Addiction Archives | Page 2 of 6

Addiction & Ego

Many of us identify with our ego, the self that is attached to everything around us. The self that takes offense to others negative comments about us and identifies when we have been harmed in word or deed. The self that experiences the world on a personal level. This self-attaches to everything in relation to your ego, positive or negative. The world at this level is ego based and never neutral. Things are either good or bad. Often people abuse drugs as an attempt to reach this higher spiritual plane and seek to have ego-less experiences, but instead, get trapped in the ego because instead of removing oneself from more »

Internet Addiction

Excessive time spent on the internet or the computer can be as bad for you as any other type of addiction. Symptoms of internet addiction can include depression, weight loss or gain, diminishing interest in work or school, carpal tunnel syndrome, decreased fitness level (which has its own dangers), and dry eyes, to name a few. Insomnia may also develop as a result of the light that interferes with the pineal gland. Over time, web addicts may get much less sleep which begins to affect melatonin production and cortisol levels. These factors can affect the ability to think clearly, cause increased weight gain and irritability. People who are lonely more »

Heroin Addiction Treatment

Heroin is a derivative of opium which affects the reward centers in the brain initially producing a rush of euphoria and providing pain relief. Those effects are short lived however, and as a tolerance to the drug develops, people take it again and again in greater and greater doses hoping to find the same effect. Continued of heroin and a user can expect a host of health issues including, high risk for hepatitis C and HIV, dental problems, chronic respiratory illness, sexual impotence, skin issues, and depression. Heroin use is also associated with higher risks of being incarcerated, being the victim of a violent crime, and early death. The powerfully more »

The Risks of Internet Gambling

The American Psychiatric Association guidelines for diagnosing a gambling addiction doesn’t distinguish between placing bets in a physical location like a casino or race track and over the internet. That being stated, aspects of online gambling make it potentially more addictive and therefore, harder to recover from. Online gambling is available 24/7 via computer or mobile device, anywhere there’s an internet connection. Internet anonymity makes it easier to avoid traditional barriers to participation. This has resulted in a new generation of problem gamblers: teens and young adults, particularly young men. In private, players can easily consume drugs or excessive alcohol which can increase the amount of time spent gambling and more »

Methamphetamine Withdrawal

While the physical symptoms of methamphetamine withdrawal are not as bad as the symptoms associated with quitting other types of drugs, it’s not fun either. Although methamphetamine is not usually considered a strongly physically addictive drug, common withdrawal symptoms may still include restlessness, fatigue, irregular sleep schedule, and hunger. One may have some intense psychological withdrawal symptoms when coming off methamphetamine. In fact, it is such symptoms that make quitting methamphetamine more difficult than you might think. The severity of symptoms will depend on factors such as how long you were using meth, how much you used every day and whether or not you have any medical conditions. Following your more »

Addicted To Gaming

Human beings respond to a reward system. In essence, this system helps to cement positive behavior with pleasurable stimuli and discourage adverse behavior with negative reinforcement. At the center of the reward system is the idea of motivation. Motivation may be intrinsic, that is, inherently pleasing or extrinsic which requires conditioning and learned actions. These motivations control the various decisions we make in life from eating to taking drugs to gaming. It would appear on the surface that the rewarding nature of gaming is understood simply as a finite matter of wins and losses. However, the greater the incentives, the more motivation one must continue playing. Monetize game play and more »