What if?

What if addiction isn’t the problem - but the coping strategy?

Not a good solution.

Not a safe one.

But a solution nonetheless.

What is this doing for the person?

• a way to cope

• a way to regulate

• a way to survive

Remove it without understanding why,

that’s where things unravel.

I was sitting by a local lake recently while someone I support went for a swim. We’re pretty spoilt with choices of beautiful spots like this in regional Vic 👌

For them, swimming in fresh water is therapeutic.

Something they’ve identified as a positive coping strategy, meeting the same need for emotional regulation, but safely.

When overwhelm creeps in… the voices get louder…

We get in the car.

Music on.

Open road.

→ Find a quiet lake

→ Jump in

→ Reset

The outcome?

Dysregulated on the way there…

anger, sadness, frustration, confusion.

Calm, grounded, and thinking clearly on the way home relax 😌

So instead of asking:

“Why won’t they stop?”

Try asking:

“What can we put in place that works, without the harm?”

And walk beside them as they change the solution, one day at a time.