Full Disclosure: Clicking on these links could mean a tiny commission for me, at no extra cost to you.
Having one mental health condition to navigate, like anxiety, is challenging enough, but add in another one, like addiction? That is a whole other ball game. The path to learning how to overcome addiction and anxiety can feel that much more overwhelming and complicated when you are dealing with both conditions at the same time. Confusing questions begin to present themselves, like:
- Where to begin?
- What to focus on?
- How to go about finding a suitable provider?
- Can treatment be effective?
These are all valid questions that people may struggle to answer, especially while living with these conditions and working to overcome addiction and anxiety.
In this article, we aim to help you start creating some answers to these questions by exploring where addiction and anxiety come from and tips on how to go about overcoming addiction and anxiety and reducing the imminent impact they are having in your life. There is tremendous hope when it comes to treatment for these conditions and we want to help assist you along the way.
The Evolution of Co-occurring Addiction & Anxiety
It is an ongoing debate at the individual and professional level of which came first: Addiction issues or anxiety? For some, they feel very strongly that they started turning to problem substances and/or behaviours to seek relief for their anxiety issues. These feelings often pre-dated problems in other areas by years, sometimes decades. Kelly, for instance, said that they found alcohol in their teenage years and it was the calmest they had felt in years. Over time, this led to alcohol becoming an issue.
For others, they believe that they were predisposed to an impulsive brain that found its way into problem substance and/or behaviour use and, over time, this altered their brain chemistry and came with resultant mood changes, including the evolution of anxiety. Take the example of Javier who said he always felt like he had an ‘addictive personality’ and this found its way into everything that they did. Javier felt like compulsivity was the main issue and the substances and behaviours they used generated anxiety.
So who is right? I would argue both.
I know this seems like I am sitting on the fence but, really, there is truth to both sides and some people did experience mental health issues before dealing with addiction and for some the opposite is true. I am not going to take that truth away from people. When it comes to treatment and working to overcome addiction and anxiety issues, however, it is not as important to figure out which came first as it is to understand that both are presenting problems that need to be dealt with. Let us explore how to do that.
Where to Begin with Treatment?
The American Society of Addiction Medicine defines Addiction as “…a treatable, chronic medical disease involving complex interactions among brain circuits, genetics, the environment, and an individual’s life experiences. People with addiction use substances or engage in behaviors that become compulsive and often continue despite harmful consequences. Prevention efforts and treatment approaches for addiction are generally as successful as those for other chronic diseases.”
What this means is that the presentation of Addiction is a complicated picture and, therefore, treatment may involve exploration of many different areas. No, has to involve exploration of many different areas.
This can include physical, mental, cognitive, emotional, relational, financial, spiritual, cultural health and more. Working to overcome addiction is a multi-faceted process that also includes learning about emotional regulation, dealing with stress, and navigating anxiety. It can also include harm reduction strategies and/or the pursuit of abstinence from certain substances and/or behaviours, depending on the situation.
The ‘Start Anywhere’ Approach.
The good news is that when it comes to how to overcome addiction and anxiety, starting anywhere is a great place to begin. You do not need to get too caught up in where the ‘right’ or ‘best’ place to start is: Just go! If you are feeling ready and motivated, jumping into any kind of change will be helpful in your recovery.
Ready to pursue abstinence from a substance? Great! Do it.
Ready to learn some techniques to deal with emotions better? Great! Do it.
Ready to start moving your body more? Great! You get the point by now- just do it!
Changes in any area will benefit the reduction of addictive and anxious energy which supports further change. Rather than waiting for the perfect place to start or finding the perfect tool that is going to help, try things. Explore and experiment with techniques you have used in the past as well as new tools. You are working to build your tool kit with both addiction and anxiety and need multiple tools to be available depending on the job.
Supportive Self-Management Strategies for How to Overcome Addiction & Anxiety
Professional support is often a part of the process to help overcome addiction and anxiety along with self-management strategies, which are the tools you are using to support yourself on a daily basis. If you feel unable to start with the self-management tools than it would be recommended you speak with a healthcare provider in your area to get going on professional support. If you feel ready to start trying some self-guided work, whether on its own or alongside professional support, here are some suggestions to get you started:
- Prioritize balance. In order to overcome addiction and anxiety, you need to prioritize actions and strategies that restore balance to your life as these conditions can create a lot of overwhelm and imbalances. Balance is about reducing overwhelm in our lives and increasingWhere to Begin? You might start by taking an inventory of your current life activities and looking at anything that you can ask for help with, deprioritize for later, and/or remove from your to-do list completely. You will also want to look at the incorporation of things that relax and rejuvenate you. For instance, you may decide not to attend an upcoming big social gathering to spend the time gardening or being with a close personal friend instead if this feels more balanced to you.
- Reduce stress through boundaries. Both addiction and anxiety feed off of stress; therefore, it is very important to reduce stress as much as possible. The reduction of stress is best accomplished by implementing boundaries with our time, energy, and resources. You do not have to say yes to everything that comes your way; it is okay to take time to rest or ‘do nothing’; and it is okay to ‘disappoint’ people. You cannot be everything to everybody. There are great resources on boundaries out there, including this article to get you started.
- Consider changing your relationship with certain substances or behaviours. This does not necessarily mean your main addictive behaviour if that feels like too much, too fast. It could mean reducing your relationship with caffeine, sugar, media, and/or alcohol as people generally see improvements in their mental health and wellbeing with less of these in their lives (they also usually notice a reduction in anxiety-bonus!). If these are not your main addictive behaviour, it may be easier to make changes to one or multiple of these which sets the stage for tackling the main addictive behaviour you are struggling with. It’s a win-win!
- Activate your vagus nerve. Wondering what that is? Our vague nerve is a bundle of nerves in our body responsible for a bunch of different processes, including our parasympathetic nervous system which promotes relaxation. Most of us in modern society are overstressed and have too much activity in our sympathetic nervous system (the stressful one) and not enough in our relaxation system. To promote this, we can use cold, heat, our senses, and/or bilateral stimulation. Here is a link to an article on 20 quick and easy techniques that promote relaxation by activating our vagus nerve. Where to Begin? Take time daily to do 4-7-8 count breathing (4 count inhale-7 count hold-8 count exhale) for at least 5 breaths/day. Regulating our breath sends the message to our brain that we are safe, which promotes a greater state of relaxation. If we continue to breathe shallowly from our chest, we continue to tell our brain that we under threat and anxiety levels stay high. This is not how to overcome addiction and anxiety. Use your breath as a tool to help!
- Educate yourself about addiction and anxiety. Many people find truth in the old adage that “knowledge is power.” Having more understanding about what is happening in the brain and how addiction and anxiety are a physiological issue and not just a willpower or personal issue can be helpful. While knowledge and education alone will not help one overcome addiction and anxiety completely, it is certainly an important step along the path. Knowledge can lead to awareness of new techniques for coping which can lead to further change and, over time, a new way of living. This is what can help one overcome addiction and anxiety.
- Have fun. Addiction and anxiety are serious and heavy topics. The changes needed for improvement can sometimes feel heavy and effortful too. For this reason, it is important to remember to incorporate fun into your recovery. We overcome addiction and anxiety by living a happy, joyous, and free life which includes embracing laughter, whimsy, and things you find fun. Not sure what that is at this time? That’s okay. Get out and play. Experiment. Try different activities and see what is fun (and not) for you. Maybe you will find yourself really enjoying cinema and theatre, or physical activity, or crafts, or working with your hands, or spending time with animals. There is no right or wrong when it comes to fun-make it personal!
Your journey to learning how to overcome addiction and anxiety will be a windy road. At times you will feel like you are back at the beginning but, remember, you are always moving forward. Even when regression or flare-ups in symptoms happen, you are still equipped with the new knowledge and strategies you have been building and are a different person than when your journey began.
Addiction and anxiety both have a chronic element to them and many find that their way of helping ‘overcome’ addiction and anxiety is to learn how to navigate life alongside of these conditions while taking steps to improve their quality of life. In this place of acceptance, symptoms lessen and life feels lighter and better. There may be some old thought patterns that activate from time to time but, for the most part, people feel different than when they began their healing journey.
Wherever you are in your journey, remember that hope of change always exists and is possible anytime. Never give up on yourself. You are worth it and you are worthy.
