The Triple Network Model: Understanding Intrusive Thoughts and How EMDR Can Help Intrusive thoughts can feel sudden, repetitive, and difficult to control. They may arrive as unwanted images, worries, memories, or impulses that feel distressing even when a person knows they are not choosing them. For many clients, understanding what is happening in the brain […]
For someone struggling with gambling, stopping may seem like it should be straightforward: recognize the problem, decide to stop, and follow through. In reality, it can be much more complicated. Gambling can become connected to emotions, thoughts, habits, and situations that make the urge to gamble difficult to resist. For some people, gambling may offer […]
We all have ways we escape negative feelings. Often referred to as opt outs, which are the ways to peace out from the darkest parts of ourselves that bring discomfort. Your opt outs may just present differently than someone who is addicted to legal or illegal substances. People will opt out by scrolling on their […]
When people think about addiction or substance use, the conversation often focuses on what needs to stop. Stop drinking. Stop using. Stop gambling. Stop smoking. Stop numbing. While these conversations can be important, they sometimes miss a critical question: What is the substance or behaviour doing for you? This question is not about making excuses. […]
For families living in the brutal shadow of addiction, hope can feel like a fragile, even dangerous, thing to hold onto. You may have been disappointed so many times that it feels safer to expect the worst. However, the theme of “Anchoring Hope” (which was the theme for 2026 National Addiction Awareness week) reminds us […]
When a loved one, family member or friend struggles with addiction, the instinct might be to swoop in and try to rescue them. However, there is a fine line between helping and enabling, and crossing it can be devastating for everyone involved. Let’s look a little more closely at the difference between enabling and helping. […]
Setting boundaries with a family member who struggles with addiction can be frightening, stressful, and often does not end up with positive results because people set boundaries when they are upset, emotional and have “had enough”. As an Addiction Therapist who, over the past 30+ years, has worked with people affected by addiction (whether it’s […]
When you love someone struggling with addiction (for example, drugs, alcohol, food, porn, gambling), your world often shrinks until it revolves entirely around their choices, their safety, and their moods. You may find yourself trapped in a cycle of “saving” and “rescuing” them, only to watch the same patterns repeat. The hard truth that many […]
When there’s addiction in a family, most loved ones eventually arrive at the same painful place:Nothing seems to be working. They’ve tried being supportive. They’ve tried being patient. They’ve tried pleading, helping, rescuing, fixing, and worrying themselves sick. And yet the addiction continues. The reason that nothing seems to be working is often something families […]
No Accountability, No Consistency: The Power of Life Coaching Consistency is the bridge between intention and transformation. Most people don’t fail because they lack desire, intelligence, or even discipline—they fail because they lack accountability. Without accountability, goals drift, habits fade, and momentum stalls. The truth is simple: no accountability, no consistency. Accountability is not control; […]
