Addiction Recovery

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.

Modern America has evolved into a society where television, movies, music, video games and the Internet constantly bombard our senses with provocative sexual message and imagery. We might as well face it - America is addicted to sex.

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