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Take back control yourself
Something that is nice, we want to have as much of it as possible. However, some people do not have a "stop button" and can become addicted.
You constantly feel the urge to perform a certain behavior, for example, gambling, gaming, surfing the Internet or watching porn or having sex. Your feelings and thoughts are determined by these behaviors. This dependence can range from mild to severe or chronic behavior. We speak of a behavioral addiction when you start exhibiting the same behavior more and more or for longer periods of time. You want to cut down or stop, but you don't succeed. You suffer from a continuous craving that is difficult to suppress and takes up much of your time.
How behavioral addiction manifests itself can vary from person to person
Addiction can be very disruptive in your relationship, social network or at work.
Symptoms
We speak of behavioral addiction when you feel a compulsive need to perform certain behaviors when you no longer really enjoy them. It is mainly the failure to perform this behavior that evokes very troublesome feelings and thoughts. Despite being aware of this, you fail to stop. Your addiction takes up more and more of your time and all other things have to give way for it. Despite the fact that there are many different behavioral addictions, we see some symptoms almost always recurring:
Symptoms:
– Restlessness
– Irritability
– Guilt
– Sleep problems
– Minimizing fails
– Abstinence symptoms
– Flights from trouble
– Lying about behavior
– Denial of the problem
– Neglect activities
A behavioral addiction often leads to many problems in terms of social contacts, the home situation and work. Your functioning is negatively affected and you start neglecting more and more tasks. Eventually, this leads to total disruption of your daily life. The problems and consequences merge over time and you end up in a negative spiral. This increases the need to escape into the undesirable behavior and thus the vicious circle is complete. Often we see that the increase in problems can also lead to a substance addiction, for example to alcohol or drugs.
Consequences of behavioral addiction
At U-center, you get personalized treatment for your behavioral addiction. We treat you as a person, not just your diagnosis. Together, we work with you to stop or reduce the behavior and change the patterns that maintain the symptoms. We examine the underlying issues and causes of the problem. Your social life also plays an important role in treatment. We strengthen your mental state and help you find a healthy balance.
Behavioral addiction treatment
Addicted to social media
A world without the Internet is no longer imaginable. More than 85% of Dutch people over the age of fifteen use it. Some more often than others, but some people can no longer live offline. Internet addiction is a relatively young phenomenon that is becoming more common and it is still difficult to recognize. That makes this addiction extra dangerous. The online world can begin to serve as a substitute for the real world, making you increasingly distant from reality and can lead to social isolation. The goal is to regain a healthy balance and make constructive use of the Internet.
Addicted to gambling
Going to the casino once, betting money on a race: a gambling addiction often begins as a fun pastime. It's exciting and at first there is the occasional win. However, the urge to win more often and experience that euphoric feeling can grow and eventually lead to an addiction, often resulting in financial worries as well. The tendency to gamble to win back the loss increases and can lead to ever-increasing money problems. Debts mount up and you see no way out.
Addicted to gaming
Gaming for hours at a time. Wanting to win or finish that one game. Stopping before the goal is reached often fails then. When gaming seems more important than other needs such as eating and sleeping, it is necessary to raise the alarm. Gaming addiction is, in fact, a serious problem. The sophisticated, sometimes almost life-like electronic games out there have an addictive effect on many people that leads to compulsive behavior. In addition, obsessive gamers often dive into this world to escape the problems of everyday life. The likelihood of falling into social isolation increases.
Addicted to sex or porn
Seeking help for mental health problems or addiction is not easy. Especially not when the problem is also intimate, as in the case of sex addiction. Despite constantly suffering from uncontrollable urges, you cannot or dare not share this with anyone. This addiction is often the result of an accumulation of problems or circumstances during childhood. For example, there may have been a strict taboo around sexuality in the past and education was studiously avoided. Traumatic events such as physical or sexual violence, abuse or exposure to (abnormal) sexual behavior can also be the cause of sex addiction. It is common for an (untreated) sex addiction to eventually lead to a relationship breakup or divorce. We help you find a healthy balance, so that sex plays a fine role in your life again.
Living with someone with a behavioral addiction
Life with an addict is difficult and fraught with tension, sadness and conflict. It is terrible for family, partner and friends to watch their loved one slip further and further into addiction. Contact slips through your fingers like sand. Denial can lead to a lot of frustration and anger, and you get the urge to control. With that, the tension rises even higher and more running away behaviors and lies are often the result. Together you are caught in a vicious cycle. Addiction destroys a lot. Indeed, "more than you care about... Until one day you realize that it can't go on like this. We know from experience that it takes a lot of effort to speak to someone about his or her behavior. There is still a taboo on addictions in the Netherlands. In addition, most addicts think they do not have a problem. Do not go it alone and seek support and help from friends and family or professional counselors.