Anxiety, Addiction, and the Deep Power of Inner Strength

“Wow! You don’t understand how much I think about this. I think obsessively about how I can become a strong person!”

Moshe (a pseudonym) repeated this line several times during our session. He initially came for help with a relationship issue, mainly stemming from a certain addiction. But when we discussed the medication he takes for his generalized anxiety disorder, I introduced a possible connection between his anxiety and addiction, and how inner resilience plays a central role in both.

When I mentioned emotional strength, he latched onto it immediately: “If you can show me that overcoming the addiction means I’ll also conquer the anxiety and become strong- I’m all in!”

This article was born from his enthusiasm and his desire to understand the link between anxiety, addiction, and inner strength. There’s power in the spoken word, and perhaps even more in the written one. So here it is, in writing.

The Clinical Connection: Anxiety and Addiction

Research clearly demonstrates a link between various types of anxiety disorders and addiction. For instance, Clark and Beck succinctly note that “the presence of an anxiety disorder doubles- or even quadruples- the risk of developing alcohol or substance dependency.” (Frankly, I already see this clearly in practice, but it helps to have scholarly backing.)

For many individuals dealing with both anxiety and addiction, the addiction acts as an escape- a way to momentarily relieve the inner tension and discomfort of anxiety. Of course, there are exceptions where addiction appears before the onset of anxiety, as Clark and Beck acknowledge. Still, in many cases, addiction serves as a coping mechanism for unmanaged anxiety, and this must be acknowledged in treatment.

This insight is critical. If both client and therapist agree that the addiction is an escape from anxiety, it’s ineffective and even harmful to treat the addiction without addressing the anxiety, because the anxiety will continue to trigger the addictive behavior. Unless the root anxiety is managed, the addiction is likely to resurface.

A Shared Root: Emotional Fragility

There’s a deeper point here that allows for even more effective intervention.

Most anxiety disorders (with the possible exception of specific phobias) persist because of distorted or weakened internal strengths. For example, someone with anxiety may experience an overwhelming sense of helplessness and may hold negative beliefs about their ability to cope with difficulties. They often feel unsafe more than the average person and carry other worldview distortions that make facing challenges especially daunting.

In simple terms, someone with an anxiety disorder often has lower emotional resilience than someone without one.

Now, let’s look at people suffering from addiction- even mild forms.

Addiction is usually a form of escape. Many individuals battling addiction lack a deep sense of purpose, which creates a sense of inner emptiness and an emotional void. Their substance or behavior of choice becomes a way to fill that void, however temporarily. The beginning of addiction, in most cases, comes from emotional weakness: an inability or fear to face life’s pain and struggle directly.

They choose the "easy" path, which quickly becomes harmful, instead of the harder, healthier path of dealing with discomfort. The deeper they sink into addiction, the more they reinforce their emotional fragility.

This difficulty in coping with negative emotions of fear, worry, and failure, is a trait often shared by those dealing with both anxiety and addiction.

This is not to suggest that everyone with one condition necessarily has the other. But if a person has both, this common trait of low emotional resilience may be the common thread. If we recognize the shared root, we can treat both more effectively. If we don’t, we risk missing the bigger picture, and progress will be limited.

Building Strength Changes Everything

When a person begins to build emotional strength, it has a ripple effect. Even if the work isn’t targeted directly at anxiety or addiction, it still brings measurable improvements in both.

Of course, without focused therapeutic work on those issues, the change may be modest, but there will still be change.

If a person works on how they view the world, and develops the readiness to confront difficulties (often with the help of a therapist and practical tools), they’ll see positive changes in many areas of life- not only in the one they were aiming to improve.

I’ve seen this time and again. Clients who worked on one specific area of emotional strength suddenly realized their overall quality of life improved- even in ways they hadn’t expected.

Suffering from depression, anxiety, and low mental health? Contact the "Nafshi b'She’elati" department at Hidabrut for guidance at 073-3333331 or by email sarap@htv.co.il