If you are serious about defeating your addiction or properly coping with your mental disorder, one of the first things you should do is think critically about all of the elements that make up your life and determine which ones are contributing to, facilitating or simply triggering your dysfunctional behavior. Addictions and disorders will find footholds to re-enter your life through the chaos and unhealthiness that you associate with. This may be in the form of financial concerns, job and school stress or relationship difficulties.

Financial troubles take a lot out of us, and sap us of energy that we need to keep our heads above the water in other areas of our lives. Financial problems are known to set off addiction tendencies and mental disorder symptoms because financial problems are stress inducing. If your addiction or disorder is repeatedly affected by financial trouble, do whatever you have to do to change your financial life, such as redoing your budget or using the services of a financial adviser.

In a similar sense, the stress that comes with a profession or with schooling can prompt destructive behavior. Jobs and school can apply enormous pressure to perform well, and some people choose to cope with this stress through addiction, or may have an emotional meltdown if they have a disorder. For those whom this applies to, it is very important to strengthen your coping abilities so that your behavior does not turn dysfunctional under the weight of high expectations.

And lastly, when you are having struggles in a personal relationship, whether it is romantic, familial or friendly in nature, stress can be at an all time high. We are in a peaceful state when our relationships are going smoothly, but if they are in turmoil, people with addictions and disorders can be set off. It is important to learn to approach relationships in a healthy manner, with an open heart but also with defined boundaries. This will prevent stress that leads to addiction binges and mental disorder breakdowns.