Dip Addiction Therapy
Addiction Specialist
Guildford, Surrey (GU1 4PB)
Quick takeaway Emotional eating means turning to food now and again to soothe a feeling, and almost everyone does it. Food addiction is when eating has become compulsive: you’ve lost control around certain foods, you carry on despite the harm, and the eating brings secrecy, shame and repeated failed attempts to stop. I’m Peter J… Read more
Quick takeaway Anxiety and addiction often exist together because each one exacerbates the other. For many people anxiety comes first, with drinking, drugs, gambling or another compulsive habit developing as a way to calm it. For others, the substance or behaviour creates anxiety of its own through withdrawal, hangovers, debt and secrecy. Which came first… Read more
Quick takeaway Co-dependency is a learned pattern of behaviour where your sense of worth comes to depend on looking after, pleasing or controlling another person, at the cost of your own needs. You may be in a co-dependent relationship if your mood rises and falls with your partner’s, you struggle to say no, you cover… Read more
Quick takeaway The most helpful way to support a loved one in recovery is by being steady, calm, and reliable: back their treatment, notice their progress, and let them own their recovery rather than policing it. Avoid interrogating them, lecturing, bringing up past harm or covering for them. Burnout comes from carrying their recovery on… Read more
Quick takeaway Social media addiction isn’t yet a formal diagnosis, but compulsive scrolling follows the same pattern as other behavioural addictions: loss of control, carrying on despite the harm, and restlessness when you can’t check your phone. The clearest warning signs are losing hours without meaning to, reaching for your phone to escape difficult feelings,… Read more
Quick takeaway Being sober curious means looking honestly at the part alcohol plays in your life without having decided to give it up for good. A trial break of a few weeks or a month is the clearest test available to you: people who aren’t dependent usually find it unremarkable, while people who are dependent… Read more
Quick takeaway You have a gambling problem when betting starts costing you more than money. You’ll compromise your time, your honesty with the people close to you, and your peace of mind. The clearest warning signs are chasing losses, betting more than you can afford, hiding the amounts from your family, and feeling restless or… Read more
Quick takeaway Yes, you can be dependent on alcohol and still hold down a demanding job, raise a family and keep everything looking orderly from the outside. “High-functioning alcoholic” is a description rather than a medical diagnosis, used for someone with alcohol dependence whose life hasn’t visibly fallen apart yet. Coping well isn’t evidence that… Read more
Quick Overview A prescription drug addiction happens subtly, and the prescription itself is not a guarantee of safety. Some of the most dependency forming drugs in the UK are ones that come through official channels – including opioid painkillers, benzodiazepines, and sleeping pills. If you have started to worry that your medication has become a… Read more
Key Takeaways: Do I Have an Addiction – and Where Can I Get Help? My name is Peter J Davies, and I am an addiction specialist and therapist based at Addiction Care in Guildford, Surrey. For more than 20 years, I have worked one-to-one with people experiencing problems with alcohol, drugs, gambling and other addictive behaviours, as… Read more
Quick overview If you’re worried about someone’s drug use and want to broach it with them, choose a calm and private moment to talk, lead with what you have noticed rather than accusation, and listen more than you speak. Your aim is to open a door, not to force a decision. This guide gives you… Read more
Quick Overview Residential rehab is not the only route to addiction recovery. For many people, one-to-one outpatient therapy with a specialist addiction therapist is an effective, practical, and more accessible alternative. The right option for you depends on a proper assessment of your situation. This post explains what that process looks like, what outpatient therapy… Read more
Key Takeaways Clients often ask me:Am I addicted – what are the signs Clients say – I only drink on Fridays and at the weekends but once I start drinking, I don’t stop and drinktoo much. There are then often consequences that follow – I say things that I shouldn’t, I upset friends and family,… Read more
Key Takeaways: About Addiction Care Addiction Care based in Guildford Surrey helps clients on a 1-1 basis explore and obtain recovery from their addictive behaviours. Addiction Care treats all addictions – alcohol, recreational drugs, gambling, sex, porn, food, co-dependency, internet, social media, relationships, gaming, spending and work addiction. Addiction Care in Guildford also offers a… Read more
Key Takeaways It’s nearly BBQ time. That means family and friends get together and enjoy each other’s company.However – if someone is struggling with an alcohol issue this “Fun Time” can be one of the worst times.The person feels like they need to join in and have a drink. “Just One Won’t Hurt” say friends… Read more
Key Takeaways Gambling can be very secretive. Someone can place a bet anytime or anywhere. Traditionally a personwould go to a betting shop in the high street or a casino or a racetrack. Today with the use of MobileDevices and the Internet it can be very covert. A gambler places a bet – in an… Read more
The UK and Europe are watching football. It’s an exciting time for those football fans and supporters.They love the game and all those BBQ’s and family gatherings with friend’s are a must. No one wants tobe left out. For those with a drink problem, it’s a bad time. Imagine the person struggling with alcohol –… Read more
How many times has someone said to their loved one “Don’t drink so much – just have one drink”. Many say this frustrated that the person seems to have too much to drink once they start – why can’t someone just have one or two – why does it have to be a bottle or… Read more
The clocks are going back soon – Christmas will be here sooner rather than later. The pressure builds on people to over socialise, attend dinner parties, attend friend’s parties, attend business functions and works parties. Christmas and New Years Eve festivities. For those with a problem around drink this time can be miserable. One drink… Read more
A New Year and we all make that promise. I will stop drinking or not drink so much. No more drugs. That’s the last bet I will ever have. I am going to lose 3 stones in weight. That’s the last time I look at pornography. No matter what the addictive behaviour is linked to… Read more
It is difficult to realise the addictive behaviour at first, as it is driven by the accessibility on the internet – as all addictions, use escalates in a very subtle way until the person is preoccupied and obsessed by the ritual of use. Porn and other associated websites are easily available and can be looked… Read more
All addictions are the same in content whether it be:- alcohol, drugs, gambling, sex, internet, gaming, spending, food or relationships. Once a person has become addicted to something then the only way to get clean from that addiction is total abstinence from that addiction. To do that the person will generally need addiction counselling. That’s… Read more
An addiction can be using anything to change the way a person feels. You can use – alcohol, drugs, gambling, sex, pornography, food, exercise, work, spending.To understand if someone has started to use one of the above addictively, I ask them to consider the following: Is what you are using Preoccupying your thoughts? Is what… Read more
January is a time when people make New Year’s resolutions to stop drinking. People wait until January even though their drinking has been problematical for months before. After they start again then drinking quickly escalates back form just one or two drinks at weekends to a drink every day – chaos comes back into their… Read more
Tel. 01483 533808 Email: info@addictioncare.co.uk
