According to researcher David Greenfield, the odds are good that you know someone who is addicted to the Internet. A study released in 2009 found that nearly six percent of Internet users are addicted to the Web. Although there is some debate in the psychological community about whether such a thing as Internet addiction exists, many experts believe that it not only exists, but that it disrupts lives and destroys families and careers on a regular basis.

According to Greenfield, "Marriages are being disrupted. Kids are getting into trouble. People are committing illegal acts. People are spending too much money. As someone who treats patients, I see it."

Alcohol and drug addiction have been accepted as legitimate conditions by the medical establishment for decades, but the tendency to label nearly any compulsive behavior as an addiction has generated a great deal of skepticism. Still, therapists who report that they see patients who spend virtually every waking moment online say that compulsive internet use looks very similar to other, more established addictions. In fact, prior to the 2009 study, industry estimates had set the rate of addiction among Internet users as high as 10 percent.

Greenfield, a Connecticut psychologist, collected data from more than 17,000 people regarding their Internet usage. Aptly, he gathered the information through an Internet poll. Greenfield adapted a widely-accepted questionnaire used to screen for gambling addiction to determine whether his respondents exhibited signs of Internet addiction. Respondents were asked such questions as whether they had ever tried to reduce their Internet usage without success, whether they ever used the Internet as an escape and whether they find themselves thinking about the Internet when they were not online.

Respondents who answered five or more of the questions with an affirmative were deemed to be addicted. If the results of the study hold true for the general public, there are over 11 million Internet addicts across the world. Greenfield believes that the unique combination of lowered inhibition, the timeless nature of the internet and the illusion of intimacy that is common among Internet users makes the medium particularly addictive.

Greenfield expresses concern that the increased availability of cheap Internet and ever-increasing connection speeds will only increase the technology's addictive potential. He expects the Internet addiction treatment field to eventually sub-divide into various categories, including sex, gambling and obsessive surfing.

Greenfield admits that his entire pool of participants was selected from the users of a single Internet site. This narrow focus represents a potential flaw in the data and leaves unanswered concerns that the results may be peculiar to the users of that site.

Child Welfare League Committee recently published a report that shows nearly 40 percent of students from fifth grade to eighth grade show symptoms of cell phone addiction.

4,269 samples were collected from 19 countries and cities in May of this past year. Of those samples, approximately 37 percent revealed that students check their cell phones first thing in the morning. Approximately 10 percent of students admitted to using their cell phones during class lessons. 26 percent of students use their cell phones during their commute to school. After school, 21 percent of surveyed students admitted to using their cell phone past 11pm.

Surprisingly, out of the surveyed teens, 45 percent of them admitted that they thought they use their cell phone too much; close to 40 percent showed symptoms of actual cell phone addiction.

In a land dominated by technology, nearly half of all fifth and sixth graders frequently use cellphones. Additionally, 69 percent of all seventh graders have cellphones, and 71 percent of all eighth graders have cell phones. Cellphone use among 12-year-olds stands at 56 percent in the US.

The study also observed Taiwanese children in various urban areas. Cellphone use among Taiwanese children grew 22 percent, compared with six years ago. Cellphone use in Taiwan is higher than China and Japan. In China, only 46 percent of the population from ages 10-18 uses cellphones. In Japan, only 45 percent of all 14-year-olds have cellphones.

However, close to 60 percent of all Taiwanese children only use their cellphone for less than five minutes per day.

The report stated that most teenagers use their cellphones for other activities, such as texting, listening to music, watching videos and surfing the Web.

Alicia Wang, Child Welfare League Committee executive director, advises parents not to spend too much money on cellphones, especially smartphones, for their kids. Wang insists that parents only allow their children phones with basic feature functions, and even then, don't allow small children to own a cellphone.

Perhaps one reason why cell phone addiction is rising is because of how easy it is to obtain a phone. Most companies offer free cell phones with a new 2-year contract.

It is a well-known fact that people like food. In fact, most people not only like food, they love food. They go living day by day just for that particular sweet taste of a certain food they like. Foods contain certain nutrients and hormones that assist the body with growth and development. Some foods assist in creating chemicals that help keep you healthy. Foods that are high in sugar and fat tend to turn that chemical around; making foods that are not good for you, the food you feel you need the most. It can get to the point where these people become addicted to food. Food contains chemicals that can transmit certain reactions to the brain. Such reactions can be the urge to eat more foods with a higher fat and sugar content. Because of this, it turns eating into an addiction. Some individuals carry a certain gene that makes them more susceptible to being an over eater. Some people carry a similar gene that makes them less susceptible to being an over eater. People who carry the gene that makes them want to overeat, crave the foods they want and in turn eat those foods creating a downward spiral. This in turn creates the addiction to eating certain foods.

Dr. Pawel Olszewski from Waikato University in New Zealand has discovered a pattern that describes the addictive behavior. He has found that foods that are higher in sugar and fat content contain a chemical that produces changes in the brain that resembles addictive behavior. Dr. Olszewski has conducted several tests and experiments to prove this theory on rodents. His findings were astronomical.

Dr. Olszewski claims that foods that are more delicious to individuals with a high sugar and fat content, have the same chemical compound for addiction as morphine or nicotine. Because of this, it makes those types of foods more addictive. It has been discovered that when eating foods that are higher in sugar and fat content, individuals tend to eat more until they are too full. This is because these types of foods have empty calories that cause the body not to feel as full. The chemicals that control the full feeling are stomped down with the sugar and fat content of the foods the individual is eating. Because of this, individuals eat more and more every day, creating an obesity crisis in the world. Foods that are high in sugar and fat content cause overeating and eventually can cause individuals to become overweight or obese.

Individuals are more susceptible to becoming overweight or obese because there are so many different sugary or fatty foods available on the market. When subjected to these foods, individuals tend to eat more of them than the healthier foods. It becomes very difficult to break the habit of eating the foods higher in sugar or fat content. This in turn causes many problems in humans today.
Problems that could arise:

• They could become overweight or obese
• They could have high cholesterol
• They could contract diabetes
• They could die

Individuals carry certain addictive tendencies. Individuals naturally have genes that can cause them to be addicted to many different things. When certain individuals eat a high sugar and fatty diet, the brain gets a signal from the chemicals that this is something the body needs.

Dr. Olszewski discovered that if you inject a patient with a drug that suppresses the addiction gene into rodents that have been on a sugar and fat diet, they begin to go through withdrawals from eating those types of foods. The drugs release a hormone to the brain that helps it to respond to the food addiction. This in turn helps the individual to stop wanting to eat the sugary or fatty foods available to them.

This in turn helps the individual to take better steps to eating healthier foods that keep their bodies in check. Baking foods in the oven or grilling foods on BBQ grills are just a few choices to help make better decisions about eating healthier. By making, the decision to eat foods that have a lower sugar and fatty amount in them, individuals will not be as overweight as those who are addicted to those fatty and sugary foods.

Because of his research, Dr. Olszewski is confident that someday it could help other physicians to diagnose these addictive behaviors in patients. This in turn can help patients, who are more susceptible to obesity, control it with a personalized therapy. By creating this type of therapy, it will assist the patients to become more in control over their body and addictions.

Dr. Olszewski has not achieved this goal yet. However, he is working on a way to fight the addiction to the higher sugar and fatty foods. By achieving this, he will be helping many individuals around the world to become healthier, thinner individuals.

Behavioral studies and consumer behavior articles claim that wine drinkers are generally have higher levels of education and live more sophisticated lifestyles, compared to people who drink other types of alcohol. Additionally, many wine drinkers are thought of to have higher incomes and better health, due to their consumption of healthy foods.

However, epidemiologic studies can not prove that wine consumers suffer less from cardiovascular diseases and mortality than people who consume other types of alcohol, after all adjustments for lifestyles have been accounted for.

Previous long-term studies on older Americans concluded that it was the associated lifestyle, habits and environmental factors that exponentially explained their better health. However, some people were concerned that the study's approach was flawed, claiming that the data presented on paper were inadequate to support the study's conclusion.

While the study may have been flawed due to its research on only a single estimate of alcohol intake and large adjustments for what the authors deemed as low-wine and high-wine consumers. Regardless, the study did confirm lower mortality rates for wine consumers than non-alcohol consumers.

To support this find, experimental studies show that some polyphenols and other constituents present within wine and other alcoholic beverages have independent properties that can protect against most cardiovascular risk factors.

Regardless, whether such advantages are found among moderate wine or beer drinkers is hard to determine. Epidemiologic studies have a hard time proving one or the other because comparisons among wine, beer and spirit drinks are not being made. Instead, what is being compared are humans who consume these beverages, and of course, it is hard to make conclusions based off human research, due to complex differences between each individual.

One of the most commonly asked questions regarding addiction recovery is whether or not natural remedies can be helpful or not.  There are a wide range of opinions on this.  The truth is that whatever information you get on the Internet is not a substitute for professional medical prevention, diagnosis, or treatment.  While it is always good to get tips and advice from wherever you can, it is important to consult your physician, pharmacist, or health care provider before you take any natural remedies or supplements.

So what kind of natural remedies are people on the Internet suggesting?  Well, some examples are L-Glutamine for alcohol addiction and licorice root as a replacement for the habit of smoking.

But by themselves these natural remedies are NOT going to magically "cure" you of addiction?

Why?

Because addiction is more of a mental and spiritual thing than it is a physical thing.

Of course it is always a good thing to take your vitamins and stay in peak physical condition - treating your body right will give you the best chance to beat any addiction.

But you are not truly going to beat any addiction until you address what is going on mentally and spiritually.

So if you really desire to beat an addiction, what should you do?

Number one, you need to admit that you have an addiction.  That can be very hard for many people to do.

Number two, you need to make a decision to change.  For many people, until the perceived pain of staying the same becomes greater than the perceived pain of making a change nothing is going to happen.  Perhaps today is the day to really evaluate where you are at.

Number three, once you have decided to make a change, you need to reach out for help.  This step involves swallowing your pride. Often a good first step is to reach out to a trusted family member. After that, reaching out to a professional who works in the field of your addiction or reaching out to a spiritual advisor can be extremely helpful. You are likely to need a lot of assistance in overcoming your addiction, and family, friends and licensed professionals are there to be that help.

Number four, which is the most important step, is to reach out to God.  Many have found that they did not have the strength within themselves to defeat an addiction, but that when they turned to the God of the universe they found all the power that they ever needed. The truth is that we all need God whether we are addicted to something or not.  We are all messed up in some way and we have all broken God's laws.  But the good news is that Jesus Christ (Yahshua) came to this earth to die for our sins on the cross. We urge you to invite Jesus Christ into your life today, because He will not only help you overcome your addiction - He will forgive your sins and will give you eternal life, and nothing is more important than that.

To find our more about how you can become a Christian, we encourage you to read another article that we published on this site: "Yahshua: The Ultimate Key To Addiction Recovery".

As more details of the Tiger Woods scandal come out, tabloids have been running such splashy headlines as "TIGER GIRL RACHEL CANCELS PRESS CONFERENCE - - $1 MILLION PAYOFF ALLEGED!!!"  It seems like the American media and even large portions of the American people are all too eager to absolutely trash someone who was once one of the nation's greatest heroes.  Without clearly admitting guilt, Tiger Woods has at least taken partial responsibility for whatever it is that he did.  In a statement posted on Tiger's website on Wednesday, Tiger acknowledged his "transgressions" that "let my family down" while at the same time pleading with the press for some privacy.   But this scandal just seems to get bigger by the hour. 

Yes, if Tiger Woods did commit adultery that is a very bad and very ugly thing and he was very, very wrong.  But why should this be sensationalized and celebrated endlessly in the media?  Perhaps the men of America should examine their own lives before being so quick to pass judgment on someone else.  You see, the truth is that America is a nation full of men who are sex addicts, adulterers and perverts.  It is really easy to jump on Tiger Woods, but how would most men in America stack up if the full weight of the tabloid media was weighing on them? 

The following are 10 reasons why American men should think twice before they judge Tiger Woods.....

#1) According to one major study, one out of every four married men in the United States admit to having at least one extramarital affair.  That is stunning, but imagine how much higher the numbers would be if it included all the ones who are lying about it?

#2) Scientists conducting a major scientific study at the University of Montreal recently launched a search for men who had never looked at pornography - but could not find a single one.

#3) Young men in America are so addicted to sex and are so incredibly irresponsible that they are getting record numbers of young teen girls pregnant.  In fact, 115 girls at one high school in Chicago alone either already have a baby or are pregnant right now.

#4) Thanks to the horniness of American men, 1 out of every four teen girls in the United States now has an STD and more than 25 percent of the residents of New York City now have herpes.

#5) Authorities estimate that there are over 60 million survivors of childhood sexual abuse in the United States today.  The vast majority of that abuse is committed by American men.

#6) Authorities also estimate that approximately 95% of all teenage prostitutes were sexually abused as children.  Once again, the men of America are overwhelmingly to blame for that.

#7) More than 70% of men in the United States between the ages of 18 and 34 visit at least one pornographic website in a typical month.

#8) In fact, a recent survey revealed that American men are so addicted to pornography that a large number of them can't even wait to get home to view it.  The survey found that 25 percent of American employees who have Internet access visit porn websites while they are at work.

#9) 89 dollars is spent on porn every single second of every single day in the United States.  The vast majority of that money is spent by American men.

#10) Porn industry revenue in the United States is larger than all of the revenues for all professional football, baseball and basketball franchises combined.

Are you starting to get the picture?

The truth is that before the men of America judge Tiger Woods, perhaps they should judge themselves.  There are tens of millions of American men out there who have done things just as bad as Tiger Woods has done - or worse.

The United States is a nation overflowing with junkies and drug dealers.  If you doubt this is true, how else can you explain new statistics that show that there is one drug bust in the U.S. every 18 seconds.  That means that there are an average of three drug busts every single minute of every single day in America.

Has the war on drugs failed?     

The F.B.I. has released the Uniform Crime Report for 2008, and it does not paint a pretty picture.  According to the report, there were 1,702,537 drug arrests in 2008, and 82.3 percent of those arrests were for possession of a contraband substance.

What does it say about a nation when there are 1.7 MILLION drug arrests in that country per year?

44 percent of the arrests were for possession of marijuana.  This is prompting many pot advocates to once again call for marijuana legalization.  For example, NORML director Allen St. Pierre released a media advisory in which he made this statement: "Present enforcement policies are costing American taxpayers tens of billions of dollars, ruining the lives of hundreds of thousands of Americans, and having no impact on marijuana availability or marijuana use in this country. It is time to end this failed policy and replace prohibition with a policy of marijuana regulation, taxation, and education."

But the reality, as we have previously covered, is that marijuana is a highly addictive, very dangerous substance.  If it was legalized it is very likely that crime and traffic accidents would increase significantly.

But illegal drugs are only part of the story when it comes to America's love affair with drugs.  The truth is that millions of Americans are completely addicted on legal prescription drugs, and thousands of doctors push them on their patients knowing full well that they are highly addictive and dangerous.

However, as we have previously written, there is hope for prescription drug addicts just as there is for illegal drug addicts.  There are some prescription drugs addictions that are incredibly difficult to beat, but the truth is that any addiction can be beat if you are willing to fight.

But what causes addiction in the first place?  The reality is that for most people they are trying to feel better or trying to escape or trying to fill a gaping hole in their lives.  Life is hard, and if you don't have a relationship with God, then there will always be that temptation to turn to something when things don't go well.

We invite you to learn the true secret to lasting joy and peace.  There is nothing quite like knowing that your life has real meaning.  Jesus Christ died on the cross for your sins so that you can have a relationship with the God of the universe that will last forever.  To learn more, we invite you to check this out.....

http://www.chick.com/reading/tracts/1049/1049_01.asp

But is this true?

Just consider the following video.

The following YouTube video is reportedly footage of one teen's reaction to the news that his mother has cancelled his World of Warcraft account.

For those of you who are not familiar with World of Warcraft, it is a HIGHLY addicting online role playing game. In fact, many online games can be so addicting that they can literally take over a person's life.

So is this teen addicted to World of Warcraft?

Is he displaying the behavior of a video game addict?

You make the call.....

The truth is that video game addiction can ruin your life if you are not careful. If you have stories or videos about video game addiction, please feel free to share them with us in the comments below.

Do you want to know the ultimate key to addiction recovery?

It is not some book.

It is not some method.

It is not some program.

It is not some great rehab center.

The ultimate key to addiction recovery is Yahshua.

You may know him as Jesus Christ. Yahshua is the name of Jesus in Hebrew. When Jesus was walking around on earth that is what he was called. There was no "J" in the Hebrew language.

Anyway, the truth is that not only can Yahshua help you overcome addiction and put your life back together, but through Him you can have your sins forgiven and you can have eternal life.

So how does that happen?

How does someone actually "become a Christian"?

Do you want to know how to become a Christian?

Do you want to have your sins forgiven?

Do you want to have a relationship with the God of the universe?

Would you like to live for eternity?

You can!

The God of the universe is very real, and He wants to forgive your sins and to give you eternal life.

Today we wanted to share with you all the basic things that you need to know in order to become a Christian.....

1) God LOVES you and offers a wonderful PLAN for your life.

God's Love

"God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life" (John 3:16).

God's Plan

[Yahshua speaking] "I came that they might have life, and might have it abundantly" [that it might be full and meaningful] (John 10:10).

Why is it that most people are not experiencing the abundant life?

Because....

2) Man is SINFUL and SEPARATED from God. Therefore, he cannot know and experience God's love and plan for his life.

Man Is Sinful

"All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23).

Man was created to have fellowship with God; but, because of his stubborn self-will, he chose to go his own independent way, and fellowship with God was broken. This self-will, characterized by an attitude of active rebellion or passive indifference, is evidence of what the Bible calls sin.

Man Is Separated From God

"The wages of sin is death" [spiritual separation from God] (Romans 6:23).

How can we bridge this separation?

3) Yahshua is God's ONLY provision for man's sin. Through Him you can know and experience God's love and plan for your life.

He Died in Our Place

"God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Yahshua died for us" (Romans 5:8).

He Rose From the Dead

"Yahshua died for our sins...He was buried...He was raised on the third day, according to the Scriptures...He appeared to Peter, then to the twelve. After that He appeared to more than five hundred..." (1 Corinthians 15:3-6).

Yahshua Is the Only Way to God

"Yahshua said to him, 'I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me'" (John 14:6).

It is not enough to just know these things...

4) We must individually RECEIVE Yahshua as Savior and Lord; then we can know and experience God's love and plan for our lives.

We Must Receive Yahshua

"As many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name" (John 1:12).

We Receive Yahshua Through Faith

"By grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, that no one should boast" (Ephesians 2:8,9).

We Receive Yahshua by Personal Invitation

[Yahshua speaking] "Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if any one hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him" (Revelation 3:20).

Receiving Yahshua involves turning to God from self (repentance) and trusting Yahshua to come into our lives to forgive our sins and to make us what He wants us to be. Just to agree intellectually that Yahshua is the Son of God and that He died on the cross for your sins is not enough. Nor is it enough to have an emotional experience. You receive Yahshua by faith, as an act of the will.

You can receive Yahshua right now by faith through prayer.

God knows your heart and is not so concerned with your words as He is with the attitude of your heart. The following is a suggested prayer:

"Yahshua, I need You. Thank You for dying on the cross for my sins. I open the door of my life and receive You as my Savior and Lord. Thank You for forgiving my sins and giving me eternal life. Take control of the throne of my life. Make me the kind of person You want me to be."

Does this prayer express the desire of your heart? If it does, we invite you to pray this prayer right now and Yahshua will come into your life, as He promised.

If you received Yahshua into your life today, or if you have any questions about how you can become a Christian, please leave us a message in the comments section below.

Becoming a Christian is the most important decision that you will ever make. Please do not take it lightly.

The rest of the information on this website will be very helpful for you in your road to addiction recovery, but the truth is that if you don't turn to Yahshua you are missing out on the most important thing.

How is it that we don't know we have a problem, until we see the evidence for ourselves in a picture of a video.

We think to ourselves...  "now that is embarrassing"

The Greatest thing you can do for yourself is admit that you do have a problem.  This is the first step.

The second step is that you eliminate all the areas of your life where you fall back into the hole.  For me, the hole was when my friends would light up a cigarette around me.  I sat there, wanting so badly a cigarette, that once I took a puff, I would convince myself that one more cigarette and THEN-pack wouldn't matter.  What a lie I told myself, and the worse part is I knew it was a lie.

Addictions are so powerful sometimes that you need to know to avoid putting yourself in the situation where you are going to slip.

Leave the room when people are lighting up, or drinking or taking drugs.  Sometimes for YOUR OWN sake, you will need to not hang around a particular crowd to avoid the temptations until you know you are confident enough to say no. 

If you are able to draw up a plan of attack covering all angles where you might possibly slip, you are going to succeed moreso than the person who hasn't got a plan and just decides to quit their habit.   What is your battle plan?

In January, I told my husband I was going to give up coffee.  A great Christian speaker I love dearly (Bree Keyton) had suggested in one of her seminar's to quit coffee.  I would be quitting coffee for the health benefits, and to get my body off of the reliance of a cup of coffee to function in the morning.  I do love creamy lattes and espresso's, so when January came, I substituted my regular coffee for decaffeinated.  The first 2 weeks were rough.  Every morning I had a back ache, and neck cramps.  I felt as though I was sick for a good week and a half.  I wasn't vomiting, but just weak, and overly tired.  I had no motivation to work,....  I just wanted to sleep.   After the two weeks, my body was no longer dependant on the coffee, and it functioned just the same as though I had a cup.  So, in other words, my body was back to it's normal state.  A few months later, I ended up having some specialty coffee's (french vanilla) that we stored away, (when I took out all the coffee out of our cabinets) and I felt bad to just throw it out, so I had a cup.  It had instant coffee in it, and for the rest of the day I had a very bad headache.  SO, I know, it is not worth it to have a cup, OR the rest of my day is a right-off. 

You can do it!  Remember, don't let anyone tell you, or plant the seed in your mind that you cannot do it !  People don't realize their words.  Everyone has a family member or a freind who shots out insults, and disbelief, so be mentally on-guard for it. 

If you fail, DON"T beat yourself up.  Pick yourself up and immediately get back on track!  Keep telling yourself ..."I have quit " and that action confirmation in your mind will direct your path to being totally free from addiction

Meranda

FROM THIS

TO THIS!

Stanford University School of Medicine researchers have shown that the part of the brain that generates rewarding feelings is more activated in men than women during video-game play.

In another Bristsh Study -72% Of men would prefer to play Video games than be with their partner.  From a study of 1130 British men, of those in relationships, 32% that said they would prefer to play video games gave reasons ranging from their "partner being hard to please" to the prospect being "not as much fun" as gaming.

When many of us were younger we would talk about how we were "addicted" to a video game, but we never really meant it seriously. However, a new study has been released that shows that video game addiction is very real and very serious.

In what is being hailed as the first national study on video game addiction in the United States, researcher Douglas Gentile of Iowa State University found that 8.5 percent of American youths between the ages of 8 and 18 who play video games exhibit multiple signs of addiction.

Considering the fact that the study found that 88 percent of the children in the U.S. between the ages of 8 and 18 play video games means that there are millions of kids who are addicted.

Video game addiction shows up primarily in boys. The study found that four times as many boys are addicted to video games than girls are.

"For some kids, they play in such a way that it becomes out of balance. And they're damaging other areas of their lives, and it isn't just one area, it's many areas," said Gentile.

According to the study, some of the symptoms of video game addiction include:

*Lying about how much they play

*Spending increasing amounts of time and money on video games to feel the same level of excitement

*Irritability or restlessness when the amount of time playing is scaled back

*Escaping problems through playing video games

*Skipping chores or homework to spend more time playing video games

*Stealing games or stealing money to buy games

The reality is that video games are more engrossing today than they ever have been before, and they can easily take over your life if you are not careful.  They can eat up so much time that they can damage your schoolwork, your relationships and your mental and physical health. 

In fact, some people have gotten so engrossed in video games that they have literally died while playing them.....

*Two World of Warcraft fanatics played so much that they actually dropped dead while playing the game.

*In South Korea, a 28-year-old man collapsed and died after a marathon session of playing the game Starcraft.

*A Taiwanese man died of exhaustion after playing video games non-stop for 32 hours at an Internet cafe. He was found in the cafe's toilets, bleeding from the nose and foaming at the mouth, and he died before he could be taken to the hospital.

*An "overweight" 26-year-old man from northeast China died after a massive gaming session that extended over the entire Lunar New Year holiday.

The truth is that video game addiction is very real and it can be very serious.

If you think that you may be addicted to video games, here is a test:

Try to quit for one week.

If you cannot do it, then you are probably addicted to video games.

Video game addiction can be defeated but it is not easy.

It can be harder to beat than drugs or alcohol.

But it can be done.

Reach out for the support of your friends and family and get involved in some other activities for a while.  Life is about balance, and unfortunately, as wonderful as video games are, they can suck you in and throw your life way off balance if you are not careful.

One of America's dirty little secrets is that it is now a nation that is completely addicted to pornography. One Focus on the Family survey found that 47% percent of families said that pornography is a problem in their homes. America's young men are particularly addicted - more than 70% of all men between the ages of 18 and 34 visit a pornographic site in a typical month.

The Internet has made access to pornography easier than ever before, and instead of getting bored with it, Americans seem to want more of it than ever. In fact, an increasing number of Americans are not even waiting to get home to view it.

Newsweek is reporting the results of a new survey that reveal that 25 percent of American employees who have Internet access visit porn websites while they are at work.

So if you are in an office with at least 3 coworkers, the odds are that at least one of you is looking at porn while you are at work.

But should we be surprised by all of this?

The truth is that the United States is totally addicted to sex.

Did you know that.....

*89 percent of all pornography is created in the United States?

*2.84 billion dollars in revenue was generated from U.S. pornography sites in 2006?

*89 dollars is spent on pornography every single second of the day?

*260 new pornography sites go online every day?

*Pornography revenue is larger than all of the COMBINED revenues of all professional football, baseball and basketball franchises in the United States?

*A survey of "Promise Keeper" men revealed that 53% of them had viewed pornography in the last week?

*The number of pornographic websites is now over 4.2 million (12% of the total websites in the world), and that those websites get over 40 million visits per day?

*25% of all search engine requests are related to porn?

*More than 70% of all men between the ages of 18 and 34 visit a pornographic site in a typical month?

Now there is news that government officials estimate that 600,000 Americans and 65,000 Canadians are trading dirty child pictures online.

That is a raging epidemic!

And actually the child pornography unit of the Ontario Provincial Police believes that the 65,000 figure for Canada is very low.

According to them, 40,000 computers in Ontario alone are known to be used to access child pictures.

They also say that the profits from creating and trading these images is estimated to be approximately 2 to 3 billion dollars every year.

How sick is that?

The reality is that America and Canada are full of sickos and the problem is getting worse every single year.

But those who practice these things will be held accountable by God.

In Matthew 18:6, Jesus said the following about those who would abuse children.....

But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.

If you have ever been involved in any aspect of this type of sin, you need to get down on your hands and knees and repent before the living God while you still have time to repent.  Your sin has been terrible, but there is hope for you. The only hope for any of us is to find forgiveness of our sins and eternal salvation through Jesus Christ.

The reality is that a huge percentage of people living in both the United States and Canada are addicted to porn. 

If you are addicted to porn, there are basically four key steps that you need to take.

#1) Admit You Have A Problem

Most addicts refuse to admit that they are addicts. They ignore the problem and so they never get any treatment for it. If you are going to beat this, then at some point the first step is to admit to yourself and others that you do indeed have a problem.

#2) Decide That You Want To Change

Many addicts are perfectly content to stay in their addicted state. It is comfortable for many of them. But in order to change you have to decide that is what you want, and you aren’t going to accept the pain and suffering that your addiction is causing you any longer.

#3) Reach Out For Help

Talk to someone that you trust and ask for help. This involves swallowing your pride. Often a good first step is to reach out to a trusted family member. After that, reaching out to a professional who works in the field of your addiction or reaching out to a spiritual advisor can be extremely helpful. You are likely to need help in overcoming your addiction, and family, friends and licensed professionals are there to be that help.

#4) Turn To God

Ultimately this is the most important step. Many have found that they did not have the power in themselves to beat an addiction, but that when they turned to God they found all the power that they ever needed. The truth is that we all need God whether we are addicts or not. We are all messed up in some way and we have all sinned. But the good news is that Jesus Christ came to this earth to die for our sins on the cross. We urge you to invite Jesus Christ into your life today, because He will not only help you overcome your addiction - He will forgive your sins and give you eternal life, and nothing is more important than that.

To learn more about how you can become a Christian, we would encourage you to read this…..

http://www.chick.com/reading/tracts/1049/1049_01.asp

An addiction to sex can be beaten.  There IS hope.  Please feel free to share your thoughts on this issue in the comments section following this article.

Is it time for marijuana legalization? After all, dozens upon dozens of the most famous movie stars, sports heroes and prominent politicians admit that they have smoked pot. If so many of America's celebrities are using it, and if it has some important medical uses, then hasn't it come time to legalize it?

Just consider the following list of celebrities that allegedly currently use marijuana or have used marijuana in the past...

Bill Maher

Jennifer Aniston

Jack Black

Michael Bloomberg

Tom Brokaw

George W. Bush

Bill Clinton

Jack Nicholson

Conan O'Brian

Bob Dylan

Carrie Fisher

Keanu Reeves

Newt Gingrich

Al Gore

Cameron Diaz

Drew Barrymore

Justin Timberlake

Paris Hilton

Mariah Carey

Charlize Theron

Dave Chapelle

Barbra Streisand

The following list is even more eye opening. This list is of celebrities that have been arrested for marijuana... 

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Chuck Berry

Bo Bice

Notorious B.I.G.

David Bowie

Bobby Brown

James Brown

Marcus Camby

Jennifer Capriati

Ray Charles

Coolio

David Crosby

Macaulay Culkin

Bob Denver

Neil Diamond

Andy Dick

DMX

Snoop Dogg

Faith Evans

David Faustino

Mark Foley

Jerry Garcia

Boy George

Al Gore III

Woody Harrelson

George Harrison

Don Henley

Dennis Hopper

Whitney Houston

Allen Iverson

Mick Jagger

Haley Joel Osment

Shawn Kemp

Lil Kim

Queen Latifah

John Lennon

Bob Marley

Paul McCartney

Matthew McConaughey

George Michael

Randy Moss

Bill Murray

Willie Nelson

Carlos Santana

Tupac Shakur

Charlie Sheen

Oliver Stone

Thurman Thomas

Rasheed Wallace

Dionne Warwick

Amy Winehouse

Wow.

How can we continue to make something illegal when so many people are obviously using it?

Well, maybe because it is extremely dangerous. The following is a list of some of the health effects that you may experience if you smoke marijuana.....

*Impaired perception
*Diminished short-term memory
*Loss of concentration and coordination
*Impaired judgement
*Increased risk of accidents
*Loss of motivation
*Diminished inhibitions
*Increased heart rate
*Anxiety, panic attacks, and paranoia
*Hallucinations
*Damage to the respiratory, reproductive, and immune systems
*Increased risk of cancer
*Psychological dependency

One thing that is often overlooked is the role that marijuana use plays in traffic accidents. One study of patients in a shock-trauma unit revealed that 15 percent of accident victims who had been driving a car or motorcycle had been smoking marijuana, and another 17 percent of them had been both smoking marijuana and had alcohol in their blood. 

Another study focused on the drug tests of 150 reckless drivers.  The study found that 33 percent of them tested positive for marijuana, and 12 percent of them tested positive for both marijuana and cocaine.

In addition, smoking marijuana is worse for your lungs than cigarette smoking is.  Marijuana smoke actually contains higher concentrations of carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons than cigarette smoke does.  In fact, researchers believe that marijuana smoke deposits more than 4 times as much tar on the lungs as cigarette smoke does.

While not as addictive as a drug such as cocaine is, the reality is that marijuana can still be addictive.  A marijuana addiction can be beaten, but nobody can do it for you.

So how do you know if you are addicted to marijuana? The following are some of the common symptoms:

-The feeling that you can’t get through the day without marijuana.

-You are not able to control your marijuana use. In other words, “one hit” is never enough.

-The feeling that you must always have a supply of marijuana.

-Repeated failure in trying to stop using marijuana.

-You may find yourself driving under the influence of marijuana even though intellectually you know that it is wrong.

-You may find yourself stealing money or committing crimes to obtain marijuana.

-The feeling that you must have marijuana to deal with your problems.

-You may have many unexplained absences from work and have difficulty sleeping.

If you are addicted to an illegal drug, there is good news. You can get free if you are willing to fight to do so.

There are basically four key steps that you need to take.

#1) Admit You Have A Problem

Most addicts refuse to admit that they are addicts. They ignore the problem and so they never get any treatment for it. If you are going to beat this, then at some point the first step is to admit to yourself and others that you do indeed have a problem.

#2) Decide That You Want To Change

Many addicts are perfectly content to stay in their addicted state. It is comfortable for many of them. But in order to change you have to decide that is what you want, and you aren’t going to accept the pain and suffering that your addiction is causing you any longer.

#3) Reach Out For Help

Talk to someone that you trust and ask for help. This involves swallowing your pride. Often a good first step is to reach out to a trusted family member. After that, reaching out to a professional who works in the field of your addiction or reaching out to a spiritual advisor can be extremely helpful. You are likely to need help in overcoming your addiction, and family, friends and licensed professionals are there to be that help.

#4) Turn To God

Ultimately this is the most important step. Many have found that they did not have the power in themselves to beat an addiction, but that when they turned to God they found all the power that they ever needed. The truth is that we all need God whether we are addicts or not. We are all messed up in some way and we have all sinned. But the good news is that Jesus Christ came to this earth to die for our sins on the cross. We urge you to invite Jesus Christ into your life today, because He will not only help you overcome your addiction - He will forgive your sins and give you eternal life, and nothing is more important than that.

To learn more about how you can become a Christian, we would encourage you to read this…..

http://www.chick.com/reading/tracts/1049/1049_01.asp

Food addiction is one of the most hidden addictions in American today.  Even most morbidly obese individuals will not admit that they are food addicts, and for those who are willing to admit it, they are usually not willing to admit that it is a serious problem.

But it is a serious problem.  Food addiction leads to obesity which opens the door to a whole host of health problems.  The Center for Disease Control has determined that approximately 60 percent of Americans are overweight or obese.  That is a national tragedy.  The Center for Disease Control has even found that approximately 17 percent of America's children are overweight, and that number continues to climb.

Obesity is no laughing matter.  In fact, those who are obese are at a much greater risk of developing the following.....

-Diabetes
-Cancer
-Hypertension
-Heart disease
-Joint pain
-High cholesterol

The IHRSA/ASD obesity/weight control report has revealed that obesity is absolutely exploding in the United States.  3.8 million people are over 300 pounds, over 400,000 people now weigh over 400 pounds.  The average adult female in the U.S. now weighs an unprecedented 163 pounds.

According to the U.S. Surgeon General report, obesity is responsible for 300,000 deaths every year.  These are all deaths that are preventable through treatment, recovery and proper diet.

So how do you know if you are addicted to food? The following are some of the common symptoms of food addiction:

-The feeling that you can’t get through the day without large amounts of food.

-You are not able to control your eating. In other words, one chip is never enough.  In fact, one bag of chips may not be enough.

-You find yourself constantly thinking about food.

-You experience repeated failure when you try to go on a diet.

-You hide your eating from your family and friends.

-When you are deprived of food, you may experience increased outbursts of irritability and anger, and you may find yourself resorting to violence much more easily.

-You use food as a way to deal with your problems.

-You sleep way too much and you feel sluggish most of the time.

-You may have many unexplained absences from work and have difficulty sleeping.

-If you still have doubts about whether you are a food addict, just look at your waist. If you are overweight there is a really good chance that you are a food addict.

So how can you overcome food addiction?

There are basically four key steps that you need to take.

#1) Admit You Have A Problem

Most addicts refuse to admit that they are addicts. They ignore the problem and so they never get any treatment for it. If you are going to beat this, then at some point the first step is to admit to yourself and others that you do indeed have a problem.

#2) Decide That You Want To Change

Many addicts are perfectly content to stay in their addicted state. It is comfortable for many of them. But in order to change you have to decide that is what you want, and you aren’t going to accept the pain and suffering that your addiction is causing you any longer.

#3) Reach Out For Help

Talk to someone that you trust and ask for help. This involves swallowing your pride. Often a good first step is to reach out to a trusted family member. After that, reaching out to a professional who works in the field of your addiction or reaching out to a spiritual advisor can be extremely helpful. You are likely to need help in overcoming your addiction, and family, friends and licensed professionals are there to be that help.

#4) Turn To God

Ultimately this is the most important step. Many have found that they did not have the power in themselves to beat an addiction, but that when they turned to God they found all the power that they ever needed. The truth is that we all need God whether we are addicts or not. We are all messed up in some way and we have all sinned. But the good news is that Jesus Christ came to this earth to die for our sins on the cross. We urge you to invite Jesus Christ into your life today, because He will not only help you overcome your addiction - He will forgive your sins and give you eternal life, and nothing is more important than that.

To learn more about how you can become a Christian, we would encourage you to read this…..

http://www.chick.com/reading/tracts/1049/1049_01.asp

As of 2006, 21 percent of American adults were addicted to smoking.  That number is less than it used to be, but it is still incredibly sad that approximately 1 out of every 5 American adults is addicted to a habit that is so incredibly deadly.

The hope is that young people will begin to reject tobacco as they learn what it has done to older generations.  However, as of 2005, 23 percent of high school students had smoked cigarettes in the past 30 days.

The truth is that most people who get addicted to smoking do so at a very young age.  Statistics show that about 9 out of 10 tobacco users start smoking before they're 18 years old.

Most smokers do not just smoke one or two cigarettes per day.  In fact, the average smoker smokes an average of 14 cigarettes per day.

All of this smoking absolutely devastates the health of the average smoking addict.  It is now well known that smoking increases the risk of cancer, heart disease, emphysema and premature death.

In fact, if you want to calculate it, a single cigarette takes about 5 to 20 minutes off a person's life.

Is that cigarette really worth it?

So how do you know if you are addicted to smoking? The following are some of the common symptoms of smoking addiction:

-The feeling that you can’t get through the day without a cigarette.

-You are not able to control your smoking.  In other words, one cigarette is never enough.

-You find yourself constantly thinking about your next cigarette.

-You experience repeated failure when you try to quit smoking.

-You hide your smoking from your family and friends.

-You may find yourself stealing money or committing crimes to obtain money for cigarettes.

-You may experience increased outbursts of irritability and anger, and you may find yourself resorting to violence much more easily.

-You use cigarettes as a way to deal with your problems or to deal with physical pain.

-Altered activity levels such as sleeping for 12 to 14 hours at a time or frenzied activity lasting for hours and hours.

-You may have many unexplained absences from work and have difficulty sleeping.

So how can you overcome smoking addiction?

There are basically four key steps that you need to take.

#1) Admit You Have A Problem

Most addicts refuse to admit that they are addicts. They ignore the problem and so they never get any treatment for it. If you are going to beat this, then at some point the first step is to admit to yourself and others that you do indeed have a problem.

#2) Decide That You Want To Change

Many addicts are perfectly content to stay in their addicted state. It is comfortable for many of them. But in order to change you have to decide that is what you want, and you aren’t going to accept the pain and suffering that your addiction is causing you any longer.

#3) Reach Out For Help

Talk to someone that you trust and ask for help. This involves swallowing your pride. Often a good first step is to reach out to a trusted family member. After that, reaching out to a professional who works in the field of your addiction or reaching out to a spiritual advisor can be extremely helpful. You are likely to need help in overcoming your addiction, and family, friends and licensed professionals are there to be that help.

#4) Turn To God

Ultimately this is the most important step. Many have found that they did not have the power in themselves to beat an addiction, but that when they turned to God they found all the power that they ever needed. The truth is that we all need God whether we are addicts or not. We are all messed up in some way and we have all sinned. But the good news is that Jesus Christ came to this earth to die for our sins on the cross. We urge you to invite Jesus Christ into your life today, because He will not only help you overcome your addiction - He will forgive your sins and give you eternal life, and nothing is more important than that.

To learn more about how you can become a Christian, we would encourage you to read this…..

http://www.chick.com/reading/tracts/1049/1049_01.asp

However, the reality is that many prescription drugs are almost identical chemically to illegal drugs.  Many prescription drugs are incredibly addictive and incredibly dangerous if used incorrectly. 

Not only are many Americans getting hooked on prescription drugs by accident, but also the number of Americans abusing prescription drugs on purpose is rapidly growing.

According to the 2003 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, an estimated 4.7 million Americans use prescription drugs non-medically.  In particular, the growth of the non-medical abuse of prescription drugs by teens is particularly troubling.

According to a stunning 2007 survey conducted for the National Institute on Drug Abuse, more than 15 percent of U.S. high school seniors abuse prescription drugs.  The type of prescription drugs that are most commonly abused in this manner include codeine-based painkillers such as oxycodone (OxyContin) and those containing hydrocodone (Vicodin).

The reality is that prescription drug abuse has dramatically increased as these drugs have become easier to get.

For instance, U.S. prescriptions for stimulants have increased from around 5 million prescriptions in 1991 to almost 35 million prescriptions in 2007. In addiction, prescriptions for painkillers such as oxycodone (OxyContin) and hydrocodone (Vicodin) increased from about 40 million in 1991 to approximately 180 million in 2007.

Another sad reality is that prescription drug addiction is also growing rapidly among the elderly.  The elderly are prescribed drugs by doctors more often than any other segment of the population, and sadly more than 17 percent of adults over the age of 60 now abuse prescription drugs.  Many of them never intended to get hooked, but once they got on the prescription drugs that they were given by their doctor they could not get off.

So how do you know if you are addicted to prescription drugs? The following are some of the common symptoms of prescription drug addiction:

-The feeling that you can’t get through the day without taking the drug.

-You are not able to control your prescription drug use. Once you start you find it very hard to stop.

-You find yourself becoming obsessed with prescription drugs.

-You experience repeated failure when you try to quit using prescription drugs.

-You hide your prescription drug use from your family and friends.

-You may find yourself stealing money or committing crimes to obtain money for prescription drugs.

-You may experience increased outbursts of irritability and anger, and you may find yourself resorting to violence much more easily.

-You use prescription drugs as a way to deal with your problems or to deal with physical pain.

-Altered activity levels such as sleeping for 12 to 14 hours at a time or frenzied activity lasting for hours and hours.

-You may have many unexplained absences from work and have difficulty sleeping.

So how can you overcome prescription drug addiction?

There are basically four key steps that you need to take.

#1) Admit You Have A Problem

Most addicts refuse to admit that they are addicts. They ignore the problem and so they never get any treatment for it. If you are going to beat this, then at some point the first step is to admit to yourself and others that you do indeed have a problem.

#2) Decide That You Want To Change

Many addicts are perfectly content to stay in their addicted state. It is comfortable for many of them. But in order to change you have to decide that is what you want, and you aren’t going to accept the pain and suffering that your addiction is causing you any longer.

#3) Reach Out For Help

Talk to someone that you trust and ask for help. This involves swallowing your pride. Often a good first step is to reach out to a trusted family member. After that, reaching out to a professional who works in the field of your addiction or reaching out to a spiritual advisor can be extremely helpful. You are likely to need help in overcoming your addiction, and family, friends and licensed professionals are there to be that help.

#4) Turn To God

Ultimately this is the most important step. Many have found that they did not have the power in themselves to beat an addiction, but that when they turned to God they found all the power that they ever needed. The truth is that we all need God whether we are addicts or not. We are all messed up in some way and we have all sinned. But the good news is that Jesus Christ came to this earth to die for our sins on the cross. We urge you to invite Jesus Christ into your life today, because He will not only help you overcome your addiction - He will forgive your sins and give you eternal life, and nothing is more important than that.

To learn more about how you can become a Christian, we would encourage you to read this…..

http://www.chick.com/reading/tracts/1049/1049_01.asp

Recent research reveals that approxiamtely 2.5 million adults in the United States are pathological gamblers and another 3 million adults should be considered problem gamblers.  Well over 500 billion dollars is spent on gambling each year in the United States.  That is a massive amount of money. 

Gambling has become big business in the United States, and the gambling industry is creating a massive number of gambling addicts as the following statistics show:

*The gambling industry has grown tenfold in the United States since 1975.

*Two-thirds of the adult population placed some kind of bet last year.

*Gambling profits in casinos are more than 30 billion dollars each year while lotteries make profits of about 17 billion dollars annually.

*In 1973 state lotteries had about 2 billion dollars in sales.  By 1997, the revenues of state lotteries reached 34 billion dollars.

*The average rate of divorce for problem gamblers is nearly double that of non-gamblers.

*The suicide rate for pathological gamblers is twenty times higher than for non-gamblers (one in five pathological gamblers attempts suicide).

*65 percent of pathological gamblers commit crimes to support their gambling habit.

As those statistics show, a gambling addiction can be absolutely devastating.

So how do you know if you are addicted to gambling?  The following are some of the common symptoms of gambling addiction:

-The feeling that you can’t get through the day without gambling.

-You are not able to control your gambling. Once you start you find it very hard to stop.

-You find yourself always thinking about your next poker game or your next trip to the casino.

-You experience repeated failure when you try to quit gambling.

-You hide your gambling from your family and friends.

-You may find yourself stealing money or committing crimes to obtain money for gambling.

-You may experience increased outbursts of irritability and anger, and you may find yourself resorting to violence much more easily.

-You gamble as a way to deal with your problems.

-You may have many unexplained absences from work and have difficulty sleeping.

So how can you overcome gambling addiction?

There are basically four key steps that you need to take.

#1) Admit You Have A Problem

Most addicts refuse to admit that they are addicts. They ignore the problem and so they never get any treatment for it. If you are going to beat this, then at some point the first step is to admit to yourself and others that you do indeed have a problem.

#2) Decide That You Want To Change

Many addicts are perfectly content to stay in their addicted state. It is comfortable for many of them. But in order to change you have to decide that is what you want, and you aren’t going to accept the pain and suffering that your addiction is causing you any longer.

#3) Reach Out For Help

Talk to someone that you trust and ask for help. This involves swallowing your pride. Often a good first step is to reach out to a trusted family member. After that, reaching out to a professional who works in the field of your addiction or reaching out to a spiritual advisor can be extremely helpful. You are likely to need help in overcoming your addiction, and family, friends and licensed professionals are there to be that help.

#4) Turn To God

Ultimately this is the most important step. Many have found that they did not have the power in themselves to beat an addiction, but that when they turned to God they found all the power that they ever needed. The truth is that we all need God whether we are addicts or not. We are all messed up in some way and we have all sinned. But the good news is that Jesus Christ came to this earth to die for our sins on the cross. We urge you to invite Jesus Christ into your life today, because He will not only help you overcome your addiction - He will forgive your sins and give you eternal life, and nothing is more important than that.

To learn more about how you can become a Christian, we would encourage you to read this…..

http://www.chick.com/reading/tracts/1049/1049_01.asp

Drug addiction is very serious. More than 19,000 people a year die from using illegal drugs and it is estimated that over 16 million Americans have a drug addiction problem.

The kinds of illegal drugs that people get addicted to are many, but they are all very dangerous. Some of the most common drugs that Americans get addicted to include marijuana, cocaine, crystal meth, ecstasy, heroin, LSD, PCP and ketamine (special K).

While there are many types of illegal drugs they have one thing in common. They are destroying lives.

The following statistics come from US NO DRUGS.....

---

*In one research study, approximately 1 in 5 people between the ages of 16 and 59 said that they had taken at least one of the drugs mentioned in the study.

*People ages 18 to 21 were most likely to admit having taken drugs with almost half (46%) claiming to have taken them.

*More men than women said that they had taken drugs. 24% of men and 16% of women had taken at least one kind of drug in their lives.

*Amongst those ages 18-21; 51% of men and 38% of women had taken drugs.

*More men than women had experienced taking more than one drug at a time. 52% of men but only 36% of women who had taken drugs had taken more than one type.

*Marijuana was the most commonly used drug, experienced by 12% of all participants and 24% of those ages 18 to 25.

*19.5 million people over the age of 12 use illegal drugs in the United States (Mayo Clinic).

*There were 601,776 estimated drug-related emergency department episodes in 2000. Among these, there were 1,100,539 drug mentions. Keep in mind, more than one drug may be in a person's system at the time of admission.

*Alcohol in combination with other drugs was the most frequently mentioned drug at time of emergency department admission (204,524), followed by cocaine (174,896), heroin/morphine (97,287), and marijuana (96,446).

--- 

So how do you know if you are addicted to an illegal drug? The following are some of the common symptoms:

-The feeling that you can't get through the day without the drug.

-You are not able to control your drug use. In other words, “one hit” is never enough.

-The feeling that you must always have a supply of the drug.

-Repeated failure in trying to stop using the drug.

-You may find yourself driving under the influence of the drug even though intellectually you know that it is wrong.

-You may find yourself stealing money or committing crimes to obtain the drug.

-You may experience increased irritability and anger, and you may find yourself resorting to violence much more easily.

-The feeling that you must have the drug to deal with your problems.

-You may have many unexplained absences from work and have difficulty sleeping.

If you are addicted to an illegal drug, there is good news. You can get free if you are willing to fight to do so. 

There are basically four key steps that you need to take.

#1) Admit You Have A Problem

Most addicts refuse to admit that they are addicts. They ignore the problem and so they never get any treatment for it. If you are going to beat this, then at some point the first step is to admit to yourself and others that you do indeed have a problem.

#2) Decide That You Want To Change

Many addicts are perfectly content to stay in their addicted state. It is comfortable for many of them. But in order to change you have to decide that is what you want, and you aren’t going to accept the pain and suffering that your addiction is causing you any longer.

#3) Reach Out For Help

Talk to someone that you trust and ask for help. This involves swallowing your pride. Often a good first step is to reach out to a trusted family member. After that, reaching out to a professional who works in the field of your addiction or reaching out to a spiritual advisor can be extremely helpful. You are likely to need help in overcoming your addiction, and family, friends and licensed professionals are there to be that help.

#4) Turn To God

Ultimately this is the most important step. Many have found that they did not have the power in themselves to beat an addiction, but that when they turned to God they found all the power that they ever needed. The truth is that we all need God whether we are addicts or not. We are all messed up in some way and we have all sinned. But the good news is that Jesus Christ came to this earth to die for our sins on the cross. We urge you to invite Jesus Christ into your life today, because He will not only help you overcome your addiction - He will forgive your sins and give you eternal life, and nothing is more important than that.

To learn more about how you can become a Christian, we would encourage you to read this.....

http://www.chick.com/reading/tracts/1049/1049_01.asp

So what's the problem? The problem is that alcohol addiction can absolutely destroy lives. It destroyed the lives of my grandparents, although my grandmother was able to eventually turn her life around. Alcohol addiction can rob a person of his or her job, family, friendships, health, wealth and self-respect.

But alcohol addiction can also be beat - and that is the good news.

Alcohol addiction is a bigger problem among men than among women for whatever reason. About 7 percent of men are addicted to alcohol, while only about 2.5 percent of women are. Why such a difference? Nobody knows for sure, but from a very young age drinking beer and getting drunk are behaviors that are glorified to young men, so perhaps cultural factors play a key role.

In any event, the truth is that there are millions of Americans who are addicted to alcohol, but only about 700,000 of them have been treated for alcoholism.

So how do you know if you are addicted to alcohol? The following are some of the warning signs.....

*You experience slurred speech, dizziness and extreme clumsiness when you are drunk.
*You experience increasingly frequent blackouts.
*Alcohol addiction can sometimes be accompanied by significant weight loss.
*You have a painful or upset stomach that doesn't seem to ever go away.
*You notice increased redness in the face or cheeks.
*You experience numbness or tingling in the hands and feet.
*You are not able to control your drinking. In other words, "one drink" is never enough.
*You may find yourself driving while drunk on a regular basis even though intellectually you know that it is wrong.
*You may experience increased irritability and anger, and you may find yourself resorting to violence much more easily.
*You may find yourself avoiding activities that do not involve the opportunity to get drunk.
*You may find yourself crying more often or exploding in irrational emotional outbursts.
*Those addicted to alcohol often have many unexplained absences from work and have difficulty sleeping.

So does that sound like you?

If it does do not panic.

It is important to face up to where you are at and what will happen to you if you do not quit.

The following are some of the effects of alcohol addiction if you do not quit:

-Permanent damage to vital organs such as the brain and liver.
-Mothers may give birth to infants with fetal alcohol syndrome.
-The children of alcoholic parents are at a significantly greater risk than other children of becoming alcohol addicts themselves.
-The destruction of huge numbers of brain cells, possibly leading to brain damage.
-Massive damage to the central nervous system, hindering the ability to retrieve, consolidate, and process information.
-Alcohol abuse seriously reduces the oxygen supply of the brain, therefore making the possibility of a blackout much more likely.
-Inflammation of the mouth, esophagus, and stomach. Ultimately this could lead to cancer in these areas, especially in drinkers who also smoke.
-Many alcohol addicts also experience irregular heartbeats, high-blood pressure, heart attacks, and other heart damage.
-Alcoholism also can seriously harm vision and damage sexual function.

So if you are addicted to alcohol, what should you do?

There are basically four key steps that you need to take.

#1) Admit You Have A Problem

Most addicts refuse to admit that they are addicts. They ignore the problem and so they never get any treatment for it. If you are going to beat this, then at some point the first step is to admit to yourself and others that you do indeed have a problem.

#2) Decide That You Want To Change

Many addicts are perfectly content to stay in their addicted state. It is comfortable for many of them. But in order to change you have to decide that is what you want, and you aren't going to accept the pain and suffering that your addiction is causing you any longer.

#3) Reach Out For Help

Talk to someone that you trust and ask for help. This involves swallowing your pride. Often a good first step is to reach out to a trusted family member. After that, reaching out to a professional who works in the field of your addiction or reaching out to a spiritual advisor can be extremely helpful. You are likely to need help in overcoming your addiction, and family, friends and licensed professionals are there to be that help.

#4) Turn To God

Ultimately this is the most important step. Many have found that they did not have the power in themselves to beat an addiction, but that when they turned to God they found all the power that they ever needed. The truth is that we all need God whether we are addicts or not. We are all messed up in some way and we have all sinned. But the good news is that Jesus Christ came to this earth to die for our sins on the cross. We urge you to invite Jesus Christ into your life today, because He will not only help you overcome your addiction - He will forgive your sins and give you eternal life, and nothing is more important than that.

Well, one of the goals of this site is to give people real solutions to their real problems so that they can break free of the addictions that are holding them back and free them up to live the kind of lives that they were meant to live.  Addiction recovery is possible if you are willing to fight for it.  Hopefully the information on this site will help you in that fight.