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Alcohol & Drugs

Men Therapy Toronto - Alcohol And Drugs Addiction

Alcohol & Drug Addiction in Men

Millions of men on the planet are addicted to either alcohol, drugs, or both. If you are struggling with an alcohol or drug addiction please be aware that you are not alone.  Most often an addiction begins as a pleasurable experience that may have taken place early in life. The substance seemed harmless and the consequence of using it was enjoyable.  With time, however, the man feels a need for either alcohol or drugs and realizes that stopping use is not only difficult but begins to feel impossible.

The alcoholic, once drinking begins, feels literally incapable of stopping. Both drug and alcohol addicts gain tolerance which simply means that they may need more of their substance of choice to achieve the effect they desire. In most cases (not all) men begin to seek help when their substance abuse results in devastating consequences such as; the loss of a partner, job, family relations, & personal well-being, etc.

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Treatment for Alcohol & Drug Addiction

A man may be addicted to alcohol, soft drugs, hard drugs, or prescription medication. It is always important, to begin with, the awareness that the substance is not the problem. The individual addicted generally employs the fantasy that if they no longer had the addiction their life would be perfect. From that paradigm, the key issue becomes stopping drinking or drugging. This is partly true but not entirely true. It is generally difficult if not impossible to move past addiction without dealing with the pain that drove a man to the substance in the first place. If a man forces himself to stop his addictive behavior but does not address his internal pain then it is most likely that the man will eventually return to using.

Treatment, therefore, is multi-pronged as it involves working with the man to understand the pain that brings him to use a substance. He then must work to heal that pain. He must take active steps to fill in the area where he feels most hurt. The other steps involve support from other individuals. This may take the form of a therapist, support group, 12 step meetings. It is almost impossible to recover from addiction alone. The reason is that other individuals need to hear about the areas you struggle with. Once they are brought out in the open their power over you begins to lessen.