Valuable Resources

This link will explain and explore the 6 stages of change as shown in session 2. The 6 Stages of Change in addiction recovery come from the Transtheoretical Model of Behavior Change, developed by Prochaska and DiClemente. These stages outline the process individuals typically go through when modifying addictive behaviours.

This video will give you a good insight on how and why to journal and what the benefits are. Addiction is hard wired to create a divide within our personal connection with ourselves. Journaling rebuilds those bridges and then allows us to recover our connections with others. Some of whom we might have lost while addiction held us hostage.

Many people say they are unable to meditate, I reply: “If you can breathe then you can meditate.” I cannot tell you how much meditation has been at my side, like a friend taking many rough edges off some of the harsher times of my life. It also serves as a valuable life tool in the form of a daily practice to set me up for the day, especially if I meditate in the morning.

It’s a good way to unwind if I meditate before sleep. Any time inbetween allows me to stop and embrace how wonderful life is or to help me to manage a tricky situation and moderate overwhelming feelings.

This will give people with or without addiction a quick tour of Gabor Maté’s view of addiction.

Exercise: take notes on how it resonates with you.

I have often used the main character in this film (Fred) as a great archetype for the ‘addict energy’. As discussed in Session 7: I have hypothesised that ‘the addict’ was created in childhood and something akin to an imaginary friend. It protected us from some, or even all, of our childhood traumas. My current understanding is that the addict ‘splinter self’ character protected us in childhood. It did this by hiding us away from danger, amongst other coping strategies, then followed us into adulthood. The childhood coping mechanisms were then replaced with grown up ones like drink, drugs, hedonistic sex and gambling.

Drop Dead Fred embodies the chaotic, destructive energy of addiction. He mirrors the impulsivity and recklessness of the ‘addict energy’. Fred disrupts Lizzie’s life under the guise of helping her heal, but instead causes turmoil, reflecting how addiction often begins as a coping mechanism before spiralling into self-sabotage. His erratic behaviour mimics the highs and lows of dependency, offering fleeting relief but leaving damage in his wake. Ultimately, Lizzie’s journey to reclaim control parallels recovery, where she must confront her past and reject Fred, symbolising the painful but necessary act of letting go of an addictive force.

This is a great 20 minute video which offers you the opportunity to explore your sense of self on a deeper level.