Cognitive Dissonance and Addiction

Rajiv a 45 year old gentleman, presented with long history of alcohol dependence. His father and maternal uncle were heavy drinkers (predispositions to drinking, social learning). Rajiv was anxious since childhood (early learning and temperamental contributions) and avoided social situations (poor coping). He started using alcohol in his college, with friends and found that drinking helped him cope with his anxiety. Gradually he began to drink before meetings or interactions (maladaptive coping and negative reinforcement).

The Relationship Between Cognitive Dissonance and Addiction

• With most insurance plans accepted, taking the first step has never been easier.
• The therapist and patient collaboratively review the advantages/disadvantages of engaging in substance use or addictive behaviour.
• She genuinely loves helping people on their journey to recovery and brings a friendly, down-to-earth vibe to every session.
• Therefore, many of the techniques discussed under relapse prevention that aim at modification of dysfunctional beliefs related to outcomes of substance use, coping or self-efficacy are relevant and overlapping.
• When cognitive dissonance and addiction collide, it’s like adding fuel to an already raging fire.

When our beliefs and actions don’t align, it can trigger stress responses in our bodies. We might experience increased heart rate, sweating, or even feelings of nausea. It’s as if our bodies are physically rejecting the inconsistency in our minds. One way to deal with this internal conflict is to minimize all the potential problems that drinking and using drugs can cause. For instance, a substance abuser might justify their habit by saying that if they took steps to get sober, they’d deprive themselves of their primary way to relax and have fun. Some might even go so far as to say they’d never be able to enjoy themselves without their substance of use.

Explicit Cognitive Processes: Executive Function

In these programs, individuals can develop positive coping skills with the tools necessary to maintain sobriety. We also include supervised, short-term housing to provide support for newly sober individuals. By promoting awareness of thoughts and emotions without judgment, mindfulness helps clients navigate conflicting feelings and make intentional, value-driven decisions.

Cognitive Dissonance and Addiction: Unraveling the Mental Struggle in Substance Abuse

Cognitive behaviour therapy is a structured, time limited, psychological intervention that has is empirically supported across a wide variety of psychological disorders. CBT for addictive behaviours can be traced back to the application of learning theories in understanding addiction and subsequently to social cognitive theories. The focus of CBT is manifold and the focus is on targeting maintaining factors of addictive behaviours and preventing relapse. Relapse prevention programmes are based on social cognitive and cognitive behavioural principles. More recent developments in the area of managing addictions include third wave behaviour therapies. Third wave behaviour therapies are focused on improving building awareness, and distress tolerance skills using mindfulness practices.

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While it takes time, with the right guidance and support, many can move away from these self-destructive patterns. For example, someone might experience the impression that they are incapable of sobriety. Thus, by challenging the negative drug addiction thought, the individual can reduce the risk of relapse. CBT has additionally been proven effective for people who struggle with depression, anxiety, addiction, and unhealthy behaviors.

According to Beck et al., (2005), “A cognitive therapist could do hundreds of interventions with any patient at any given time”1). A careful functional analysis and identification of dysfunctional beliefs are important first steps in CBT. The hallmark of CBT is collaborative empiricism and describes the nature of therapeutic relationship. Call us today to learn more about our sober living services in Austin, TX, or schedule a confidential consultation to explore your options. With most insurance plans accepted, taking the first step has never been easier. This happens when someone jumps to conclusions without really knowing what the other person feels or is thinking about.

Health Conditions

What’s very interesting, as we will discuss, is how we reconcile conflicting thoughts and behaviors. Practical examples of this process in everyday life can help us understand it a little better, and understand how this theory is important for helping people change behaviors that may be harmful to them. The neurobiological basis of mindfulness in substance use and craving have also been described in recent literature40.

• However, the addict must start with a clean slate or “beginner’s mind” for the methods in therapy to be effective.
• It causes a feeling of discomfort that can motivate people to try to feel better.
• Mislabeling can be emotionally loaded and have long-term consequences on someone’s self-esteem.
• He utilizes positive psychology as much as possible during his counseling sessions.
• This happens when someone jumps to conclusions without really knowing what the other person feels or is thinking about.

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We’ve explored how conflicting beliefs can create mental turmoil, and how therapy can help us navigate these internal battles. We’ve seen how this approach can be applied to various mental health challenges and personal growth opportunities. Implicit, or automatic, cognition includes classically and operantly conditioned responses, which are controlled respectively by repeated pairings with their antecedents and consequences. The three most common implicit cognition paradigms examined in addiction literature include spontaneous memory association (i.e., memory bias), attentional capture (i.e., attentional bias), and action tendency (i.e., approach-avoidance biases). It is, however, important to differentiate cognitive bias paradigms, that vary the type of central task, from the underlying cue-reactivity, or implicit processing, which influences central task performance.