While some people can use prescription or recreational drugs with no negative effects, many others become addicted and face dramatic health and lifestyle problems as a result. Substance addictions negatively affect relationships, home, school or work, leaving the person feeling ashamed, helpless and isolated.

Physical symptoms of substance abuse and addiction are varied depending on the drug of choice, but the symptoms of the addiction itself are similar. People who are addicted to substances may neglect their responsibilities, take potentially dangerous risks and get into trouble with the law. As their drug use spirals out of control, they will lose interest in activities that used to be enjoyable and continue to take drugs despite knowing the harm it causes.

Substance addicts tend to build up a tolerance to their drug of choice, and get angry when they can't get more of it. Withdrawal symptoms are highly probable when an addict goes without it for too long. Depression, nausea, insomnia, sweating, restlessness, anxiety and shaking are all common withdrawal symptoms.

Psychotherapy can help you to overcome substance addiction by focusing on correcting maladaptive behaviors. Substance abuse is usually a coping mechanism against emotionally overwhelming past events or memories. Substances are often used to provide instant gratification instead of facing certain issues.

Therapists are equipped to help clients deal with addiction recovery through empowerment and helping them set simple short term targets. The first target is sobriety, followed by empowering the client with adaptive skills and finding new coping strategies that deal with the issues that caused the addiction. Substance addiction can be ended, allowing the person to live a healthy, productive life.

If you need a counsellor or psychologist to help you address the effects of substance addiction, you can search the directory below to find a professional with the approach best suited to your situation.

Brain injury can cause a many emotional difficulties. It can change the ways in which a person functions emotionally and in the way he or she expresses emotions. There could be a wide range of emotional difficulties, such as difficulty with controlling mood swings.

While some brain injury victims experience a change in emotions right away, others may take months to show changes in the way they behave. Some people with brain injuries will experience quick and intense emotional changes, but they will calm down again quickly. Alternatively, they may experience emotional lability, or severe mood swings.

These behavioural changes are sometimes the result of damage to the emotional center in the brain. There is not always a specific trigger that causes the sudden emotional response in the patient, and that can be very confusing for loved ones. They will often take the blame for the sudden outbursts on themselves, thinking that they did something to upset the patient. In some cases, the person might express emotions they don't feel at all, because they are unable to control the emotions they express.

In most cases, symptoms dissipate in the months following the brain injury, allowing the patient to return to more balanced emotional balance. However, people with brain injury and their families have found hope in working closely with a therapists. A therapists who offers brain injury counselling will help establish the cause of emotional changes and reassure the family and friends, while equipping them with better coping skills. A range of therapies can help improve emotional expression in brain injury patients.

If you are looking for a counsellor or psychologist who offers cognitive behavioural therapy or counselling to address your brain injury issues you may want to search the directory to find a professional whose approach will suit you best.