Addiction – All Impacts

Brynn Cicippio — Wed, 22 Jun 2022 17:00:19 +0000

Growing up with Addiction

Growing up in a home where someone is addicted can have a profound impact on how you view the world, your relationships, and how you navigate life. If addiction is part of your past, some of these may be true for you now:

People Pleasing
It’s nearly impossible to say no to others. It’s overly important that people like you. It’s hard to express your opinion when it’s different or opposing. You do so much for other people that you are left with nothing for yourself.

Not Confident in Decisions
You second guess every decision you make. You feel like every decision is the wrong decision. You ask for too much advice that it becomes confusing.

Question Relationships
Something inside is telling you these people aren’t really your friends. You don’t want to be left out but don’t have fun when you join in. You think you are dating someone but it’s not clear. There seems to be a lot of secrets and guessing when it comes to friends and romantic interests. How other families interact is worlds away from your experience.

Dead End Relationships
Engaging in relationships we know will go nowhere and stay in them for far too long is a problem. Life could be so different if you could just steer clear of certain people. You feel tied to them though, a sense of loyalty keeps you stuck, but you get little satisfaction and gratification from these relationships.

Others Don’t Understand
You feel others don’t really understand you fully. You could be in a room full of people who seem to look and act just like you, and yet you feel completely alone. You edit yourself, don’t share all your thoughts, because you think no one will get it.

Fiercely Independent and Overly Responsible
No one can do what you can do, and you’ll be sure to not let anyone help you. After all, you don’t need help. You’ve got it covered. When someone offers help, your back goes straight as if they just hurled an insult your way, as if they were saying you are incapable.

Always worried about others
It’s hard to predict what others might be thinking, but you sure try. It’s hard to know how others are going to react, so you do your best to control for all possible outcomes. It’s exhausting having so much of your time consumed with something you have such little control over.

Judge Too Much
This is mostly for you. You just yourself incessantly. Nothing is ever good enough. Of course, there is always room for improvement in life, but you beat yourself down daily. And you have a laundry list of people that are doing things “the right way.”

Low Self Esteem
When you get down to it, you’re unhappy with yourself. You’re unhappy with where you are in life, who you surround yourself with, how you look and act, the choices you make… Its really hard to do things differently, to make a change. You aren’t even sure if you’re worthy of change. Do you deserve better? What would that even look like?

Try your hardest to not be like the parent(s) that raised you
“I will never be like…”. Sometimes this comes through loud and clear. Sometimes its deeper, more subtle, but just as strong. Your parents are your parents; that can’t be changed. It’s hard to stay connected to such a complex relationship.

Active Addiction

Your addiction. Your spouse’s addiction. Your parents’ addiction. We can support you through it all.

You may feel like your peers and family don’t really “get you.” It can be hard for you to trust your instincts. It can also be hard for you to trust others. You doubt yourself. A lot.

Maybe you struggle with substance abuse, love someone who does, or were raised in a home where addiction lived. The complex effects of addiction can be long lasting.

As a licensed marriage and family therapist who specializes in substance use, I understand how addiction can crush your soul and damage your relationships. It’s taken a lot to get you here; a lot of pain, heartache, and suffering.

Asking for help is hard. I’m so glad you’re here. I collaborate with clients who want to be true to themselves without any hesitation, guilt, or shame. Let’s work together to bring peace and serenity to your life.

You deserve it.

Addiction is a disease. It’s progressive, prolonged, potentially fatal, and positively treatable. If you are addicted to drugs and alcohol you may feel:

Trapped
Every day is groundhogs day. There doesn’t seem to be an end in sight. Something needs to change… everything needs to change. It’s overwhelming. You have no idea where to even begin.

No where to turn to
Too many people have turned their backs. You can’t ask again, even this one last time. Or, if people found out, your world would feel like it’s caving in. What would they think? Secrets feel safe, even when they keep you sick.

Physically dependent on drugs and alcohol
When you have run out of money and drugs, or it’s been several hours or even a day or two since your last drink or drug, you feel awful. Everything from shakes to sweating to muscle aches to constipation to vomiting; you know why it’s happening.

Use substances when we are bored, alone, sad, and angry
Honestly, you probably use in response to every emotion. You can’t make feelings suddenly disappear. They have to go somewhere; they have to come out. Maybe in the beginning it felt like alcohol and drugs made the emotions easier… maybe now the emotions are bigger… maybe now the emotions got so big that its just too much and you feel hollow.

Also use in excess to celebrate and because you “deserve it”
Has there ever been a “bad” time to use? You use when things are good or bad, happy or sad, up or down. You use to punish yourself and praise yourself. You use to punish others and praise others.

Never been to treatment or have gone too many times to count
You question if therapy works; if therapy will work for you. Maybe you only know rehabs and group therapy from the movies; maybe you could sketch the meditation garden perfectly from memory from your last inpatient program.

Feeling like this cycle will never end
The stops and starts have been going on for so long it feels almost hopeless. You wonder what could possibly be different this time. What else needs to change?

Don’t know where to start, how to get help or who to tell
Everything is urgent and everything is important. How can you possibly know which first step is going to be the right one?

Watching a loved one battle the disease of addiction is life changing. You never thought this would happen or perhaps you hoped this one would be different. Being a part of this destructive disease can leave you feeling:

Helpless
If you could take the pain away, you would. If you could stop the cycle, you would. If there was anything you could do to make this all go away, you would. But time and time again you feel like there is nothing you can do.

Can’t do enough for them yet can’t do anything for them
Just like one drink is too many and a thousand is never enough, all of your efforts to help are unsuccessful. You try to set boundaries but it seems like it pushes them away. You try to reach out and help and now you are being called an enabler. Every move feels like a no win situation.

Also feel trapped
Because every move feels like a no win situation, you feel paralyzed. You second guess yourself, your decisions, your friends and family and their advice.

Being in a relationship
With an addict can be the most difficult relationship to navigate. Turning your back, or setting healthy boundaries, may feel like it could lead to irreversible consequences. As long as you are connected, you feel like there is some hope, some sense of control.

Don’t know how to help them hear what we are saying
It seems like no matter what you say or do, you can’t get through to them. You scream, cry, plead, beg, talk calmly and rationally, send emails and texts. Nothing works.

Love them more than they could ever know
If your love could save them, they would live forever.

Frustrated that things aren’t changing
You’ve followed all the expert advice. They’ve done the rehabs and treatment and therapy and medication. The consequences of their addiction are endless. What is it going to take to turn things around? How much longer do you have to wait?

Can’t trust them
You have lost all trust and question everything they say or do. Even in times of sobriety and recovery it can still be so hard. You don’t trust them to make good decisions, to be honest with you, to manage money, to keep a job, to tell you when they are feeling down. This lack of trust only fuels your need for control.

Don’t want to lose them
Losing them can look different for everyone. It doesn’t always mean death. It’s hard to admit death is even a possibility, even a word that would come out of your mouth. Other losses can be cutting ties, not having any more communication or contact. Losing them can mean having them sit right next to you but feel like they are a million miles away.

Unsure how to keep my sanity
You literally feel like you are going crazy. All your efforts to control this cunning and baffling disease leaves you feeling confused and exhausted. You don’t know what is real anymore, what is the truth.

The post Addiction – All Impacts appeared first on BCA Therapy.

Self-Esteem

Brynn Cicippio — Mon, 18 Jun 2018 15:24:19 +0000

Self-esteem impacts every area of your life. It can hinder or facilitate healthy relationships, strong careers, passionate marriages, good decisions, vocational pursuits… the list is endless.

Self-esteem may be a problem for you if some of the following statements are true:

  I don’t believe in myself
  I would rather be someone else
  I don’t have much to be proud of
  There is nothing special or unique about me
  I can easily identify all my failures
  I don’t like the way I look

  I often feel ashamed
  Compliments make me feel uncomfortable
  I can’t laugh at myself
  I can’t handle rejection
   I can’t handle criticism

You may not even believe that you can change your self esteem or that you deserve more that this. But you do. You deserve to be happy, confident, and secure. You deserve the inner peace that self-esteem brings.

The post Self-Esteem appeared first on BCA Therapy.

Narcissistic Abuse Recovery

Brynn Cicippio — Thu, 16 Jun 2022 20:19:25 +0000

Gaslighting. Manipulating. Love bombing. Emotional and Physical Abuse. Trauma.

Whether inflicted by a parent or your partner or even your boss, narcissistic abuse can leave you feeling helpless and hopeless. It’s hard to know what is reality. Everything feels distorted.

Recovering from Narcissistic Abuse is possible. It requires an incredible amount of strength and courage.

Courage that you absolutely possess.

The lies you have been told about yourself are not true. You are valuable. You are lovable. You are worthy and deserving of a healthy, fulfilling, and safe life. You can have secure relationships. You can advocate for yourself. You can move forward with a sense of freedom and resiliency.

BCA Therapy is here to support you on this journey of recovery.

The post Narcissistic Abuse Recovery appeared first on BCA Therapy.

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Addiction – All Impacts

Growing up with Addiction

Active Addiction

Self-Esteem

Narcissistic Abuse Recovery