Being able to use effective coping skills to overcome addiction issues is perhaps the most important tool of long-term addiction recovery. In my latest blog post highlighting each of the 5 sections of my book The 5 Pillars of Addiction Recovery, I talk about how coping skills fit into the picture.
How Coping Skills are Often Neglected in Addiction Recovery
There is an epidemic of addiction in our country and our world at the present time. Overdose deaths are on the rise, and the toll of the opioid epidemic is certainly huge as well. Yet despite the grim statistics there are a tremendous amount of available coping skills to meet the challenge, perhaps more than ever before. We’ve come a long way since the days of ‘Just say no’ and ‘Hugs not drugs’ campaigns of decades ago, but the problem still remains as vicious as ever before. While we certainly need to revise our public policy approach to meet the challenges, the answers for our addiction ills are readily available. From the Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT), to phone calls to other support group members, to harm reduction techniques to trauma therapy, the means of coping skills to overcome addiction issues are abundant as well.
Coping Skills Begin and End with Mutual Support
In my book I start this chapter by emphasizing the importance of having others in your support network who can help you learn and implement coping skills to overcome whatever addiction ails you. Be it other support group members, trained clinicians, supportive family members or friends, teachers, there are others out there waiting to help. They are means coping skills are learned and can become good habits to offset the addictive tendencies of alcohol and other drugs, addictive behaviors, and the potential for total destruction that addictions of all kinds can lead to.
Some Possible Coping Skills for Addictions
What I didn’t do in the book was delineate what all of the possible coping skills for addictions can be, so I thought I would list some here:
Calling other recovery group members
Deep breathing
Avoiding people, places and things that have led to relapse in the past
Trauma therapy
Journaling
Getting enough sleep and rest
Regular exercise
Eating healthy foods
Taking necessary medications
Talk therapy
Assertiveness
Emotional Freedom Technique (Tapping)
Walks in nature
Biofeedback
Having a relapse prevention plan
Laughter
Yoga
Prayer and Meditation
Mindfulness
Positive self-talk
Distraction (but not to excess)
Equine therapy
Time with pets
Sex (except for those who feel it is out of control for them)
Gardening
And the list goes on and on. There can be such a variety of these, and they are meant to counter the constricting nature of addiction that reduces your world down to a substance that you have to have or a behavior you just have to do. Keeping a list that works for you in front of you can be very helpful and having some good go-to activities ready to go can be critical for maintaining remission from addictions.
What To Do If You Struggle to Find or Practice Coping Skills
You may feel like you don’t have any coping skills, at least ones that are effective. You may also feel you have little success in engaging in these also. The truth of the matter is that some people need professional help to overcome an addiction as well as to acquire coping skills that will help them in an ongoing manner. I’m a professional who has helped people recover from addiction my entire social work career, and specialize in treating men who suffer from compulsive or addictive sexual behavior. If this is something you struggle with you are welcome to call me to get a free 45-minute screening appointment to find out if I can help you with sex addiction. I use a sexual health model, as well as EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) and Image Transformation Therapy (ImTT) to help treat underlying trauma related to addictions. I’ve helped many people to get on the road to recovery and although you may feel like you are totally unique and can’t ever recover from addiction, that is something everyone who’s ever struggled with addiction can attest to. Take the first step and reach out for help today!
Visit our page on sex addiction therapy to find out how Scott can help you with coping skills.
About the author: Scott Kampschaefer, LCSW is a private practice therapist in Frederick, Maryland. He has an extensive background in working with depression, anxiety, and bipolar disorder at a clinic for older adults with these disorders in Austin. He now works with adults and adolescents 14 and up in private practice. His most recent book is titled The 5 Pillars of Addiction Recovery and is available for purchase on Amazon and in paperback on this website.