Blog

When we think about substance use, we often focus on the substance itself. But in my work as a counsellor, I find that a big part of what keeps people stuck is something less visible: the beliefs we develop about what a substance does for us. In this post and the short video below, I use drinking as an example, but the same ideas can apply to many kinds of substance use. How beliefs about drinking develop Many people come to rely on drinking as they form beliefs about how it supports them. Over time, those beliefs can make certain situations feel harder to face without it. Two of the most…

Most of us have a running commentary in our heads, and it tends to get loudest when something goes wrong. For some people that voice is fairly gentle. For others it is harsh, quick to judge, and surprisingly personal. In my work as a counsellor, I often find that the harshest inner voices have roots that go back to childhood. When a mistake becomes an identity Shame-based thinking is what happens when the things we do, or the things that happen to us, start to feel like statements about who we are. The shift is subtle, but it changes everything: "I made a mistake" quietly becomes "I'm a…