Addictions (Substance Use and Behavioral Disorders)

From our home office in Fort Worth, Texas, we at Same Time Next Week? Counseling & Consultation, take great care to offer support for and treat clients who suffer with substance and behavioral addictions and the many forms they present themselves.

Addiction can take many forms. It can involve substances like alcohol, drugs, or prescription medications. Other times, it can revolve around behaviors such as gambling, excessive screen time, shopping, or compulsive exercise. While the specifics differ, both substance use disorders and behavioral compulsions often share a common experience: a relentless cycle that resists even your strongest efforts to break free. Addiction can feel like being stuck on a hamster wheel. You run in circles trying to stop or slow down or take a different path, but somehow you always end up in the same place. Each attempt at control or moderation may feel promising at first, but something keeps pulling you back in. The addiction whispers false promises of relief, escape, or comfort. While it might seem to deliver for a moment, the aftermath often brings more distress than ease.

Substance use disorders (SUDs) are chronic conditions marked by the harmful use of substances that cause significant distress and impairment in daily life. They can involve an intense, overwhelming desire to consume. This is paired with difficulty controlling use and continued abuse despite clear negative consequences.

These disorders don’t just affect the body. Mental well-being, relationships, work, and the ability to engage with life fully are also inevitably impacted. Addiction touches every corner of a person’s life: emotional health, self-worth, and even spiritual grounding. The roots of substance use are complex and vary from individual to individual, with a mix of genetic, psychological, and environmental factors.

Addiction is like feeding a fire that only grows hungrier. No matter your vice, indulging in the addiction seems to soothe the craving for a moment. However, it also intensifies it. Using makes the next craving arrive even stronger. Addiction often presents itself as a familiar liar that offers quick pleasure, false comfort, or a sense of control. Quietly, it takes more from you each time. What starts as something that feels manageable or even helpful can turn into something that takes over your life.

Consider addiction like a thirsty plant drinking poison. In the heat of the moment, the substance or behavior might look like nourishment. It might appear as relief from pain, a distraction from anxiety, or a temporary escape. As time progresses, what previously felt like help slowly causes harm physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

Behavioral addictions, such as gambling, compulsive internet use, or shopping, do not involve a substance. Despite this, the cycle is often just as intense and damaging as substance addictions. These compulsions often lead to loss of control, emotional distress, strained relationships, and interference with work or daily responsibilities. Like substance use, these behaviors are linked to dysregulation in the brain’s reward system and require careful, compassionate treatment.

Addiction treatment is not one-size-fits-all. It often involves behavioral therapy, psychoeducation, support groups, and sometimes medication. Recovery is a process, not a single event. Healing takes time, patience, and support. Therapy offers a space to explore the roots of addiction, build healthier coping strategies, and reconnect with your values and goals.

You don’t have to keep walking this path alone. With the right support, change is possible and healing can begin.

When you are ready to address your concerns related to these and many other related mental health issues, please contact the counselors at Same Time Next Week? Counseling & Consultation, PLLC. We have counselors with immediate openings and are ready to help.