'When I beat my addiction, I thought everything would improve. It was just the beginning.'

For Jane Turner, it started when she was 10 years old.

"I began using food to calm myself and push my emotions away," the 62-year-old author told Mamamia. "I'd steal money and nick down to the shops to get extra food.

"I might get two family blocks of chocolate, then a huge packet of chips, and then it would become more and more and more. I was essentially eating to numb myself. I'd get to the stage where I just have to lie down. That's how far it went."

Then, when Jane entered adolescence and noticed she had gained weight, it was as though she had "flipped a switch" in her brain.

"I would then go into starvation mode and eat really, really small amounts. Then, of course, the body would kick in, and I'd think to myself, 'I'll just get a bit of cheese or whatever'. That would lead to the next binge. I used to flip between these two states that were both incredibly unhealthy."

Lester Morse's addiction story came later. But his vice wasn't food.

"In addiction, your thinking becomes so narrow, and the torment of being trapped in your mind is unbearable," he told Mamamia. "It's hard to explain unless you've been in that state of mind. 

"My mind was closed and not capable of handling the full weight of reality without the numbing effects of alcohol and drugs."

Watch: Jackie O opens up about drug addiction. Post continues after video.

Seeking help.

Eventually, Jane came to realise that her relationship with food wasn't healthy. And she sought therapy.

"I started on this big healing journey, and I thought I wouldn't have the problem with food. But it wasn't the case, because by that time all my neural networks were wired up."

It wasn't until Jane wrote down the words "binge-eating disorder" in her book, Thrive in Midlife, that the author truly let them sink in.

But it was a conversation with Lucy, her then-14-year-old daughter, and her friends, which prompted Jane's "biggest bit of healing".

As they chatted, Jane said, the words "just sort of came out of [her] mouth".

"I said, 'What I want you girls to know is that there's nothing so broken or so shameful or so unlovable about you that you can't love yourself and know that other people will love you as well,'" Jane recalled. "It was actually the 14-year-old girl in me who needed to hear that the most. And that moment, that was the biggest piece of healing I think I've ever had."

At the age of 25, Lester also sought help, and entered an Alcoholics Anonymous program. 

"I began my spiritual journey, it gave me something more positive to focus on," he told Mamamia.

"One day at a time, through the program, the people, and the spiritual tools I was learning, my mind began to re-develop the capacity to live in the real world. We call this 'crossing the bridge', but first, you have to build it."

The next addiction.

Jane moved on in her life, still — she said — "without a great relationship with food".

"But I don't binge and starve. I'm not the same person. I really broke the pattern of binge-eating, and I'm very grateful for that."

Her eating disorder days may have been over, but Jane would soon find herself grappling with an addiction of a different kind. Work.

The mum-of-one — who was coaching women through midlife — became obsessive over the daily grind, forgoing her own personal health in the process. 

Lester, too, replaced his alcohol addiction with another obsession. Spirituality.

"I found solace in the AA fellowship and the spiritual aspect of the program. I truly loved it. The substitute worked well for me; my mental obsession shifted, or transferred, onto AA and its spiritual principles."

While working on his own recovery, Lester also started to help others with addiction treatment.

It was then that he realised what he — and Jane, and many other recovering addicts — had fallen victim to. Addiction transfer.

What is addiction transfer?

"Addiction transfer is a relatively new term for what has traditionally been called 'cross-addiction,'" explained Lester, who has been a recovery coach and neurolinguistic programmer for 30 years now.

"It refers to the substitution of one addictive behaviour or substance for another. This can occur both during active addiction and in recovery. The addiction itself is not in the substance, but in the mind. What actually changes or transfers is not the addiction, but the method of coping."

This transfer can manifest in many different ways.

"Many individuals shift to medications or legal substances such as nicotine, caffeine, sugar, and high-energy drinks," said Lester. "They may also adopt intense behaviours or belief systems, including exercise, strict routines, AA, religion, or even conspiracy theories, often in some combination.

"In early recovery, the most common substitutions are caffeine and nicotine, followed closely by behavioural patterns."

The brain then prioritises the behaviour or substance above everything else.

"This is known as obsession — a thought that dominates the mind to the exclusion of all others."

The breaking point.

Jane's addiction to work reached a breaking point when she found herself in an ambulance, roaring towards Royal Prince Alfred hospital, with a dangerously low heart beat.

"That was the wake-up call," she told Mamamia. "I thought, it's no good. I've got a 23-year-old daughter. I've got to get control of this."

So, the author went back to the kinesiologist who helped her through her binge-eating disorder. 

"She's a chiropractor as well, so she'd adjust my body, but first she'd find where the emotion was stuck in my body and release it."

For Lester, he realised his AA was a "substitute, not a cure" for his addiction.

"AA suggests that by following a specific set of principles and integrating them into daily life, along with engaging in fellowship, you can experience a daily reprieve from the mental torment of addiction," he said.

"This is likely why many people feel it doesn't work very well: most either don't want to do the inner work, or they don't understand how to."

So, the recovery coach committed to learning "productive and healthy ways" of dealing with himself. 

"Recovery, for me, is a daily reprieve and is dependent on the maintenance of my spiritual and mental health. Some days have been terrible. The torment of self can still become overwhelming," he said.

"Over 34 years in recovery, I've done all kinds of crazy things in the search for relief from myself. But what I've learned is that the best relief comes from self-knowledge, self-acceptance, even when it's uncomfortable."

Breaking the cycle.

Jane's latest addiction is Pepsi Max. She is desperate to break the cycle.

"God knows what I will start after that. Betting on the NRL or something?" she said. "I want to break the addiction habit."

Lester, however, maintains that the circle might remain unbroken.

"I believe addiction doesn't simply go away, it just goes somewhere else," said the recovery coach. 

"Understanding addiction isn't about focusing on the substance or behaviour; it's about recognising the deeper problem within the mind. In my view, there is only one real reason for addiction: we are trying to escape from ourselves. That internal struggle can be deeply uncomfortable, even tormenting, within the body, but the core issue is mental.

"We can't escape ourselves, we can't truly escape addiction. What we can do is find healthier, more constructive ways to feel comfortable living with ourselves. Hopefully, over time, we will begin to replace destructive patterns with more productive and less harmful ones."

Feature Image: Supplied

Find author Jane Turner here, and find recovery coach Lester Morse here.

If you or anyone you know needs support for eating disorders, please contact the Butterfly Foundation National Support Line and online service 1800 ED HOPE (1800 33 4673) or email support@thebutterflyfoundation.org.au.

If you or anyone you know needs to speak with an expert, please contact Lifeline (13 11 14) or download Sobriety App – I am Sober, an addiction buddy useful for quitting any activity or substance.