When we think of the word addiction we usually think of the obvious ones like food, alcohol, drugs, gambling, TV, spending, work, sex, etc., but many people are not aware of the more subtle addictions. These addictions are often so covert and pervasive that they are invisible to us. Yet these subtle addictions may have a negative impact on us, sabotaging our professional and/or personal relationships as well as our lives on a daily basis. Many people are aware of the fact that addictions are used to avoid pain, and in a way to medicate our feelings in order to function in a manner that is within our comfort level. The reason we do this is because it is easier to make the pain go away than it is to deal with the negative feelings or issues at hand. This is not the way your life was intended to be! You can learn to live a more fulfilling life, naturally, through behavior modification.

You might want to honestly look inside and see what some of your covert addictions are. Are you addicted to blaming others for your unhappy feelings? Are you addicted to a relationship that has run its course but you are still in it? Do you use anger or tears, attempting to make others responsible for you? Are you addicted to illness as a way to avoid personal responsibility for yourself? Are you more focused on trying to control the way others feel about you than you are in taking care of your own feelings? How much of your time is spent daydreaming about what you want to say to others or how you wish life was instead of actually being accountable for yourself? How often do you explain and defend yourself rather than being open to learning? How often do you get angry or withdraw to avoid dealing with your present circumstances? Are you doing things that are habitual with your body and or emotions that are not allowing you to be healthy? Is your thinking addictive? Do you have repetitive thought patterns?

To understand if you have an addiction, you need to pay attention to your thought processes which create your behavioral patterns on a daily basis, in order to see if they are motivated by emotions in spite of adverse consequences. When logic is replaced with anger (with or without justification), the result is the loss of one’s well being. Any behavior that is outside of being accountable for your actions, taking care of yourself, and being open to learning about yourself and others, is addictive in nature. All addictive behaviors are attempts to control and suppress rather than learn, governing all that we do. If you are always defending, explaining, resisting, and withdrawing from decisions and situations, then all of your actions are attempts of getting approval and/or avoiding pain. Take a look at whether you react or respond to others. When we respond we are taking responsibility for our situations instead of reacting with emotional repetitive thought patterns that do not serve us.

In order to HEAL you have to FEEL and become aware of your addictions, which is the beginning of learning to release them from your life. Embrace your life the way it was meant to be and deal with your addictions no matter how pervasive they have been. You can achieve your full potential and live a healthy, loving life, without fear when you are able to release all that has been negatively controlling your life and the lives of others that are in it. Changing your thoughts – changes your life. To quote one of my favorite authors, James Allen, “Your circumstances may be uncongenial, but they shall not long remain so if you perceive an ideal and strive to reach it.”

Denise Dema is a Business and Life Management Coach who has over 20 years experience empowering individuals, entrepreneurs and business owners to attain self-defined success in their professional & personal lives. To learn more about the author and her practice please visit http://www.denisedema.com

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/addictions-articles/recognizing-subtle-addictions-1006200.html

Just as an addict becomes habituated to cocaine , heroin or alcohol , the ‘normal person’ possesses neural architecture to become habituated via a positive feedback loop to the ‘chemical sensations’ we receive from shopping, keeping up with the joneses …… Drug addiction is defined as “the compulsive seeking and taking of a drug despite adverse consequences”. If we substitute the word ‘resource’ for ‘ drug ‘, have we meaningfully violated or changed this definition?

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For some a roll of the dice, spin of the roulette wheel, yank of the slot machine lever, or the shuffle of cards is an occasional jaunt of pleasure. However, for others it becomes a habitual compulsion (gambling addiction) that destroys their family life, finances, and career!

Over the past decade or so, the sixty for thousand dollar question has been; what causes a gambling addiction? Is it a disease? Is it caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain? Well, the mainstream disease theorists would have you believe that it is, but I beg to differ! First and foremost, there is no pathological test to diagnose a chemical imbalance. In fact, there is no empirical evidence to even prove that it exists. It is purely hypothetical and is subjective to each and every clinician. And moreover, the very notion that a disease oriented co-dependence theory could be applied to a compulsive behavior such as a gambling addiction is preposterous. Would the disease theorists have us believe that a chemical in the lever of a slot machine addicts a person to gambling? Or, would they have us believe that a chemical substance in a deck of playing cards seeps through ones fingers and traps them hopelessly in a life of thrills and spills? I don’t know about you, but I’m not buying it!

So, what exactly is the root cause of a gambling addiction? Unlike drugs or alcohol, gambling is obviously a compulsion rather than a substance. And despite this stark contrast between substance abuse and habitual compulsions, the basis for the addiction is one in the same. As with any addiction, a compulsion generally makes people feel better or happier, and it diverts them from their emotional pain. For those that gamble habitually, it’s not a substance but the feeling of power, the thrill of winning, or the excitement of high stakes and chance that diverts them from their emotional pain. However, the thrill of victory quickly turns to agony of defeat when snake eyes show up, or they bust at blackjack and inevitably arrive at a point of financial disaster!

Now, at this point, you may be wondering what causes the emotional distress that leads to gambling addiction. Well, experience has taught me that the root cause of every addiction is the emotional trauma caused by family dysfunction. In fact, as an addiction recovery coach, I have never seen one case that wasn’t rooted in patterns of verbal abuse, physical abuse, sexual abuse, parental control, part-time parenting, or drug and alcohol abuse. So, take a moment to self-reflect. What emotional issues are you trying to divert your attention from? Have you been abused, controlled, or unloved? What are you failing to change or to take responsibility for in your life? These are the questions that must be answered. Do you want to change your life? Do you want to pull yourself up by the bootstraps and get on with it? Regardless of what others say or what you may tell yourself, you have the power to make choices!

Here’s what you should do

1. Make a decision right here and now to do whatever it takes to deal with your emotional issues and change your life.
2. Turn over your finances to a trusted family member or friend. Someone that can pay your bills and buy the necessities. Establish a date in writing, preferably 60-90 days that they will turn the reins back over to you, with the understanding that if you haven’t stopped gambling or you return to it, they will not!
3. Uncover and confront the root cause of your gambling addiction. (family dysfunction)
4. Re-discover yourself through self-reflection.
5. Be prepared to change your lifestyle and your friends.

Regards,

David Roppo

The Addiction Freedom Coach

For more information and a complete, free, 5-step overcoming addiction e-guide subscribe below…..

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A life coach and authority on family dysfunction, David Roppo has worked closely with clients suffering from the effects of this emotional problem. His coaching experience has taught him that family dysfunction is not only The Square Root of Addiction, but it is also responsible for the failed relationships and the unhappiness of millions of Americans.

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/addictions-articles/gambling-addiction-help-how-to-stop-gambling-in-60-days-986903.html

Suffering addicts worldwide are beginning to seek alcohol and drug addiction counselling in South Africa. An addiction centre in South Africa offers benefits such as scenic surroundings and financial savings due to the good exchange rate.

Many addicts, alcoholics and sufferers of other obsessive and compulsive behaviours have begun to travel to South Africa for treatment. At any time in most treatment centres, there will be at least one foreign patient, although the number is usually far higher. Britain, Holland, and the US send patients to South African rehabs on a frequent basis.

The costs of a treatment centre
The major motivation for clients coming to South Africa for drug addiction counselling and alcohol addiction counselling is financial. An addiction centre in South Africa can be far cheaper than the equivalent overseas. For example – a private rehabilitation centre in the UK can cost between 3 to 5 times more per month than a rehab in South Africa offering the same treatment.

The difference in price is staggering. Even when including the extra cost of a plane ticket, the price of entering an addiction centre in South Africa is still much cheaper. The cost of living in South Africa is far cheaper than in many overseas countries. The US and UK economies have been going through a tough time of late, and only those of good financial standing have been able to seek treatment in those countries.

Suffering addicts without the financial resources have had to resort to government psychiatric hospitals for treatment. In psychiatric hospitals, addicts and alcoholics are heavily medicated in order to be weaned off their substance of choice and are not shown any tools for maintaining sobriety after leaving. Added to that is the possibility of addiction to the tranquilisers and other psychiatric medication they are given whilst a patient.

The underlying problems of addicts are rarely dealt with unless they receive proper alcohol and drug addiction counselling, as taking drugs and alcohol is a symptom of an underlying problem.

<b>High quality alcohol and drug counselling</b>
The quality of rehabilitation in South Africa is equal to UK rehabilitation standards. Many private centres in South Africa run programmes based on the Minnesota model of addictions counselling, a programme which incorporates the 12 Steps of recovery and has shown great success in treating drug addiction and other compulsions.

Extended Primary Care
Halfway houses are a popular option for addicts who have completed a 28 day stay in a Primary Care Treatment Centre. However, a type of treatment known as ‘Extended Primary Care’ has become common in South Africa. This treatment offers clients a facility that is significantly cheaper than a Primary Care Centre.

The recovery programme at an Extended Primary Care Centre is the same as in a Primary Care Centre: individual therapy, group therapy, family therapy, art therapy, lectures, exercise, outings and trips to 12 Step Fellowship meetings such as AA and NA (Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous). This means that addicts from overseas locations can attend a rehabilitation centre for a price lower than the regular Primary Care Centres.

Three months of treatment has a higher success rate than one month
Experts and statistics confirm that clients who remain in a drug and alcohol treatment centre for three months or more have a far higher chance of remaining abstinent from drugs and alcohol once they are discharged. Extended Primary Care therefore allows clients the opportunity of receiving therapy for three months for treating drug addiction at a much lower cost than a regular Primary Care Centre, especially centres which are abroad.

The cost of a month at an Extended Primary Care Centre in South Africa is approximately R38,000 (£3,000). One month at a Primary Care Centre in the UK can cost up to R390,000 (£30,000). The benefits of seeking treatment at an addiction centre in South Africa are very apparent.

Scenery and beautiful surroundings
Clients in a drug and alcohol treatment centre in South Africa are also able to experience new cultures, magnificent and beautiful scenery whilst benefitting from much needed time away from familiar places and people.

A ‘geographical’ change (changing location to ’start anew’ and stop drug use, viewing external factors as the cause of addiction) is never successful for a suffering addict because the problem is situated within the psychological problems of the addict themselves and their disease. Yet a change in location coupled with intense treatment can be very beneficial to an addict needing treatment.

The favourable weather means that clients can enjoy outdoor activities. Exercise is incredibly beneficial to recovery and an addiction centre in South Africa can offer pleasant walks and hikes throughout enjoyable scenery.

Seeking alcohol and drug addiction counselling at an addiction centre in South Africa is a cost effective and successful way of treating drug addiction and other compulsive disorders. This attractive, appealing country with many cultures and experiences to offer is home to some of the most successful treatment centres in the world.

Oasis Counselling Centre is an Extended Primary Care treatment centre in Plettenberg Bay, South Africa, which provides drug addiction counselling and alcohol addiction counselling as well as treatment for many other compulsive disorders.

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/addictions-articles/seeking-alcohol-and-drug-addiction-counselling-abroad-benefits-of-an-addiction-centre-in-south-africa-981712.html

Steal this anti- addiction drug ! The April 10, 2009 edition of Science (available online only to subscribers) reports that Naltrexone (a drug used for treating addictions ) has been dramatically successful in treating compulsive …… Since we last spoke I have shed my internet anonymity and now go by my real name.In response to you I will say this…I see more clearly now what you were trying to say about Graham’s message. However, whether it is your intent or not, …

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Steal this anti-addiction drug! | Dangerous Intersection

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Keys to Total Recovery from Addiction

We don’t just need to recover from whatever it is we’re addicted to. Our goal, after putting an end to the active addiction, is to identify and remedy the underlying cause. All the effects of these underlying causes can be summed up with one word: Unhappiness.

The Cause of Unhappiness

Always we want to look for the cause. It can’t be said enough “If you want to solve a problem, it’s a good idea to know what the problem is…”. We can’t just say, “I’m not happy”, and think we’ve got the whole story. Sure, we may understand that we’re not happy. The problem there is all to often the next thought is – I need to do something that makes me happy. That’s how the whole thing got started in the first place and it won’t end differently until we do different things. So after the initial realization statement – I’m not happy – there needs to be a question asked. That question is “Why?”

Why am I not happy. Joe seems to be happy. Well – why do we suppose Joe is happy? Why is Joe happy? Maybe it’s that Joe has never cared about anybody but himself and at the moment everything is going his way. Maybe it’s because Joe isn’t awake enough to notice the world around him. Someone said, “ignorance is bliss”. Do we assume that because we “think” somebody is happy that they really are? Why do we think Joe is happy? What evidence do we have? Did he say he was happy? Does he act like he’s happy? What if Joe’s a great big liar and a real good actor? In the case with Joe we will want to ask him, “Joe – why are you so happy?”. At least then we’ll know why Joe thinks he’s happy. We might get a look at life through Joe’s eyes and get some valuable information. We might decide Joe is a phony.

We still need to examine the “Why” question for ourselves. Why am I not happy? Here is a helpful exercise. Make a “I’d be happy if…” list. Not for posterity or world wide viewing – just a brainstorm list to see what ends up on the page. OK, what did we get? Without looking at the list I’ll tell you what I know about you. If you listed any “thing”, any thing at all – then the cause of unhappiness, for you, is all in your head. So now you see what the list is going to reveal. Are you thinking, “Well, now that I know why I was writing the list there is no need?”. Write it anyway. When we write things on paper we use a different brain process. Things come to us that we wouldn’t see in a hundred years of thinking about it. You could name the list “Things I once thought would make me happy”. It’s useful to write it. It reveals to us the why. We want those ideas to be viewable. The best view we can get is looking down at a piece of paper. It also insures that the idea can’t retreat back into the dusty shelves of the brains library. Most of the information and the resulting ideas that – run us – are for the most part lost to us. We have no way of locating them to re-examine them. The brain knows where all this stuff is. I’m not sure why we can’t just say, “Bring me all we’ve got on happiness”, and have the brain go fetch it. I’ve asked. I’ve been assigning the brain tasks audibly for a few years. Can’t really give you the results. I have no way to tell if what happened is a result of my practice or if what’s happened would have happened without it. I mainly do it because I want to be in charge of assigning the roles and goals. I do what I can to dictate my life and my chief opponent is my own brain. But – the brain responds wonderfully to projects. It lives for projects. When we grab a pencil it gets all excited – like a dog when we take the leash from the hat rack. When we say “I’m going to make a “if only list” it starts grabbing boxes from the shelves, sifting through the files and bringing us pertinent items.

This is how we can get to the cause of the happiness/unhappiness question. Once we get to the cause we have decisions to make. Lets say that on your list you write (1) I’d be happy if: I was King of the Moon. What does that tell us? Aside from wanting some power and a place of our own…what does it tell us? It tells us that somewhere in our past we picked up information that suggested, intentionally or not, that – achievement, approval, accomplishment, establishing oneself in the social hierarchy etc. – is associated in some way with happiness. There are two cases we can study (a) I am King of the Moon – but I’m still not happy or (b) I’m not the King of the Moon and I’m probably not going to be – and I’m not happy. Coming from the standpoint of the unhappy person we don’t need to look at “King of the Moon and Happy as can be”. It’s irrelevant to our quest. The only thing we need to examine is – where did I get that idea and is it working in my favor. Is it real and – does it work. Do my ideas make for a viable system? If we’re not happy, the answer is no. So you may say, “Well I know that things don’t bring happiness…that’s not my problem”. If that isn’t the problem – if we’re really aware of this – then what’s left is: the unsatisfactory life story.

Unsatisfactory life stories are what we collect inadvertently throughout our lives. We accept a story and we live out our lives accordingly. If we find that – Now – we aren’t happy, or our lives aren’t what we’d like, we’ll most likely find the cause we seek in one of these two areas. There are always cases where people have been intentionally traumatized by other people. These are different from what we’re looking at here and have to be addressed accordingly. But for the rest of us, we who just want to be happy, this is, as far as I know, the best place to start.

Doug Wilson: Has recovered from a 35+ year Heroin and Alcohol addiction. He is helping people through his first hand experience and a life time of looking at what makes people tick ~ Addiction Help

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/addictions-articles/the-addiction-happiness-connection-962034.html

Well, before I reveal the answer to that question let’s review what I like to call the addiction equation. Family dysfunctions causing emotional pain + low level of self-esteem and emotional coping skills + learned addictive behavior from surroundings, friends, and/ or family = ADDICTION!  Take note, that the emotional pain caused by family dysfunctions such as abuse, control, part-time parenting, and rejection is the root cause or catalyst. However, if one is subjected to those patterns, it is not a forgone conclusion that they will develop an addiction. Certainly, there are some people who experience physical, verbal, sexual abuse, and many other dysfunctional patterns that manage to lead perfectly, healthy, happy lives which are free of addiction. And, I would also venture to say that many of those same people have been subjected to examples of addictive behavior by their friends and/or family as well! So, why do these individuals opt “to just say no?” The answer is a high level of self-esteem and coping skills. If you can deal effectively with dysfunctional behavior by speaking your will and liberating yourself from it, then there really isn’t a need to numb emotional pain that doesn’t exist!

Now, at this point in the juncture, you’re probably wondering how you can increase your level of coping skills, so let’s break it down. First, we need to define the word cope. Cope; to deal successfully with a difficult problem or situation. Therefore, increasing your coping skills translates into improving your ability to deal with a difficult problem. But, what exactly does it mean to deal with a problem successfully? As a hypothetical example, let’s say that you have suffered from a verbally abusive parent. To deal with that particular situation successfully, would you  just ignore their comments and try to brush them aside (avoid confrontation,) or would you put a stop to the abuse by speaking your will and saying “I’m not going to take it anymore,” in a calm confident manner of course. If it’s the former, that’s not going to get the job done because you are still, in essence, undermining your self-respect by allowing such behavior – whether you ignore it or not. Remember, addiction recovery requires empowerment. Therefore, the later is the appropriate response. When faced with the above types of dysfunctional situation most people experience a separation of the mind and heart. In other words, when the heart dominates we live with the illusion that it’s our family and it’s ok for them to subject us to abuse and mistreatment. When the mind dominates, we make emotion our enemy, and we become consumed with the fear of internal and emotional growth which results in low self-esteem and self-blame. This can result in and endless cycle of mentally wanting to change but fearing it emotionally. Hence, the addiction trap begins! Therefore, if you want to free yourself from addiction your going to have to liberate yourself from dysfunctional behavior and empower yourself to grow spiritually and emotionally.

Regards,

David Roppo

The Addiction Freedom coach

For more information on how to overcome your addiction or how to stop drinking subscribe to my free 40 page e-guides below………

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As a life coach, Roppo has helped addicted clients learn the secrets to overcoming addiction, and he has established his unique five-step process as a potential benchmark for recovery. His success has overwhelmingly convinced him that the mainstream approach to addiction is fundamentally amiss because formal treatment programs attempt to defeat the symptoms rather than address the core issue.

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/addictions-articles/addiction-freedom-secrets-how-to-super-charge-your-coping-skills-919694.html

… Dr. Payne, Dr. Ruby K.

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The Fireside Post

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Alcoholic is never be someone dream. All of us know exactly that we must avoid this problem. But sometimes, it comes along with lifestyle, underpressure condition, or stress. Commonly people start from binge drinking then follow by alcohol abuse, and become alcoholism when they loose their control.

Be careful, occasional drinking not only could make you be an addict; it can also lead to death! Mostly they want to stop drinking. Well, then, why can’t people do that? The first reason is fear. They are afraid of what they are going to do without alcohol in their lives. Like people who smoke can’t imagine what they will do without cigarette in their hand.

If you detect the sign of alcohol dependence like hunger for alcohol, loss of control, physical dependency, or tolerance, you need special treatment. Because many people with this problem can’t stop by themselves. Mostlythe abusers have reported more than two symptoms simultaneously and large percentages of them have shown a strong need to drink. They can’t deal with the drinking anymore, they cannot prohibit themselves from another drink.

In serious step of addiction, the addict may suffer alcohol withdrawal. It refers to a group of symptoms that may occur from suddenly stopping the use of alcohol after chronic or prolonged ingestion, such as agitation, trembling, disturbed sleep, and lack of appetite, depression, convulsions, etc. Without prompt treatment, these symptoms will make the abusers drink alcohol again. Alcohol treatment is needed to cure people that suffer the symptoms.

We can search information about alcohol treatment centre in our country from drug and alcohol rehab services. They will work with you to find a center that can best serve your (or your loved one’s) needs. There is no consultation fee for the services they provide. They offer a website that will direct you to the rehab centre throughout the United States that offer treatment program at little or no cost. These centres provide a safe place for an alcoholic to receive therapy for chemical dependency. These services are very helpful for them and their family for finding the appropriate rehabilitation center.

Commonly this program include detoxification and the rehabilitation. New advance in this treatment is not only consisting of detox and rehab, but also others that work together cure alcoholism and prevent relapse. The advance treatment gives AA (Alcoholics Anonymous), Psychosocial Therapy, Motivational Enhancement Therapy, Pharmacotherapy, etc.

In the rehab center, they will assess withdrawal symptoms before starting detoxification process. There is a wide selection of the detox protocols that medical practitioners can choose according to the severity of the symptoms. Medical practitioners should assess the sign of the patient to pick the most appropriate protocol to treat them. One effective way to do this is to use the CIWA-Ar instrument, which can measure the severity by rating ten signs, which includes nausea; anxiety; tactile, visual and auditory disturbances; tremors; headaches; disorientation; autonomic hyperactivity; and agitation. So, what are you waiting for? Find the right treatment for you or your beloved person.

 Do you have more desires on alcohol addiction and alcohol treatment after reading above topic? Sri Ariantini writes more about alcohol addiction overview as well as how alcohol treatment works. 

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/addictions-articles/alcohol-addiction-and-alcohol-treatment-the-community-problem-we-have-to-know-940846.html

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I also wish that more people were open about their drug use—but, in the hypocritical fashion of most Americans, only when we’re talking about drugs that I like and have used myself, e.g., caffeine, sugar , pot, and my boyfriend’s pheromones. …… Most addicts I’ve known think they are on top of their drug use, even after numerous crises that should have let them know they are not. There’s always an excuse, a reason why it wasn’t their fault

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Savage Love – Columns – Savage Love – Dan Savage – The Stranger …

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