Case Study: Addiction

Helping clients set meaningful goals is essential for guiding them towards a healthier and more fulfilling life.  Effective goal setting must begin with understanding a client’s values, motivations, and available resources.  According to Hoeger et al. (2022), successful behavior change requires identifying current habits, environmental influences, and personal barriers, while applying strategies such as goal setting, monitoring progress, and using rewards to reinforce healthy behaviors.

From a Christian perspective, health and wellness extend beyond personal improvement.  Scripture teaches that our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19-20, English Standard Version (ESV), 2001/2016), which reframes wellness as an act of stewardship rather than self-focus.  When clients struggle with discipline or consistency, Galatians 5:22-23 offers encouragement by identifying self-control and perseverance as fruits of the Spirit.  This allows habits to be viewed not only as lifestyle choices but as acts of obedience and worship.

For a client coping with stress through smoking and drinking, it is important to understand that these behaviors often occur automatically or out of habit.  Meaningful change cannot be forced; the client must be willing and ready.  Research shows that addiction is not simply a “lack of willpower.”  Instead, substance use creates physical changes in the brain’s reward, motivation, stress, and decision-making systems (Ferrer-Pérez et al., 2024).  Substances trigger unusually strong dopamine releases, outweighing natural rewards such as social interaction or physical activity, which makes these habits difficult to break.

However, the brain’s plasticity provides hope.  With gradual and intentional behavior modification, individuals can weaken unhealthy neural pathways and strengthen healthier ones.  Hoeger et al. (2022) emphasize that these changes must occur step-by-step rather than through sudden, overwhelming demands.  This is why gathering more information from the client is essential before creating a plan.  Helpful questions include: “How often do you smoke and drink?”, “Do you notice specific days or times when there is an increase of drinking or smoking?”, “what triggers these behaviors?”, and “How do you feel during and after engaging in them?”  Clients often act on habit without reflecting on the emotional or physical consequences – such as guilt, shame, or sluggishness afterward.

Knowing the frequency and triggers of these behaviors allows the coach to design a gradual reduction while helping the client replace harmful responses with healthier alternatives.  Most importantly, the timing of each change must be appropriate to the client’s readiness, ensuring the process feels manageable rather than overwhelming.

Johnny’s brief Case Study (March – August 2023)

Through my coaching experience, I have learned that many clients do not respond well to hearing that their habits are “wrong,” especially when they already know they need to change.  Most clients simply want support, guidance, and a plan that moves them forward without judgement.  This was true for Johnny, a client who began his fitness journey with enthusiasm but also struggled with heavy alcohol use.

Because of his work schedule, Johnny consumed to two beers each day during the week, but binge-drank heavily on weekends – 14 beers across two days, at minimum, not including liquor shared at social gatherings.  When we first started working together, I did not immediately confront his drinking habits.  Instead, the focus was shifted on establishing consistency with training and nutrition for the first six weeks.  As Johnny stayed consistent, he began noticing physical changes, such as increased muscle tone and improved energy.  After seeing his progress through his weekly transformation photos, his motivation and confidence significantly increased, which created an ideal moment to address his alcohol use.

I explained how alcohol affects calorie intake, recovery, and muscle growth, and how binge-drinking slows progress even when training is consistent.  Instead of asking him to quit immediately – which often leads to resistance – we created a gradual, realistic approach.  Rather than consuming 14 beers in two days, Johnny agreed to spread them throughout the week, limiting himself to two beers per day and avoiding liquor.  If he was to miss a day of drinking, that did not excuse to increase the alcohol consumption the next day.  We also adjusted his training schedule.  His original plan had both rest days on the weekend, which increased temptation to drink.  By shifting rest days to Wednesday and Sunday, we replaced one of his typical “drinking days” with a high-accountability workout day.

Within the tenth week of his training plan, Johnny reduced his drinking to about five drinks per week.  He reported feeling guilty when he drank because he could clearly sense how it impacted his performance and recovery.  Between weeks 12 and 14, he no longer craved alcohol and began to view heavy drinking as a barrier to his goals rather than a stress-relief habit.  Johnny still chooses to drink occasionally in social situations, but now only in moderation.

As a coach, I reassured him that moderation is acceptable and that he should not feel shame for enjoying a drink responsibly.  I reminded him of the principle, “you must be control of the alcohol – do not let it control you.”  I also noted the even Jesus drank wine, and His first recorded miracle was turning water into wine (John 2:1-11, ESV, 2001/2016).  Accountability and moderation is key to overcome these negative habits.

Johnny was able to achieve his weight and physique goals four weeks earlier than his end-goal date.  Today, Johnny rarely drinks, has developed healthier coping strategies, and has shifted his social circle toward peop

upportive coaching can produce lasting transformation.

References:

English Standard Bible. (2016). Crossway Bibles. (Original work published 2001)

Ferrer-Pérez, C., Montagud-Romero, S., & Blanco-Gandía, M. C. (2024). Neurobiological Theories of Addiction: A Comprehensive Review. Psychoactives, 3(1), 35-47. https://doi.org/10.3390/psychoactives3010003

Hoeger, W. W. K., Hoeger, S. A., Hoeger, C. I., & Meteer, A. D. (2022). Lifetime Physical Fitness & Wellness: A personalized program. Cengage.