Wendy Hill, Ph.D. Psychotherapy and Hypnotherapy
Top Specialist in San Diego and Encinitas – Individual, Couples, Psychotherapy, Coaching, and Hypnotherapy
All addictions are designed to be comforting…or more accurately, distracting from the uncomfortable feelings rising from the subconscious mind. All addiction is escape from some kind of pain: pain from forgotten or denied childhood conflict, pain from loss, pain from misfortune, poverty, rejection, mistakes made, pain from failure. Some addictive behavior is so effective as … Read more
Our culture has entered into a never before recognized addition. It is the addiction to devices and the information and entertainment they provide. Computers, iPads, and smart phones dominate our attention with the compulsive and often mindless need for talk, email, Facebook, Twitter, applications, games, YouTube, etc. The list is almost endless. The seduction of … Read more
What causes addiction? It doesn’t have to be a mystery. It doesn’t have to be explained in complex psychological language. The explanation of what causes addiction is simple. Here it is: addiction is caused by an on-going attempt to avoid uncomfortable emotions. That’s it in a nutshell. Life is difficult. If we early on learn … Read more
Every addiction has its shame. It’s not just the same of being caught in an addiction, it’s the shame behind the addiction. Laura’s story may help you understand. Laura was addicted to alcohol and pot. She was embarrassed about her addiction and to emotionally protect herself she never admitted that she had a problem until … Read more
Shirley had been given up by he friends and almost by her family. She was so seriously addicted to drugs and alcohol that she had given up on herself. Unconsciously waiting for death Shirley had failed six times in rehab. Each time she left rehab with a determination to stay away from the friends and … Read more