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Behavioral Addiction


When willpower is not enough…

When you keep doing the same things over and over without success…

When you are considering giving up…

STOP!

You can eliminate the urges and cravings that power your addictive and compulsive behaviors!

When the desire for the behavior is eliminated, the behavior disappears. Gambling smoking spending overeating , and overindulgence in sexual activity can all return to normal levels of enjoyment by unlinking the feeling states from the behavior.

A feeling state is created when we have an intense desire for a particular feeling - such as being a winner, a grown up, belonging, powerful, social, etc. - and we have an intense, positive experience in which that desired feeling is achieved. This intense desire added to the intense positive experience can create a feeling state. After this event, we have only to repeat the behavior to experience the desired feeling state.

Addictive and compulsive behaviors can be treated by unlinking feeling states from a behavior such as gambling, smoking, and overindulgence in sex or food. The real need is for more healthy desires and not destructive ones. Specific feelings are the real goal of an addiction or compulsion, not the addiction or compulsion itself. Urges and cravings simply signal the desire for the feelings that are now unfortunately overly connected to the behavior.

Any feeling can be linked to any behavior.

The intrinsic pleasure in any behavior is rarely the motivation for over participation in that activity. The compulsion, urges, and cravings to repeat the activity come from an effort to experience particular feeling states connected to the behavior. Any behavior can become attached to any feeling state.


That connection can be eliminated and Dr. Taylor specializes in assisting with doing so using a modified EMDR treatment called FSAP.

What is EMDR?

EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is a therapeutic approach developed in the late 1980s by Francine Shapiro, Ph.D., for the treatment of emotional distress resulting from disturbing and traumatic life experiences.

Prior to EMDR, it was widely assumed that healing from emotional trauma was a lengthy process occurring over months or even years. Dr. Shapiro theorized that through a process of accelerated information processing, the brain could actually access and process blocked emotional material much faster. Just as the body strives for physical healing from wounds it suffers, the brain strives for healing from emotional wounds.

EMDR, through a process of alternating stimulation via eye movements, tapping, or sound, appears to activate our own natural information processing system and to unblock formally unprocessed disturbing or traumatic material that now negatively affects a person’s life.

What is FSAP?

FSAP (Feeling State Addiction Protocol), developed by Robert Miller, Ph.D., is a modified EMDR approach. It uses a series of alternating simulations to activate a system of accelerated information processing focusing on positive, sought after feelings, as well as some of the more negative cognitions often acquired as a result of overindulgence in some activity.

How long does it take?

It is not unusual for a person to experience some change following the first or second session. However, the length of treatment is dependent upon several factors:

  • How many feeling states are attached to the unwanted behavior
  • How many addictions are present
  • How much damage a person has experienced as a result of the addiction/compulsion

Who can benefit from FSAP?

Addiction has often been defined as engaging in any activity or behavior which is causing difficulty in our family or our work. Whether we are overdoing something such as gambling and racking up debt, obsessively shopping and racking up debt, overeating and creating dangerous weight issues, smoking and creating dangerous health issues, or being over engaged in or over focused on sexual issues, we likely can benefit from FSAP therapy.

The urges and cravings we experience are not the feelings we want. Often, we are not fully aware of the true feelings we’re actually seeking.

Substance addictions such as alcohol present greater challenge because the substance itself can create its own feeling state which must be addressed along with the feeling states that drove the initiation of the addiction. FSAP has shown to be beneficial in helping treat these behaviors.