Trauma and addiction expert Gabor Matè defines addiction as any behaviour or substance that a person uses to relieve pain in the short term, but which leads to negative consequences in the long term. Without addressing the traumatic root cause of the pain, a person may repeatedly try to stop but will ultimately crave relief and be prone to relapse.
Addiction is a coping mechanism. It is a powerful call to life: the addict has made the brave decision to stay alive in emotional pain because their drug of choice takes the suffering away for a while. Anything can become an addiction: gambling, sex, food, work, social media, drugs.

A study of 121 hard-core addicts in Los Angeles who had repeatedly relapsed, gave one half the usual therapy, and the other half 40-50 sessions of neurofeedback as well. A year later, 77% of those who had neurofeedback were still abstinent, versus 44% of those given therapy only. Neurofeedback gets to the root of the problem: trauma-caused dysregulation.

Read the study here.