11 Ways to Detect and Solve Internet Addiction

People in recovery are always in danger of switching addictions from alcohol, drugs, gambling or codependency. This article may help if one follows the tips before a real addiction develops.

I’m not a psychiatrist: if you fear your problem is so serious you need professional help, go out and see one.

I’m going to write this article for those who might have trouble leaving the computer behind when the back of your eyes are telling you it’s definitely bedtime, but your spouse hasn’t packed up and left yet as a result of it - not quite a full-blown addiction, just on your way there.

Detecting the Problem

The problem with many addictions is that it can be hard to tell when a hobby has become more than just that, and taken a hold on you. It can also be hard to be honest with yourself when facing a list of symptoms, so make the extra effort now - we’re going to go through a few.

1. You spend more time with the computer than with people.
2. You can’t abide by your own boundaries.
3. Lying to others about your computer usage.
4. Feeling unable to live without the computer/internet.
5. Misguided spending on your computer.

Solving the Problem

Solving the problem on your own, or with the support of your family, requires that you’re doing so before it gets out of hand and to the point where you need to pay excessive prices for therapy. If you’re unsure, trying to solve it on your own and seeing how far you get is a great test - if you can’t manage it, go get help.

• The original article at 11 Ways to Detect and Solve Internet Addiction gives tips on quitting.

These tips should get you well on your way to a more balanced life.

Full story and explanation of the tips at; 11 Ways to Detect and Solve Internet Addiction

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• 24 Ways to get the Rest You Need
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• Subscribe by e-Mail to Alcohol Self-help News

Child Abuse Causes Loss of Quality of Life

Child maltreatment victims lose two years of quality of life

Child maltreatment is associated with reductions in quality of life even decades later, according to a new University of Georgia study that finds that—on average—victims lose at least two years of quality of life.

Associate professor Phaedra Corso and her colleagues analyzed surveys of more than 6,000 people to assess the deficits in quality of life that victims suffer. Their results appear in the June issue of the American Journal of Public Health.

“We found that there are significant differences in health-related quality of life between people who were maltreated as children and those who were not,” Corso said, “and that holds across all age groups.”

Childhood maltreatment—which includes physical, sexual and emotional abuse and neglect—has been linked to an increased risk for ailments ranging from heart disease, obesity and diabetes to depression and anxiety. Corso said there are two reasons why.

First, childhood maltreatment increases the likelihood of unhealthy behaviors such as smoking, substance abuse and sexual promiscuity.

Secondly that repeated exposure to the stress caused by maltreatment alters brain circuits and hormonal systems, which puts victims at greater risk of chronic health problems.

The researchers found that 46 percent of people reported some form of maltreatment during childhood. Of those;

• 26 percent reported physical abuse;
• 21 percent reported sexual abuse;
• 10 percent reported emotional abuse;
• 14 percent reported emotional neglect; and
• 9 percent reported physical neglect.

To assess reductions in quality of life, the team matched responses to a survey that assessed physical functioning, pain, cognitive functioning and social support with data from surveys that explicitly asked people how many years of life they would trade to be free of a given health condition. Throughout a lifetime, their responses translates to a loss of two years of quality-adjusted life expectancy.

“Every year gets diminished in some respect,” Corso said, “because the person who was maltreated has a lower quality of life than the person who wasn’t.”

“The long-term consequences of child maltreatment are very real and concerning. All children should have safe, stable and nurturing environments in which to grow and develop,” said Ileana Arias, director of CDC’s National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. “For children and adults to live to their full potential, we must support programs that stop child maltreatment before it ever begins and work to help those who have already experienced it.”

The researchers caution that the two-year reduction in quality of life undoubtedly underestimates the true impact of childhood maltreatment.

Children experience severe reductions in quality of life as maltreatment is occurring, and surveys of adults don’t account for those reductions.

“A lot of the time people don’t consider violence as a public health issue,” Corso said, “but there’s a body of evidence that exists now that shows long-term health impacts of childhood maltreatment.”

Full story at; Child Maltreatment

See also;

• A Problem Shared is a Problem Halved
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• Subscribe by e-Mail to Alcohol Self-help News

Al-anon Works in India

Fighting the spirits with spirituality

Michelle was an angry woman.

Often, when her husband returned from work, she would slam doors, swear and shout. Once, when he was asleep, she even poured a bucketful of water on him and later regretted drenching the mattress she shared with him. There were even times she secretly wished for a call informing her that her husband had fallen into a gutter somewhere. That was her idea of justice. Michelle did not hate her husband. She hated him when he was drunk. As the wife of an alcoholic, she had slowly imbibed the drunkard’s lack of self-control herself.

Full story at Times of India, Spirituality in Al-anon

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• Adult Children of Alcoholics
• Address the drinking problem directly
• Styles of Enabling Behavior
• Subscribe by e-Mail to Alcohol Self-help News

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24 Workplace Actions of ACOA’s

  Adult Children of Alcoholism / Addiction in the Workplace

ACOA’s often transfer behaviour learned in childhood into other adult spheres of life. In true codependency style these often confuse and confound us.

Some of these are;

1. We confuse our boss or supervisor with our alcoholic parents and have similar relationship patterns, behaviors, and reactions that are carryovers from childhood.
2. We confuse our co-workers with our siblings or our alcoholic parents and repeat childhood reactions in those working relationships.
3. We expect lavish praise and acknowledgment from our boss for our efforts on the job.
4. Authority figures scare us and we feel afraid when we need to talk to them.
5. We get a negative gut reaction when dealing with someone who has the physical characteristics or mannerisms of our alcoholic parent.
6. We have felt isolated and different from everyone around us, but we don’t really know why.
7. We lose our temper when things upset us rather than dealing with problems productively.
8. We busy ourselves with our co-workers’ jobs, often telling them how to do their work.
9. We can get hurt feelings when co-workers do things socially together without asking us, even though we have not made an effort to get to know them and join in the social life.
10. We are afraid to make the first move to get to know a co-worker better, thinking they will not like us or approve of us.
11. We usually do not know how to ask for what we want or need on the job, even for little things.
12. We do not know how to speak up for ourselves when someone has said or done something inappropriate. We try desperately to avoid face-to-face confrontations.
13. We are sensitive and can get extremely upset with any form of criticism of our work.
14. We want to be in charge of every project or activity, feeling more comfortable when we are in control of every detail, rather than letting others be responsible.
15. We may be the workplace “clown” to cover up our insecurities or to get attention from others.
16. We are people-pleasers and may take on extra work, or our co-worker’s tasks, in order to be liked and receive approval from others.
17. We do not know how to be assertive in getting our needs met or expressing a concern. We may have to repeatedly rehearse our comments before delivering them.
18. We have felt that we do not deserve a raise, promotion, better workspace, or a better job.
19. We do not know how to set boundaries, and we let others interrupt us. We can accept more work without knowing how to say ‘no’ appropriately.
20. We are perfectionists about our own work and expect others to be the same and have the same work ethics and values.
21. We become workaholics because it gives us a feeling of self-worth we did not get as a child.
22. We may jump from job to job, looking for the perfect position as the substitute for the secure and nurturing home environment we did not have.
23. We get upset when people do things that affect us or our work without asking us first.
24. We have a high tolerance for workplace dysfunction and tend to stick it out in an unhappy job because we lack the self-esteem to leave.

After the ACOA laundry list of characterisation.

See also;

• Adult Children of Alcoholics
• Al-Anon May be able to help
• Alcoholic Family Roles
• Workaholism
• Subscribe by e-Mail to Alcohol Self-help News