Addiction

If you are in recovery from addiction, you know what I’m talking about when I say, “relapse dreams.” This is when you wake up anxious, covered in sweat, because you just had a hyperrealistic dream that you were taking, or about to take, your drug of choice that previously caused…

Addiction is a strong word, and the scientific community has not yet determined whether individuals can be “addicted” to sites like Facebook and Instagram in the medical sense. However, whether or not an individual meets the criteria for an addiction disorder may not matter as much as the consequences of his…

Hallmarks of Sex Addiction While people are starting to recognize the prevalence and problems created by excessive sexualized activities and pornography, what is broadly termed “sex addiction” remains cloaked in mystery, even for many therapists. One of the challenges in defining and treating sex addiction is the fact that sex…

Many people who don’t experience addiction themselves struggle to understand why and how others become addicted to substances like drugs and alcohol. Some doubt or downplay the suffering that comes with this disease, and others, those who empathize with struggling addicts, just can’t fully grasp the painful, strenuous battle that…

Addiction doesn’t just change the individual suffering with the disease, but their loved ones—especially their chosen life partner. If your spouse is struggling with addiction, you must choose your actions carefully: it’s easy to confuse helpful and unhelpful interventions. First, don’t try to “make things easier” on your spouse—this can…

The average American: a fat guy sitting in front of the TV dropping crumbs all over his exposed belly as he crams potato chips into his mouth. This is what many people around the world envision when asked for their take on Americans. Heck, this is how many Americans see…

The recent shift in public perception of treating addiction as a public health issue rather than a criminal one has been a huge step forward in the ongoing battle against drug and alcohol abuse. Below are some amazingly inspirational quotes about addiction recovery that are wonderful to read even if…

Statistically speaking, there’s a 51% chance that you’re currently looking at this article on your smartphone. There’s also a 90% probability that you’re reading this while sitting on the toilet, and that’s not a good thing for either of us. According to experts, 40% of the population suffers from Nomophobia…

Gambling continuously and repeatedly to the point where it causes problems in a person’s life and anxiousness is deemed a Gambling Disorder by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5)*. According to the National Council on Problem Gambling (NCPG), it is estimated that two million—or one…

One night I was sitting in my family room watching my third episode of The Office that night. I noticed the catchy theme song of the same show coming from the bedroom. My husband, son, and I had started “bingeing” this show together but my husband had gotten ahead of…

Is there a real difference between love and addiction? A colleague brought up an interesting topic for discussion the other day. He asked the simple question, “Is love the same as addiction?” This is one of those questions that, on the surface, I believed I had thought of before, though I…

Don’t Cope with Your Troublesome Feelings — Regulate Them Emotional regulation — learning to control and tolerate emotional distress — is a fundamental part of addiction recovery. A lack of emotional regulation skills is often what contributes to the development of addiction, since addicts turn to substance abuse as a…