Addiction

LGBTQ+

Addiction

Motivating you to change

There can be huge pressures in society today that create a need to escape and find and sense of connection and safety in very dangerous places. Social media sex/hook-up apps, sex, drugs, alcohol and gambling activity can creep up on you and take over your life. When things get really tough and you lose key relationships, career, money and you feel out of control, you may want to talk to someone about it.

Learn to explore your life, feelings, emotions and the dark areas of your mind that maybe you’ve never really been to before. Therapy can help you access these, often scary places and learn to accept you have a problem, understand it, learn to help yourself and create internal strength and an external support network that can help you get your life back on track.

With high levels of sexual or escapist enjoyment associated with an addiction or other well-rehearsed pattern of behaviour, there can be a huge ambivalence associated with the prospect of changing these behaviours. I can help you understand the nature of this ambivalence and clarify your motivation to change.

Chemsex is an example of the type of out-of-control sexual behaviour that can take over your life very quickly. The use of Crystal Meth, GHB/GBL and Mephedrone, as well as many others, have serious consequences for your mental and physical health. There is often a desire for escape and to create deeper sexual connections with other men, but often the sex and chems experience leads to a purely chemical addiction and the idea of connection to others falls away, leaving you isolated, depressed and alone. Often deep shame and regret follow multiple Chemsex encounters and these only exacerbate feelings of low self-esteem and self-worth.

  • Chemsex taking over your life
  • Watching too much porn online
  • Apps taking up too much time
  • Drugs or alcohol becoming a problem
  • Do you feel sexually compulsive or out-of-control
  • Concerned about what drugs you use
  • Are drugs or alcohol ruining your sex life
Stephen Hanscomb Therapy