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My Mom is an alcoholic.
Words that were so hard for me to say out loud. It was forbidden to say it at home and the words seemed stuck. For years we pretended everything was great with our little perfect family. Dad made good money, they traveled, socialized every weekend, had nice cars and a ... Views: 3947
In my opinion, long-term psychodynamic therapy is the most efficient way to cultivate healthy personality development. The most comprehensive treatment combines the empathy, insight and relational abilities of a psychodynamic psychotherapist with the 12-step orientation and cognitive-behavioral ... Views: 3940
Most people think that people suffering from gambling problems have an addiction to money. Maybe they are just greedy right? Wrong, compulsive gambling has very little to do with money as most people think. Compulsive gambling is about a feeling that gambling produces for the individual.
Just ... Views: 3935
An addiction is a dependency on a substance, behaviour or thought process that came about as a coping mechanism for the pain felt inside, and as a way of getting though life.
Addictions come in many forms. The alcoholic believes that he "needs" alcohol to get through the day, and it masks ... Views: 3915
Inhalants are well recognized as being one of the most used and destructive drugs amongst children, teens, incarcerated people, and institutionalized people. An inhalant can be a gas, aerosol, or solvent, which is breathed and absorbed through the lungs. Most commonly used inhalants, which are ... Views: 3912
The emergent nature of reality is that all systems, whether it is knowledge, society, technology, philosophy or any other creation will when uninhibited undergo fluid perpetual change. What we consider commonplace today, such as modern communication and transportation, would have been ... Views: 3908
When facing the loss of most of one’s structure in situations like vacation or business trips, relapsive thinking can return, even in established, stable recovery. The relapse thoughts can include some of the below, but this is not an all inclusive lists. When planning a vacation or business ... Views: 3902
Addiction is a dark and lonely place and the barriers that hinder it are plentiful. It is easy to fall prey to it but you play hell trying to get out. Overcoming an addiction is never going to be anything short of difficult because it grabs ahold of people when they are weak and broken and it ... Views: 3893
Addiction, a persistent, compulsive dependence on a behaviour or substance, can come in many forms and can be overcome with the use of brainwave entrainment to change the dominant brainwave frequency.
Alcohol and drugs are what most people acquaint with addiction, but activities like ... Views: 3856
You have just discovered or been informed of your partner's infidelity. You are in shock. You are confused, angry, immobilized, depressed, and thinking you will absolutely go crazy. In the midst of all this, you keep hearing about "sexual addiction" in the media and you wonder if it is sexual ... Views: 3853
Challenging the Expectation of Failure
History is helpful to us in many ways. We can learn from what hasn’t worked as we continue to pursue solutions, for example. Our ‘failures’ can point us in new directions if we use them as ‘research’ rather than reasons to stagnate or give up. Like ... Views: 3842
People addicted to alcohol drink compulsively and often claim to have an addictive personality. It is a convenient myth.
I heard of a dentist who approached his dental work with compulsive attention to detail. His crowns had to fit perfectly. He was fanatical about bite adjustment and his ... Views: 3832
What comes to your mind when you think of an alcoholic and drug addict? Do you immediately envision a person on the side of the street, begging for change and holding a bottle wrapped in a brown paper bag? Do you envision a person in a crack house shooting up drugs and sleeping under a bridge? ... Views: 3830
The word “recovery” often conjures up images of struggling to abstain from an addictive behavior, be it drinking, using drugs, shopping, gambling, overeating or severely restricting eating, exercising to excess, promiscuity, etc. But, I want to challenge you to start thinking about Recovery ... Views: 3807
Drugs are presented to every teenager at one point or another. No matter what the discussions at home have been, no matter what a “good boy or girl” that your kid really is, the curiosity of what drugs are about will likely grab him or her at some point in time because here is what the trend ... Views: 3796
What is relapse?
Addiction relapse is generally considered to be the return to addictive behavior that person use it after a period of abstinence. To prevent relapse is a key factor of a treatment program. A relapse prevention plan plays a vital part in the addiction treatment, because, the ... Views: 3780
Although definitions of "Addiction" seem to be continuing to evolve, addiction is still "a primary, chronic, progressive, and relapsing disease". The last decade of research has led to a refined definition of addiction as a "brain disease which is manifested by compulsive behavior".
Cross ... Views: 3766
Authors: John Montgomery, Ph.D and Todd Ritchey
ISBN: 978-0-9822960-1-1
When we think of addiction, the majority of us would probably restrict it for the most part to drug addicts, alcoholics, or compulsive gamblers. However, as John Montgomery and Todd Ritchey point out in The Answer Model: ... Views: 3753
Why Use a Breathalyzer?
If an officer suspects that the driver operating a motor vehicle is driving under the influence of alcohol, the officer may ask the driver of the vehicle to submit to a Breathalyzer Test. Submission to a Breathalyzer Test is voluntary, but the legal consequences for ... Views: 3747
HeartMath at The Sanctuary
HeartMath is a therapeutic modality founded in well-documented research from the field of neurocardiology. Informed by the heart’s critical role in our overall health, HeartMath sessions are conducted with simple, user-friendly technology through which our clients ... Views: 3740
Just about anytime we approach the subject of alcoholics’ and addicts’ denial regarding their substance abuse, they become defensive. There are many reasons for that. One of those is because they mistakenly associate the word denial with the word lying. This is unfortunate, because denial and ... Views: 3686
When a person decides to get sober the idea of staying sober can be overwhelming. The fear of relapse looms large. A quick review of the literature suggests that the success rate is relatively small when compared to the number of people who attempt to find sobriety. According to a 2003 study, ... Views: 3677
Although forgiveness is an important part of working through feelings, and thus, a tool of recovery and the healing process, it is an often neglected topic. People often erroneously equate forgiveness with forgetting.
The best definition that I ever heard for forgiveness is simply "giving up ... Views: 3667
Dealing with addicted family members is always a big challenge. There are some important issues to explore when someone you love is harming themselves.
ARE YOU CONTRIBUTING TO THE PROBLEM?
People use various addictions to avoid their painful feelings, especially their feelings of anxiety, ... Views: 3662
Dealing with addicted family members is always a big challenge. There are some important issues to explore when someone you love is harming themselves.
ARE YOU CONTRIBUTING TO THE PROBLEM?
People use various addictions to avoid their painful feelings, especially their feelings of anxiety, ... Views: 3662
Harv called me for phone consultations because his wife, Nancy, threatened to leave him if he did not get some help.
"I must be all messed up with my sexuality. I constantly want sex with my wife and she is fed up with it. When she won't have sex with me I'm angry and sullen. I love my wife ... Views: 3661
The most widely used and statistically proven treatments for drug addiction are called “evidence-based” therapies because of their rigorous testing and government approval. These therapies include one-on-one counseling sessions, peer-group discussions, and family therapy. However, there are ... Views: 3646
*This article is excerpted from "Overcoming Prescription Drug Addiction". For more information, go to www.prescriptiondrugaddiction.com
It’s difficult to say with precision just how many Americans are abusing prescription drugs, although estimates are available. According to 2007 ... Views: 3629
Post Acute Withdrawal Syndrome is a debilitating condition that affects drug addicts and alcoholics in recovery. In fact, the symptoms of PAWS are widely considered to be the leading cause of relapse - especially in people who have been clean for several months or more. Understanding this ... Views: 3608
We used to believe that we are controlled by our genes and that DNA programs us like software does a computer. We thought that DNA communicated with us—as if we were downloading our fates—and that we had nothing to say about it. This was an incredibly disempowering view of how human life works. ... Views: 3603
A lot of conflicting emotions surface when you think you notice alcoholic behavior in someone you love. In fact, it is emotional when you realize that you may have a problem with alcohol yourself. It takes a big person to look in the mirror and honestly assess whether alcohol is becoming a ... Views: 3594
Often when I teach alcohol education classes I like to ask my students, "Have you sensed whether alcohol is affects your mood?" I hope to address how alcohol and drinking can have a great impact on your mood. I'll also show you some real world examples of the way alcoholic beverages play a ... Views: 3593
Throughout my journey of recovery in Alcoholics Anonymous, miracles have come to me in abundance. The promises have astoundingly materialized in every element of my daily life and the rewards of sobriety are beyond what my imagination could have ever visualized or dreamed of. I was ... Views: 3582
It doesn’t take much effort to notice how powerful and influential actors and actresses are in today’s world. And although they have had this power for a number of years; with the assistance of the mainstream media, this has gradually increased as time has gone by.
One only has to go a film ... Views: 3574
A technique known as urge surfing, which harnesses mindfulness, can help people who are experiencing cravings. Originally developed as a tool to help people struggling to battle alcohol and drug addiction, urge surfing is now being used to help people with overeating, gambling, compulsive ... Views: 3574
...and what you can do about it!
Bill and Betty had been dating for over a year and had made plans to meet for dinner. Bill arrived on time and waited. Betty called 30 minutes later letting him know she’d be late. There seemed so much potential for a relationship with Betty; Bill was smitten ... Views: 3574
There are various behaviours that a sex addict can exhibit that make being in a relationship with them extremely difficult. Some of these can include a porn addiction, phone sex, online affairs and in some of the severe cases, prostitutes and strip clubs. Someone who has a problem with sex ... Views: 3567
As a counselor for both classroom and online alcohol awareness classes, I have learned from my students their new affinity for mixing alcoholic beverages with caffinated energy drinks such as Red Bull. since I stopped drinking alcohol before energy drinks came into existence, I wanted to ... Views: 3544
The usual response to the suggestion to one of my clients that hypnotherapy might be useful in the treatment of sexual addiction is typical of the general public’s misguided understanding of hypnotherapy:
“I’m afraid of going into trance – I might lose control”; “You’ll find out things about ... Views: 3540
One of the things I hear a lot from smokers in my Toronto (Ontario, Canada) hypnosis quit smoking clinic is "I smoke to relax". If smoking really was relaxing then the more you smoked the more relaxed you'd be and chain smokers would be the most relaxed people on the planet. Do you know anyone ... Views: 3540
This is the second post in the series of tactics used by addicts and alcoholics to avoid accountability. Accountability is necessary for all of us. People in recovery need to do everything in their power to remain accountable—this will help them deal with temptations and triggers when they ... Views: 3530
I started this article as a reply to a question related to these two articles:
* Tactics Used to Avoid Accountability 1
* Tactics Used to Avoid Accountability 2
There are more tactics coming in the near future.
Here is the Question.
"So when we notice these things in a ... Views: 3524
A child living at a meth lab is exposed to many dangers and to the ongoing effects of chemical contamination. The chemicals used to cook meth produce toxic fumes, vapors, and spills. A child living at a meth lab may inhale or swallow toxic substances or inhale the secondhand smoke of adults who ... Views: 3516
Approximately a month before I was released from the netherworld of the prison yard, I weighed more than I ever had in my life. Not knowing anything about fat, carbohydrates, or heart rate and exercise, I started fast-walking around the prison yard per diem, every day. While I managed not to ... Views: 3505
How do you maintain a healthy life for sustainable recovery?
What addicted person doesn’t want to be well? We all want that whether we are addicted or not. If we suffer from depression, codependency, anxiety, trauma or any of the other countless maladies we can mention, we all want to be done ... Views: 3489
Alcoholism, like other forms of addiction, is a condition that can progressively worsen. The progression tends to fall into a series of 3 to 4 "steps" with particular behaviors inherent to each. Understanding the characteristics of each of these stages of alcoholism is important for a person to ... Views: 3480
To help the alcoholic you love you first must help yourself. You will never be able to help the alcoholic until you help yourself. Alcohol addiction tends to involve everyone the alcoholic is in contact with on some kind of level. Those who are in the path of the alcoholic, usually a spouse, ... Views: 3475
Take a close look at the life of any person struggling with addiction, and you will likely find at least one family member or friend 'helping' that person. Somebody making it easier for the addict to continue in the progression of their disease. This behavior is called enabling. The problem is ... Views: 3472
Those who vacillate between love addiction and love avoidance are called Ambivalent Love Addicts. Most Love Addicts and Love Avoidants are ambivalent at one time or another. They crave love, but they also fear it.
The most famous kind of Ambivalent Love Addict is the Narcissist. On the ... Views: 3470