understanding addiction: how to overcome it

It's natural to feel a range of emotions when struggling with addiction. One of the most challenging can be forgiving yourself for the mistakes you've made along the way. But it's important to remember that addiction is a disease, not a choice, and you’re not defined by your past actions. Instead, you deserve to be kind to yourself and to recognise the strength it takes to face your struggles head-on.

Forgiving yourself is a process, but by acknowledging your mistakes, learning from them, and focusing on your recovery, you can let go of shame and guilt and move forward with hope and resilience. Remember, you are worthy of healing and growth, and there is no shame in seeking the support you need to forgive yourself and reclaim your life.

Often to overcome addiction, you’ll be supported in confronting the factors and triggers that may have emerged due to your behaviour, like debt, legal, health, or relationship difficulties.

A necessary (and understandably daunting) aspect of addiction recovery is withdrawal. Depending on the level of addiction, you may find it better to spend time under the care of medical professionals, especially if you feel a dependency on your addictive substance or behaviour.

During treatment, when your dopamine boost no longer hits you like before, the brain will rebel and signal pain to urge us to seek relief. This is known as withdrawal symptoms.

Over time, your negative feelings, discomfort and distress from withdrawal will fade. Instead, it can be replaced by the pleasure of your healthier activity or behaviour choice.

Once you have familiarised yourself with your triggers, you can work through your daily routine and understand where the temptation begins. Your environment can significantly impact your recovery and help when choosing a healthy coping mechanism instead of old temptations. Your environment may include your home, work, social settings, or the people you are around.

What can help overcome addiction is the normalising of your challenges. Official support groups, which may be found either locally or online, can be a great place to hear others' difficulties and, in turn, help you accept yours. These groups offer a wealth of wisdom and a network of supportive people where you can relearn social contact and honesty in a non-judgmental space.

We support past and present members of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales (ICAEW), ACA students, ICAEW staff members, and the family and carers of members and students. 

1. No matter where your career takes you, past and present members of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England Wales (ICAEW) are eligible for caba’s services for life, even if you change your career and leave accountancy 
2. ACA students (ICAEW Provisional Members) who are either an active student or have been an active student within the last three years are eligible for caba's services 
3. Past and present staff members of the ICAEW or caba are eligible for caba's services for life, even if you leave either organisation. Please note, for former employees, our financial support is only available to those who have had five years continuous employment with either organisation 
4. Family members and carers of either an eligible past or present ICAEW member, ACA student or past or present employee of the ICAEW or caba are eligible for caba's support. We define a family member as a: 
   1. spouse, civil partner or cohabiting partner 
   2. widow, widower or surviving civil partner who has not remarried or cohabiting with a partner 
   3. divorced spouse or civil partner who has not remarried or cohabiting with a partner 
   4. child aged up to 25. Please note, children aged between 16 and 25 are not eligible for individual financial support 
   5. any other person who is dependent on the eligible individual supporting them financially or are reliant on the eligible individual’s care 
   6. any other person on whom the eligible individual is reliant, either financially or for care 

You can find out more about our available support both in the UK and around the world on our support we offer page and by using our interactive eligibility tool. 

If you need financial support, we carry out a means test where we consider income, expenditure, capital and assets.  

*Please note none of our other services are means-tested. 

Unfortunately not. We only support past and present ICAEW members, their carers and their families. If we are unable to support you, where possible we will point you to help elsewhere.

We understand that circumstances change. If we’ve helped you in the past there’s no reason why we can’t help you again. You can contact us at any time. Please call us if you need our help.