A Struggle with Behavior Addictions

Have you ever wondered if a habit that once helped you cope has quietly started controlling you?

In this episode of Encounters at the Well, we're talking about behavioral addictions and the subtle ways they can take hold of our hearts and minds. From endless scrolling and shopping to binge-watching, emotional eating, and other compulsive behaviors, we explore why we turn to these things and what true freedom looks like through the lens of faith.

Together we'll discuss:

• How to recognize when a coping mechanism has become a captor
• Why behavioral addictions are often rooted in deeper pain, fear, or unmet needs
• The difference between shame and conviction
• How our habits can reveal where we're looking for comfort, identity, and security
• Practical, faith-filled steps toward healing and freedom

The good news is this: God sees your struggle, and He is not intimidated by it. You are not too far gone, too broken, or too stuck. Freedom doesn't begin with shame. It begins with honesty, surrender, and allowing Jesus into the places you've been hiding.

If you've ever felt trapped by habits you can't seem to break, this conversation is for you.

Grab your coffee, open your heart, and join us at the well as we discover that the only Master worth trusting is Jesus, and the freedom He offers is greater than anything holding you back.

#EncountersAtTheWell #FreedomInChrist #ChristianWomen #FaithOverFear #BehavioralAddiction #MentalHealthAndFaith #HealingJourney #IdentityInChrist #BreakingChains #JesusHeals

Website:  www.hopeandhealinglifecoach.com

Email:  amydonathan@hopeandhealing.faith

Transcript

Amy Donathan: Hey friends and welcome back to Encounters at the Well. I'm Amy Donathan, your host, and I am so glad you're here as always. If you've been following this mental health and inner struggle series, you know we've been talking about stuff that Christian women actually struggle with and not just the stuff that we feel safe putting in our prayer requests to each other. We've already talked about depression and anxiety. My daughter Allie came on and she talked about her struggle with depression and anxiety and where God was in that. And I am so thankful she had the courage to come on and tell her real story. And we also talked last week about substance addictions and the the ones that we always think of first, like alcohol and drugs, like all of the big things. But today we're gonna talk about something that's even sneakier than that, and something that you probably would never check yourself into rehab for, but it might be running more of your life. then you realize we're talking about behavioral addictions. And before you check out and say, I don't have a have an addiction. I really love my phone, my Amazon, my late night snacks. Just hang with me. And let me ask you a few questions. Have you ever said just one more episode and then Netflix asked you if you were still alive? Have you ever sworn you were cutting back on scrolling? And then somehow your thumb opened Instagram before your brain even woke up, and you're hours and hours later after you said that. Have you ever thought, I can't believe I spent that much again, and did it the next weekend too? If you're Nodding your head, this episode might be for you. So today we're going to talk about what behavioral addictions actually are, the common ones that us Christian women deal with, actually, all women deal with, why we run to them in the first place, how to tell if it's a bad habit or if it's something more, and most importantly, What hope and freedom in Jesus can look like for you if you deal with these. So let's dive in. And let's start with a simple question. What exactly is a behavioral addiction? Because when we hear addiction, we usually think like alcohol and drugs and maybe nicotine, but those are substance addictions, and that's what we talked about in the last episode. And behavioral addictions are different, and they are also a little bit more socially socially acceptable. And they're not about a substance. They're about a behavior that com becomes compulsive in our life, meaning like we feel the need to do this. And it becomes controlling because we do things around these behaviors. And in clinical language, behavioral addictions are patterns where a person repeatedly engages in a behavior that feels rew rewarding in the moment, even though it could be causing them harm, and they struggle to cut back or stop it. So instead of being hooked on a chemical, you're hooked on a click, a swipe, a purchase, a show, a fantasy. Things like the rush that you get when you add items to your online cart. The comfort numbness of late night snacking, the validation from likes and comments on social media, and the escape of binge bench watching or gaming. And from a mental health health perspective, it looks like this. You feel a strong urge to do the behavior. You get some relief or pleasure when you do it. And over time you need more and more of it to get that same feeling. And when it starts causing problems, you still keep doing it. And sometimes it gets to the level that you feel that you have to hide it. Now let's layer this and look at it through a biblical lens because that ⁓ really matters. Because it explains it so well. Because the Bible uses these words like bondage and slavery and idolatry. And Christian writer writers talk about the addiction as a kind of worship disorder. Worship meaning we give our hearts slowly slowly to this thing over time, we give our affection, and we trust something with making us feel better other than God. So we wouldn't probably use the word worship when we talk about our phone or our Amazon cart, but look at what gets our first attention, our repeated attention. And what we run to for comfort and what it feels and the things that it feels like we can't live without. All of that language is the language of worship. So if we put it all together, you might say behavioral addiction is when a behavior becomes a master and we start turning to it like a savior for relief, for comfort, for identity, instead of turning to Jesus. And I know this is not. Fun to hear, but when we bring it to the light, it is so freeing. It has a name and it can be dealt with. So let's look at some of the big behavioral addictions or near addictions that I have seen again and again through women who walk through my therapy door. One, social media and phone addiction. Social media addiction is actually recognized as a type of behavioral addiction that can really impact mental health and relationships when it gets out of control. It can look like when you constantly check your phone, even though you just did it 30 seconds ago. Feeling anxious, irritated, or kind of itchy because you're in a place and you can't look at your phone. Scrolling to avoid emotions. Tasks or awkward silences. And then comparing your real life to everyone else's highlight reels. Because remember, on social media, you're seeing just the small snapshot of what people are putting out there. And you're taking that one snapshot that may look great, and you are comparing it to your entire life: the good, the bad, and the ugly, and you think that you are lacking. When I can tell you that that person that's just putting that snapshot out there has good, bad and ugly in their life also. And think about what is the first thing that you reach for in the morning? Is it your phone? Is it your Bible? Is it a prayer? What do you think about first as soon as you wake up? Do you think about who texted you during the night? What emails came through? What's social media media doing? And I'm not saying this to be super spiritual, like you should automatically grab your Bible. I'm just saying what gets your first attention? What is the first thing that pops into your mind that you can't even get up and go to the bathroom before you check? And so we feel hooked to our phones, but it's also so draining to have that constant all the time information coming in, and it's information that can either make you feel good or feel bad. so number two is online shopping and compulsive spending. And this addiction to compulsive buying or online shopping is a big one because pretty socially acceptable. But it is not. I bought that Q Top because it was on sale. It's more like shopping to soothe your emotions. Hiding packages or downplaying what you bought to your husband, feeling guilty or anxious after you buy things, and sometimes it causes financial stress from repeatedly spending on things that you didn't mean to buy. Therapists describe compulsive shopping as spending excessive time browsing and buying, feeling out of control and using purchases to help you cope. with stress or sadness. So in other words, what started as retail therapy can turn into retail bondage when it starts controlling your life. Number three, food and emotional eating. Now I am a foodie. I love food. It is a gift from God. In the Bible, food is talked about everywhere. There's always meals and And get togethers where people are eating in the Bible and and so it is a gift from God. But when we use food as a way to numb emotions, reward ourselves for surviving the day, or comfort for our anxiety and loneliness, it turns from the prayer of give us this day our daily bread to give me this evening my daily ice cream because my feelings are too much and I deserve it. four, streaming, gaming, and content binging. We live in a world where entire seasons of shows exist to be de devoured in two days. Which isn't a problem in and of itself. It becomes a problem when we do this regularly, when we have hours of our days that disappear because we're streaming a show, we're gaming, we're on TikTok or Instagram or Facebook. When our responsibilities and our relationships suffer, when we put it above those relationships and our responsibilities, when you feel flat, bored, or irritated without that constant entertainment, when you turn it off, just the the urge to go and turn it on again because you feel that you need it. These shows, this gaming, this content, like TikTok and Instagram, they aren't evil. It's doing those things. The streaming, the gaming, the going through Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, when that becomes your primary coping mechanism, instead of going to God or a healthy connection, that's when it becomes a problem. Number five, and this is the one that man hides in the dark the most. And I think one that we don't think that women deal with, but as a therapist, I can tell you that women have come into my office having dealt with this, and it is one of the most shameful things. ⁓ they think it's one of the most shameful shameful things that they could ever do, and that is porn, erotica, and fantasy life. ⁓ and we don't talk about Christian women women having to deal with it, but but it's there. And so because it is such a shame filled thing, and we don't talk about it, it's what hides in the dark the most and what can grow the most and what we can keep hidden. So porn and sexual behavior can function as behavioral addictions. And they are secret and they do escalate, and you get in these cycles of shame. And like I'll never do it again, followed by another fall. Because what we do that makes us feel better, we can't undo those and not feel those things. So our mind goes back to that. ⁓ and for some women it's explicit porn, and for others, it's erotic novels. Certain Instagram accounts, a fantasy life fed on steady diet of romance and lust. And this is not to shame you. This is something in your life that is causing bondage because porn, when you watch porn, it's never enough. And like the rest of these are the same way. It's never enough. So you just keep doing it and you keep doing it. this part is not as socially acceptable as the other things, it's what gets hidden the most. So it's the things, it's this thing that we don't talk about that doesn't get dealt with the most and causes the most problems because it just keeps escalating and building. And so this is not a men only issue. And we need to talk about it. So the next question is not what are we doing, but why are we doing these things? Why are we going through these behaviors to numb things out, to not deal with our emotions? And there's a few layers that kind of explain like where we are. So the first one is the brain and body layer. And when we scroll and buy and eat and binge or watch something exciting, our brain gets this little hit of hit of pleasure or relief. And behavioral addictions can activate your brain's reward systems in a similar way that substances do. And so when you do these things, the brain says, ⁓ that felt good. Let's do it again next time we're stressed. And that's what I meant before by when we do things, we can't just forget that it felt good. Our brain remembers that and it doesn't know good from bad. And so it's like this was a thing that made us feel good, so let's do it again. And it doesn't matter that. It's not good for you. It's just your brain knows that it felt good, so that's what you should do. And over time of doing that over and over again, it becomes like a well-worn path in your brain. You feel bored, stressed, lonely, anxious, and your brain automatic automatically says, phone, food, cart, show, and now. Do it now. And then we have an emotional layer. Research links things like compulsive shopping and social media use to attempts to cope with stress, anxiety, and low mood. Ever been there? I have. And so but so often like this behavior is not the real problem. Like we can shop, we can look on social media. That is not the problem. It's the behavior of doing it compulsively. needing it. And that behavior, it just kind of like puts a band-aid over the real problem because we're trying to avoid things like grief or loneliness in our marriage and friendships or anxiety that we're afraid to feel or trauma that is still there that we have never processed through. And so the behavior of scrolling or shopping just kind of numbs that out. It gives us something else to look at and to focus on instead of dealing with. The real problem. And we need to do that. We need to process these things with God and with safe people and not just numb and distract ourselves. And then there's the spiritual and heart layer. And we talked about this before. Addiction is like a worship issue because it's it's where your attention goes, it's how you order your world. It's what you think about doing all the time. And it's a thing that you are worshiping. And this doesn't mean that you're a terrible sinner and you just need to try harder. Because that's not gonna work. You cannot fix this on your own. It means that our hearts are always looking for comfort, security, control, identity, and escape sometimes. And if we're not actively and intentionally going to Jesus for those needs. We will go f for some go somewhere else, whether that's substances or all of these behavioral things that we talked about. An addiction is what happens when that somewhere else begins to own us. It controls our mind, what we think about, how we behave, how we order our life. And we used to control it and it now controls us. So they're not just these behavioral addictions are not just quirky habits, bad habits. They are often deeply tied to pain, fear, and misplaced worship. And I can I can tell you that. ⁓ my sweet mama, when we were putting her on hospice and we all had a had a meeting together with the hospice nurses, who if you're a hospice nurse listening, you are an angel. ⁓ the hospice nurses were so great to my mom. And my mom could not listen to that. She was in the room but she didn't listen to it. So she got on t her tablet and she she started looking at Facebook or playing a game or something. And I'll remember that and I will always remember one of the nurses went over and sat and talked to my sweet mama to help her ⁓ process this and help her just just talk to her about anything and and and so we do that when when things are heavy and when things are big, we go to things. That help us not focus on those, not deal with those. And I can tell you that God was there in that room that day and sent that nurse to my mom because he cares about that. Because he knows what we deal with. And he knows that anywhere apart from him is not going to be healthy for us. And it's not going to be good for us. That's how he sees your addiction. Not that you're bad. But he knows that that is not gonna heal you. It's only gonna hurt you. And so moving on, ⁓ you might be wondering, okay, but how do I know if this is actually an addiction or something I would just like to do less? So here's a simple self self-check based on what us clinicians look for. So you this is not for you to diagnose yourself on my podcast. ⁓ you should not do that. That is only for ⁓ somebody who is licensed. But this will help you pick up on the things that hit home. So you can say, I think I do have a problem and go talk to somebody. So ask yourself about one behavior thinking of right now, whether it's social media, shopping, food, shows, porn, whatever it is, and ask yourself these five questions. Does this behavior dominate my time or thoughts? So, do you find yourself thinking about it a lot, planning your day around it, or defaulting to it whenever there's a spare moment? Like it is what fills all of your spare moments. Number two, have you tried to cut back, but you keep slipping back into that behavior? Not, I just want to do it less, but I've made rules or promises to myself and I still break them. Number three, is it causing problems in my life? So are your relationships, finances, Work, physical health, mental health, or spiritual health, are they struggling because of this behavior? Have any of your loved ones, any people that care about you, have they commented on your behavior or complained about it? ⁓ do I feel anxious, irritated, or low when I can't do this thing? So do you get restless or moody if you can't check your phone, buy something, watch a show, or eat a food? Number five. Do I need more time? Do I need more over time to feel the same? So are you finding yourself doing this behavior more and more and more or spending more money or more explicit content just to get that same relief? So if you said yes to several of those, this is likely more than a quirky habit. But it doesn't mean that you are beyond hope. It means that you're a prime candidate for God's freedom and for wise intentional help. And so find those people to talk to. And I want you to hear this clearly, okay? God is not looking at you saying, why can't you just stop? You know my word. You know what I tell you to do. You know what I tell you not to do. Why can't you just listen to it and stop? He's actually looking at you saying, I see these chains on you. And I know how much they are holding you down. And I came to set captives free. That's what he's saying. He wants you to turn to him to help him take those chains off. He does not expect you to do it on your own before you even come to him. So let's talk about that, that hope in Christ and some tangible steps, because as a therapist, I like to give skills. So here's four simple moves that you can start making. They are not magic. As much as people think that therapists have a magic wand that you come in and sit with us for an hour and we, you know, wave it over you and you go out totally different. That's not what it is. But these things, these moves that you will have to practice with Jesus and community will help you get to where you want to be. And so, number one, and we have talked about this in past episodes, name it. Addiction and Satan love secrecy and love to minimize things. So you may call it, this is just my little thing, it's just how I unwind. But you know. in your heart that it's more. You know that you're doing things to cover up other stuff. So just call it what it is. God already knows, but He needs you to recognize it. And so call it what it is. Like I'm using social media to numb my feelings, to not deal with something. I'm turning to shopping for comfort. I am addicted to porn. When you do something over and over again, it's like what we talked about before, it becomes worship. And then that becomes a stronghold in your life that is really hard to take out. It but it's not impossible. So hear me there. It is not impossible to take out. But it makes it harder when we do something over and over and over again, and that becomes our go-to thing. And so here's a prayer that you can pray when you want to confess this and name it to God. Lord, I confess I've been running to this behavior instead of you. It feels comforting. But it's become my master. And I want freedom, even if I'm scared of what that looks like. So number two, invite God into the why, not just the what you're doing, but why you're doing it. It would we think it would be great if God would just remove the behavior and not make us deal with the pain that caused the behavior. But addiction always points us towards what's going on in our heart and our fears and wounds and lies and our misplaced identity that and they just feed the cycle. So when you feel yourself reaching for your phone again, numbing out, watching a Netflix show, going to porn, ask yourself, what am I really looking for when I do these things? When I put things in my cart, when I need feel like I need to go eat that, or when I want to look at that site. And then say, what emotion am I avoiding? What am I trying not to deal with? And what lie am I believing about God? or about myself that is causing me to go here. So you might discover that you're not just addicted to scrolling. You're addicted to avoiding loneliness. You're not just addicted to buying. You're addicted to the feeling of being worth something for five minutes. Because it makes you feel good that you're able to do that. And friend, let me tell you that God is gentle with us. He is so gentle with us. But he is also very, very honest with us too. He loves us too much to lie to us. And so let him come in. He knows you. He knows what you need to be able to deal with this behavior. He knows what help you need. And it will look different than somebody else's. But he knows you so well. And he's going to give you exactly what and who you need to be able to get past this behavior. And to be who he calls you to be, to live the life and do the things that he calls you to do. That these behaviors, these addictions are holding you back. Number three, bring it into community and support. And ⁓ my gosh, this for me would be the scariest one because I don't want anybody to know that that I do these things. I you know, I don't want anybody to know how much I'm on my phone. I don't want anybody to know that I spent four hours watching movies or watching a Netflix show. Like I don't want people to know that. I want them to know the me they see at church all the time. But I'm not perfect. And so sometimes I do go to my phone for that. And so bringing it into community and support is really scary because we don't want people to see that see that in us. But I can promise you that a lot of people have us. We are not alone. probably whoever you're sitting with in in your row at church or people you pass in the grocery store or people that you look up to, they probably have something that they that they deal with. But when you bring it to people that you trust that God has put in your life and you have that community, you find freedom because freedom is found in confession and accountability and discipleship and that caring support you get from community and if you have a good community they will love you and see your addiction the same way God sees your addiction not as something to punish but something that you need help with and so who are some people or community that you can go to a friend a trusted friend one that will tell you the truth gently a mentor a small group leader a Christian counselor there are groups and programs that address your specific struggle. And a quick Google search will help you find those online. And there are Christian programs and clinics that deal with social media addiction, porn, compulsive shopping, and they give you faith and evidence-based treatment. So a quick Google search will help you find what you need. And going deeper and and bringing this to the light is not a sign of weak faith. Bringing it to God is not a sign that you're weak. Because you couldn't do it on your own. It is actually a sign of faith because you're taking it to somebody who can help you fix it. That is faith. You take things to people that you believe can help you. And so taking it to God and saying, God, I can't. I can't quit on my own is a sign of faith, of your faith in what He can do. And number four, create practical boundaries that honor God. We need boundaries in our life. And we need friends that help us keep those boundaries. Number four, create practical boundaries that honor God. And sometimes freedom needs boundaries because we can't just cold turkey quit things a lot of times. So if we're talking about social media, there are app limits and there are timers. Sometimes I'm really happy that I run out of lives on some games because then it makes me stop. ⁓ take one day off a week from social media. Or take a week off. You can start small, you can take an evening off. Charge your phone outside your bedroom so it's not the first thing that you pick up. Or pray before you open an app. Lord help me use this, not be used by it. For shopping, practice a 24-hour wait before buying non-essential things. I can tell you that. I've gone through stores many times and put stuff in my car and then said I don't need it and taken it out of my cart. Not that I'm perfect and not that I don't always that the Amazon guy's not gonna stop and check on me if he doesn't deliver one day. That could happen. ⁓ but but because sometimes I can get there and say, you know what, I don't need this. I'm gonna put it back. Unsubscribe from marketing emails. We are, you know, our mailboxes used to be full and now it's our Email inbox that gets full of all these marketing things. Hit unsubscribe. Delete shopping apps for a season. You don't have to delete it forever, but once you have things in place, delete until until you have things in place, delete it for a season. Ask a friend to help hold you accountable to a budget. And being a therapist and giving my my clients homework. Sometimes they they do the homework because they don't want to come back to me and say they didn't do it. And when we have friends that hold us accountable, it's the same concept. I don't want to let my friends down. I work out most mornings because I don't want to let my friend down. I'm and I'm not saying that I don't lay in bed and hope that she texts me and says, I can't work out today, because that happens most every morning. But I don't want to let her down, so I do the thing. I work out. for food. Plan and snacks instead of emotional lead eating. So make your list with your meals and healthy snacks. Go to the store and get them. And that at least if you go in and you snack, it will be more healthy things. And if you don't have something, it will give you a chance to think about why you're in there. ⁓ Notice those emotional triggers and then journal or pray before heading to your pantry. Talk to a counselor or a nutrition-informed professional if you if you need that, if you don't know how to do that. ⁓ there are some really good counselors and some ⁓ life coaches out there that that can help you if you have like a bad relationship with food and you're using it for these kinds of things. For porn or sexual content, There are filters and there is accountability software. remove easy access wherever you can seek like specialized groups or a counselor to hold you accountable because again a lot of times our motivation for stopping something is because we don't want to let somebody else down and in the beginning that is a really good way to like get it started but this fight this porn and sexual content fight man this is a hard one to fight by yourself The other ones, it is great to have people in your corner too, I'm not saying that, but porn and sexual content seem to be so invasive and so mind altering that it is almost impossible to fight this one. But none of these boundaries are your savior. They just create a space for you to turn to Jesus instead of the behavior in the moments that you want to turn to him. And what I would say about these these boundaries in light of scripture is Proverbs Proverbs 16, 9. The man of a mind plans his the man the mind of a man plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps. So Walk into these boundaries and say, This is what this is what I want to do, Lord. Here they are. Show me. Show me what I need to keep. Show me what I need to to add. Show me what I need to get rid of. And let Jesus walk next to you through these help. Let Him help you on this path. ⁓ as we wrap up I wanted talk to the woman who has listened to this and realized this is me and I feel ashamed. So here are these words from the Bible. Romans 8.1. There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. If you know Jesus, there is no condemnation for you because you deal with an addiction. No condemnation. Not because you're gonna get it together. But because you belong to Jesus, there's no condemnation. There may be conviction. And we talked before about the difference between conviction and shame. And conviction is God saying, I see this. I see you, daughter. I see that you are dealing with this and I want to help you. Please turn to me and come to me. So conviction is not to Tell you that all the things that you're doing bad and all the ways that that God is disappointed in you. It's more like a father to a daughter saying, I want to help you turn to me. So conviction will bring you towards Jesus. Condemnation and shame take you away from Jesus. It makes you want to hide. And so when you are going through these and you feel that you want to hide. Know that that's not true, especially if you are in Jesus. If you know Jesus, condemnation is not a thing that comes from him. Conviction will make you want to give it to him. And please know that God is not surprised by this behavior. He sees your pattern, but he also sees the pain underneath it. And he loves you right there. He doesn't want you to fix it before you come. He doesn't want you to get it all together before you turn to him and say, Okay, I'm ready. He says, right there, where you are, that's where I want you. That's where I'm going to meet you. And that's where I'm going to help you. And also no, they don't appear that these addictions, these behavioral addictions or even substance addictions, they don't disappear in one day. You don't say, Okay, I'm gonna get help, I have all these boundaries in, and it's gonna be gone. Because they've been a part of your life for a long time and they started with you trying to cope or trying to survive or trying to feel okay. And you have to get to a place where you have good coping mechanisms, where you are no longer in a survival mode. And where you are confident that you are the joy set before Jesus and why he went to the cross because that's where your worth is and not in anything else that you do. And so that takes time. And so after this episode, if this has touched your heart and you say this is me and I don't want it to be me anymore I want you to do this. Take five quiet minutes with God and name that behavior. And then ask him to show you the why underneath. And this is going to be hard because we numb it, so we don't have to worry about the why. But show him the why because once you know the why, once you know that lie that you're believing or the lie that you're living that's causing you to do this behavior, you can get rid of that. And then ask him, Lord, what is one next step you want me to take toward freedom? And maybe it will be reaching out to a friend. Maybe it's making that appointment with a counselor. Maybe it's telling your husband or your mentor. Or maybe it's deleting an app or setting up a filter. And don't try to do it all at once. Just take the next step. Take those five minutes with him and ask him these questions. And I promise you that he will come alongside you and show you exactly the right way to go. He will bring people in your life. He will bring groups in your life to help you to overcome this. So you are not too far gone. You are so deeply loved, and it hurts God's heart to see you struggle with this. And the same Jesus who met the woman at the well in her messy, messy story, is not afraid of your browser history or your Amazon history or your just one more episode history. He comes to you with the truth that he is the one that can satisfy you. He is the one that can help you with the pain. Not all of the things that we try. So please pray with me. Dear Jesus, I thank you for today. I thank you for the women who are listening to this, Lord. And Lord, if there is one woman here that is listening and doesn't know you, Lord, I just pray that you just reach her, Lord. Help her to see that the only way to overcome her grief and her anguish and her hurt and her trauma is through you. That you see her. She is your joy. You went to the cross for her, and all she has to do is turn to you. She has to know, and she already knows that she is a sinner. But help her to see that what you did on the cross covers all of that and help her come to you, Lord. Put people in her path that will talk about you and show her who you really are. And for the woman. Who is listening to this, who sees herself in all that we talked about, I pray that you just help her to let go of the shame, to bring this addiction to light, to find the people that she can trust, to talk to about it, to get help for it. Because once she does that, she will be unstoppable for you. When we stay hidden, because we are ashamed. We cannot do the work that you have us to do. and live the abundant life that you have us to live. And so I just pray for her that she lets it go and she turns to you and she trusts that you will put the right people and programs in her life. And I just thank you so much for all that you have done. And I pray excitedly and expectedly for all that you are going to do. And I pray these things in your name. So thank you for joining me today. If this episode resonated with you please hit that like button. And share it with a friend who might need to hear that she is not alone. And I will see you next time.