5 Common Cognitive Distortions of Addicts that Prevent Addiction Recovery

In the beginning, you may need to challenge your thoughts regularly throughout the day. But as your brain begins to heal, and you build more time in recovery, the process gets easier. Most of these changes occur in the dopamine reward pathway, a group of brain structures that are responsible for learning, repeated behaviors, and anticipation. This thinking error example involves making assumptions without sufficient evidence. You might quickly conclude that your recovery efforts are pointless or that others are judging you harshly. Remember to focus on what you can control and take ownership of your actions.

But first, you need to learn how to overcome the addictive thought patterns which can hold you back. It encourages us to pick up another drink, to push sobriety off for another day, and to disregard the consequences of our actions so that we can use drugs or alcohol again. But addictive substances overload this pathway with levels of dopamine far outside normal levels, making these activities pale in comparison to the effect of drugs or alcohol. The last decade of addiction neuroscience research has made it abundantly clear that using addictive substances creates lasting brain changes, hijacking the brain to encourage substance use.

Control the Mind

• This thinking error is dangerous because it can damage relationships if you’re not willing to be open minded to new solutions or can never see more than one side of a story.
• In the next sections, we’ll delve into what causes these distortions, the problems they can lead to, and their specific manifestation in the realm of addiction.
• This occurs when you see things in black and white terms, with no middle ground.
• Drug and alcohol abuse can strain relationships and negatively affect finances.
• This distortion occurs when an individual assumes that because one treatment method was not successful, all treatment options are doomed to fail.

Minimizing is about making your behavior (or any other problem) seem smaller to avoid being accountable. Minimizing allows you to escape personal responsibility for your personal choices. Minimizing negatively affects your relationships because you cannot form true authentic relationships because you are not willing to see how your actions may affect others.

These risk factors reflect a specific vulnerability to substance misuse and various environmental factors such as psychopathology and criminal behavior. Substance abuse is a pattern of compulsive drug use and dependency frequently accompanied by significant negative effects that can cause physical and emotional harm. There are a few techniques I use with my clients in life coaching, psychotherapy, and online group services to help to identify all-or-nothing thinking and start to focus on the gray areas. For instance, a person with all-or-nothing thinking sees negativity as the only possible outcome in any situation.

Healthy Intimacy

• Having a strong support network, including friends, family, or support groups, can provide encouragement and accountability.
• Telling the Future (also known as Fortune Telling) is where you anticipate situations will turn out badly and convinced that your prediction is accurate.
• We don’t always have the answers and trying to spot any problems from up close can be difficult.
• The second major must is that “others must treat me with respect and consideration at all times, or they’re no good” puts impossible conditions on those around you.
• One of the most common is a thinking pattern that is called all-or-nothing thinking.
• These errors are not exclusive to any one group; they’re a universal aspect of human cognition.

Or, someone with a tendency for ‘catastrophizing’ might jump to the worst possible conclusion from a minor setback, like assuming a small mistake at work will lead to being fired. The journey isn’t https://appsychology.com/living-in-a-sober-house/ easy, but you can break free from addiction – and the patterns of thoughts and behaviors that come along with it. Once you’ve identified the patterns of thoughts you want to change, the next step is to challenge them when they occur. So, instead of assuming the worst, reframe your thoughts by putting setbacks into perspective, and viewing them as temporary obstacles, rather than permanent blocks.

• For example, if a person is catastrophizing, they can disrupt this thought pattern by thinking back to similar scenarios in the past that ended positively.
• Journaling is a habit that’s often recommended to people recovering from addiction.
• The Second Major Must Others must treat me with respect and consideration at all times, or they are damnable people and should be punished.
• If you or a loved one is struggling with substance abuse, click here for your free benefits review, or call us at1-866-UTAH-HOPE.
• Severe judgments about yourself or other people can lead to unfair evaluations.
• Or, someone with a tendency for ‘catastrophizing’ might jump to the worst possible conclusion from a minor setback, like assuming a small mistake at work will lead to being fired.

What is a Bad Trip? Exploring The Causes and Effects

The difference here is what you think and do when situations are not as you prefer. The first major must therefore holds your self-regard and happiness as hostages to meeting impossible conditions by believing that “I’m no good” simply because I didn’t do well or win someone’s approval. In the first major must, notice your self-worth is attached to meeting the impossible demand that you MUST do well at all times and never fail. The Third Major Must Life should give me everything I want, nothing I don’t, be easily enjoyable and hassle-free or my situation is terrible and I cannot be happy.

This pattern can exacerbate feelings of inadequacy, low self-esteem and even depression. This thinking error assumes that current negative emotions will persist indefinitely. It ignores the possibility of emotional growth and the positive changes that can come with recovery. This worksheet can be provided as an information handout to people seeking help for addiction behaviours or for the general public for mental health awareness.

“Everyone Else Can Handle Their Problems Without Drugs, So I’m Weak”

Overcoming thought patterns that have become habitual is no easy task – and reaching out for professional help is often sober house the quickest way to make progress. In fact, the steps outlined above are some of the same strategies used in cognitive behavioral therapy, as well as a number of different evidence-based mental health treatments. Drug and alcohol abuse can strain relationships and negatively affect finances.

Addictive thinking needs to be addressed in a drug rehab center for substance abuse treatment as this behavior and thought patterns can still be present even after addiction treatment. One of the most effective therapeutic tools for changing these thinking patterns is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy or CBT. CBT helps people to become more aware of their emotions and responses to situations, providing them with the training and tools to cope with difficult situations more effectively. CBT is a widely used therapeutic approach that focuses on identifying and changing negative thinking patterns.

These are just a few examples – and the thought patterns holding you back could be totally different. Some people struggle with shame and guilt, while others hold a sense of superiority or inferiority that blocks them from achieving recovery. The brain has a remarkable capacity for regrowth and recovery, and sobriety will revert these changes if you give it a chance. In an unaddicted brain, the dopamine reward pathway encourages people to socialize, eat great food, and pursue hobbies or activities they find enjoyable. Labeling is when you define yourself or others by a single characteristic or event. For example, thinking “I’m a failure” after a mistake can become a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Use of this site constitutes acceptance of Sober Recovery’s “Terms of Use”, “Privacy Policy”, “Cookie Policy”, and “Health Disclaimer”. The material on this site is for informational purposes only, and is not a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis or treatment provided by a qualified health care provider. If you or a loved one is struggling with substance abuse, click here for your  free benefits review, or call us at1-866-UTAH-HOPE. This is where you make negative assumptions or conclusions about something or someone without investigating the facts about a particular situation.

Dual Diagnosis 101: How Mental Health Disorders and Substance Use Disorder Often go Hand in Hand

Angie Carter, CRADC, SAP is a certified reciprocal alcohol and drug counselor and DOT certified Substance Abuse Professional. Angie sees local clients in the office and is also available for telephone coaching and/or consultation. Click here to contact Angie with appointment requests, questions, or feedback.

These thoughts play a particularly crucial role in maintaining compulsive behaviours and hampering their recovery such as alcohol abuse and addiction. Thinking errors are a created habit, that you spend years practicing, and like every other habit we talk about here, it also takes practice to start neutralizing bad habits and change them. SO- no more talking about it or thinking about it, let’s get into action and create some amazing change we can feel proud of.

Abstaining from substances is not invalid, but all-or-nothing thinkers take it to the extreme. Black-and-white thinkers would view sobriety as never being able to drink again or being in environments with people who drink. Many people refuse to accept their addiction because they fear the shame and judgment that comes with it. Denying your problem with addiction allows it to grow and fester while you choose to overlook it.

An integrated strategy, in which the mental disorder and the substance abuse issue are treated concurrently, is the best treatment for co-occurring disorders. The initiation stage is prevalent among teenagers and young adults but can happen at any stage of a person’s life and in any demographic. Adverse environmental effects on substance abuse are more prevalent in genetically predisposed people. Several studies have also found that sociodemographic factors are the most important predictors of substance abuse in people with substance use disorders. CBT is an essential part of a holistic addiction recovery, and works well alongside 12-step programmes. It is also recommended to supplement these methods with a variety of exercises to keep a person’s mind, body and spirit active and on the right path.