What Really Drives Compulsive Behaviours? A Deep Dive Into Root Causes

Compulsive behaviours can take over your life without warning. One day it’s a coping mechanism; the next, it’s a pattern you can’t seem to break. Whether it’s overeating, endless scrolling, obsessive cleaning, or substance use, compulsive actions can become a powerful, and confusing, force in our daily routines.

But here’s the truth: compulsive behaviours don’t appear out of nowhere. They’re symptoms of something deeper. And until we uncover their root causes, they will keep resurfacing in different forms.

In this blog, Inner Summits unpacks the underlying drivers of compulsive behaviours and explains how a trauma-informed, integrative therapeutic approach can help you find lasting healing.

What Are Compulsive Behaviours?

Compulsive behaviours are repetitive, often ritualistic actions that a person feels driven to perform, usually to relieve internal discomfort or distress. These behaviours may offer temporary relief or pleasure, but they typically result in long-term emotional pain, shame, or disruption to personal, social, or professional life.

Common Examples Include:

• Compulsive eating or binge eating
• Excessive online shopping or gambling
• Nail biting, skin picking (dermatillomania), or hair pulling (trichotillomania)
• Obsessive checking, cleaning, or organizing
• Internet, phone, or video game addiction
• Compulsive sexual behaviours or pornography use
• Drug or alcohol dependency

What ties these behaviours together is the overwhelming urge, a loop that is incredibly difficult to resist, even when you want to stop.

Compulsive Behaviours vs. Impulsive Actions: What’s the Difference?

It’s important to distinguish compulsive behaviour from impulsive acts. Impulsive behaviours are often unplanned and driven by a desire for instant gratification. Compulsive behaviours, on the other hand, are usually repetitive, and often driven by an urge to reduce anxiety or discomfort.

Understanding this difference helps therapists tailor more effective interventions.

Why Do We Engage in Compulsive Behaviours?

Compulsive behaviours often develop as a way to cope. They’re not random. They’re your brain’s attempt to regulate overwhelming emotions, silence internal pain, or create a sense of control where none exists.

While they may begin as a form of relief, over time, they become entrenched, habitual, and often distressing.

Let’s explore the key root causes.

1. Early Childhood Trauma and Emotional Neglect

Trauma, especially early, unprocessed trauma, can lay the groundwork for compulsive tendencies later in life. Childhood experiences such as abuse, emotional neglect, abandonment, or loss shape how we perceive the world and ourselves.

When a child learns that emotional expression is unsafe or ignored, they often turn inward. Compulsive behaviours may then develop in adolescence or adulthood as a way to self-soothe and regain a sense of safety or control.

Key Signs Trauma May Be Underlying Your Compulsions:

• Dissociation or emotional numbing
• Hypervigilance or anxiety
• Trouble forming healthy attachments
• A deep sense of inner shame or “not enough-ness”

2. Chronic Anxiety and Stress Disorders

Anxiety is a powerful driver of compulsive behaviours. When internal tension builds and becomes unbearable, the brain seeks relief. That’s where rituals like repetitive hand-washing, obsessive checking, or binge-watching for hours can step in.

Compulsions are often rituals used to manage anxiety, not eliminate it. The relief they offer is short-lived, and over time, the behaviour becomes necessary just to feel “normal.”

3. Depression and Emotional Dysregulation

In many cases, compulsive behaviours are not about relieving anxiety, but rather escaping emotional numbness. Depression can cause a person to feel disconnected, unmotivated, or hopeless. Compulsive actions like overeating, scrolling endlessly, or excessive sleeping may be attempts to feel something, or avoid feeling anything.

Unregulated emotions, whether too intense or too dull, often push people toward compulsive responses.

4. Neurochemical and Brain-Based Factors

Our brains are wired to seek pleasure and avoid pain. Compulsive behaviours often hijack the brain’s dopamine reward system, reinforcing the urge to repeat actions that offer quick hits of relief or pleasure.

Neuroscientific Links:

• Irregularities in serotonin and dopamine levels
• Dysfunctions in prefrontal cortex (impulse control) and amygdala (emotional processing)
• Genetic predispositions and family history of OCD, addiction, or anxiety

This is why compulsive behaviours often mimic the patterns of addiction, even in the absence of a substance.

5. Unhealthy Family Dynamics and Conditioning

Sometimes, compulsive behaviours are learned through observation. If you grew up in an environment where feelings were avoided, denied, or expressed through unhealthy means (like rage, denial, or substance use), you may have inherited similar patterns.

In such cases, compulsions may feel familiar, even comforting. Healing begins when we break the cycle of intergenerational emotional avoidance.

6. Shame, Guilt, and Negative Core Beliefs

A painful irony of compulsive behaviours is that they often lead to intense shame, which only fuels the compulsion. Over time, people may develop beliefs like:

• “I have no self-control.”
• “Something is wrong with me.”
• “I always screw things up.”

These beliefs become internalized, and the behaviour becomes a form of both punishment and relief. Rewiring these patterns involves deep emotional healing and inner reparenting, something Inner Summits specializes in.

The Vicious Cycle: Trigger > Action > Relief > Shame > Repeat

Understanding the cycle of compulsive behaviour is crucial for breaking it:

1. Trigger: Emotional pain, anxiety, boredom, or stress
2. Action: The compulsive behaviour (e.g., eating, scrolling, drinking)
3. Temporary Relief: The brain calms, for now
4. Shame or Guilt: You feel worse than before
5. Repeat: The cycle starts over

Inner Summits helps clients interrupt this cycle, not with force, but with understanding, compassion, and skill-building.

Therapy That Treats the Root, Not Just the Symptoms

At Inner Summits, we understand that behaviour is just the surface. Our trauma-informed therapy team looks beneath the action to uncover why it’s happening, and then helps you heal the core wound.

Our Therapeutic Approaches Include:

• Trauma-Focused Therapy
• Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
• Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)
• Somatic Therapy
• Mindfulness and Nervous System Regulation
• Inner Child Work and Attachment Repair

Our work is customized to each client, because no two compulsive journeys are the same.

When Should You Seek Support?

Here are signs it may be time to speak with a mental health professional:

• You feel out of control with a specific behaviour
• You experience guilt or shame afterward
• The behaviour is interfering with your relationships, work, or goals
• You’ve tried to stop but keep returning to it
• You feel stuck in patterns you can’t explain

There is no threshold of “bad enough” to deserve help. If you’re suffering, you’re worthy of support.

You’re Not Weak – You’re Adaptive

One of our core beliefs at Inner Summits is this: compulsive behaviours are not signs of weakness—they’re signs of survival. Your brain and body were trying to protect you with the tools they had. Now, it’s time to learn better tools.

Take the First Step Toward Healing

At Inner Summits, we don’t just treat symptoms, we walk with you into the deeper waters, where true healing happens. You don’t have to navigate this alone. With the right support, you can break the cycle of compulsive behaviours and reconnect with the version of yourself that feels whole, balanced, and in control.

Contact Inner Summits today to schedule a free consultation. Our compassionate team is ready to help you uncover the root causes of your compulsive behaviours and reclaim your emotional freedom.