instead of repressing them. Of course everyone is entitled to there own a opinions. I only thought I would mention this saying as my addictions lecture who is also a recovering heroin addict made this statement in an opening lecture which I thought quite poiniant.

Take care

Hi Zulu

Actually I don't think i disagree just I have a slightly different take. As an addict I was consumed by avoiding negative emotions.

When I stopped I had to confront these fears. But the paradox is, that when I confronted the fears they tended to melt away. Or the analogy of paper tigers was apt.

All the best

Louis

Hi

For me the unhealthy addictions and obsessions just indicated that I was emotionally vulnerable.

I am a non religious person yet I am becoming a very much healthier spirtual person.

Only when I was abale to abstain from my unhealthy habits would I understand that recovery was abaout healing the hurt inner child in me.

The therapies gave me a voice and a better understanding of my self.

Over time as I peeled back the onion to expose the trauma in my life before the addictions and obsessions came in to play.

Yes in recovery the tears did flow, the pains raised from the subconcious to the concious and I would start to heal those pains.

The pains of my past would no longer be a burden to me today.

As we heal our emotional age and physical age come closer together.

The more I expose of my self, the less fear I live in.

Also the more trust comes in to my life.

With reduced fears cames more healthy emotional intimacy.

The emotional intimacy is all part of the healthy healing process.

In time we gain a voice for that hurt inner child who no longer lives in fear.

By having a voice  from a place of peace we are no longer the victim of other unhealthy people.

Violent aggressors are often people who have never healed from the pains of their past.

Just for today I know that I am a survivor.

Just for today I do not want to hurt or be hurt by any one.

Just for today I do not want or need to gamble.

Just for today I do not want or need to hurt my self or hurt other people.

Just for today I want and need healing. 

Love healing and peace to every one.

Dave L

AKA Dave of Beckenham

Hi

For me the recovery program was about abstaining from unhealthy habits.

Only once I was abstaining could the healing process start.

Pains not healed in my life caused fears in me that I did not understand.

Was I being selfish being an addict, not at all I was how ever being self destructive.

I am a non religious person and am very proud of my actions my relationships and my recovery today.

For me only once I abstained from my addictions could the healing start on my pains.

During this time I was not able to have any healthy intimacy with my self or other people.

My wife aksed me to be honest and to not talk about money issues.

My wife just wanted me to stop lying about my addiction and the consequences.

Each day she asked me if I gambled.

Me being honest to her and my self reduced her fears of the unknown.

Being abstained was just the first part of my healing process.

In time I healed the hurt inner child in me.

The simple truth was that I could not trust my self with money or finances.

In some ways money was often related to my control issues.

The simple truth was that recovery only happened once I got really honest with my self.

Was my addiction and obsession unhealthy for me.

My fears became my wifes fears.

My pain became my wifes pain.

Gamanon is for the persons who are emotionally connected to the unhealthy addict.

The addictions and obsessions just indicated how emotionally vulnerable I use to be.

The addictions and obsessions just indicated how emotionally unhealthy I use to be.

Being in the recovery program I learned that all the painful things I went through that I was in fact a survivor.

Love healing and peace to every one.

Dave L

AKA Dave of Beckenham

Hi

In time I got to understand what my emotional triggers were.

My emotional triggers were my pains not healed, were my fears not faced or reduced, were my frustrations were due to my unreasonable expectations of people life and situations, were my being lonely and isolated, were my being bored.

During my unhealthy days I use to react in some unhealthy ways.

My unhealthy reactions were anger rage resentments fear lies impatience intolerance stress panicking and many more.

The higher my fears were the more likely I would go in to panick mode where I could not think things out clearly.

Spending more and more when I could not afford it indicated I was filled with panick a high level of fears.

In time I would recognize that smoking was very unhealthy.

I smoked over twenty years and worked out that unhealthy habit cost me over 76,000 and I adversely affected my health.

By being in recovery for some time I am made aware of how much more potential I have with in my self.

Exchanging my unhealthy habits in to healthy habits I was abale to become much more ehalthier in so many ways.

I do not want or need to gamble today.

I do not want or need to escape in fear today.

The question is how much do we value our self today.

Love healing and peace today.

Dave L

AKA Dave of Beckenham