Compulsive Behaviours | Addiction & Dependence | Counselling

Compulsive behaviours are behaviours that a person is compelled to do rather than chooses to do. Acts that are done compulsively are performed because the person feels they need to perform them.
A well-known example of compulsive behaviour is obsessive-compulsive disorder, which is an anxiety disorder that causes repetitive and obsessive patterns of behaviour. Most people recognise that obsessive-compulsive disorder is a serious disease and would not dream of accusing a sufferer of lacking willpower or acting anti-socially.

 

Unfortunately, far fewer people are aware that addiction is also an instance of compulsive behaviour, and that addicts need treatment, not punishment.
Addicts continue to take substances or perform actions that are harmful to themselves and to others even though they know they would be better off if they did not do these things. Compulsive behaviours cannot simply be controlled through an act of willpower.

 

If compulsive behaviours cannot be controlled should addicts give up and not even try to change? On the contrary: with the right treatment, addiction can be overcome.
Managing compulsive behaviour involves treating the causes of that behaviour. A therapist would not tell someone who washes his hands compulsively to simply change his behaviour.

 

Rather, a course of treatment would be recommended to deal with the anxiety causing the habitual action.

 

Addiction is the same.

 

While cessation is an important first step in managing addiction, a programme of treatment is needed to address the emotional problems that lead to compulsive behaviours.
It is also important for addicts to learn practical alternatives to help manage their lives without resorting to compulsive behaviours. Addicts need to learn that there are other, non-harmful, coping mechanisms to deal with the pressures of everyday life.

 

Oasis Counselling Centre is an addiction treatment centre located in Plettenberg Bay, South Africa. Oasis provides a professional addiction recovery programme designed to address the root causes of compulsive behaviours.