Overeating. Drinking alcohol. Watching mindless TV. Gambling.

These are just a few of the ways in which people avoid troubling and painful emotions. As soon as we feel them creeping up, we tend to distract ourselves. It might feel good in the short-term, but what are the long-term costs?

Tune in to discover:

• The difference between immediate and earlier antecedents, and how identifying them can help treat addictions
• The role of prior trauma and anxiety in substance abuse and behavioral addictions
• How quickly behavioral changes can follow from new insights and realizations about triggers
• Whether psychedelic-assisted therapies hold promise for addiction treatment

Nicole Cross, PhD is an associate psychologist with Cognitive Behavior Therapy Associates of Denver, where she focuses on helping people who struggle with substance and behavioral addictions, including anorexia, bulimia, avoidant restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID), pornography, gambling, and alcohol abuse.

"Part of the process is noticing when you have an urge to use those behaviors in order to escape some uncomfortable thought, feeling, or emotion," says Cross. She explains her approach to treatment, which involves developing the right coping skills for the issue at hand, and understanding why certain behaviors—no matter how detrimental—seem impossible to stop or even decrease.

Press play for all the details and learn more at https://cbtdenver.com/.

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Episode also available on Apple Podcasts: http://apple.co/30PvU9