There is a fine line between having a healthy sexual relationship and enjoying sex and actually becoming addicted to sex. Some people do have a higher sex drive than others but you are said to have crossed the line and become addicted to sex if at the time you are not satisfied after the act of lovemaking. If after making love you are still having thoughts of sex or need more then this is a sure sign that you are addicted.

Why do some people become addicted to sex?

While some might think that becoming addicted to sex is all about the pleasurable feelings that one gets during the act there are other reasons behind sexual addiction. There are also biological and psychological reasons some come to rely on and need more and more of the chemicals such as endorphins and enkephlines that are released into the brain at the time of reaching orgasm. This is very similar to the feelings or rush that people get when they are taking and are addicted to drugs. For others it can be the need to escape from something which very often can be some form of abuse such as mental or physical. Of it can be a mixture of both and this is why if you think you may be becoming addicted to sex you should the help of a sex addiction specialist.

Pornography and masturbation in relation to being a sex addict

Both pornography and masturbation play a huge role in the life of a sex addict and in the majority of the people who are addicted this is the base and can alter their life drastically. Both masturbation and pornography can be addictions on their own but are most frequently combined with the act of sex too. People become addicted to porn because this is fantasy and allow them to escape, it is not uncommon for those addicted to sex to watch nothing else but pornography and of course to masturbate while watching, which can be up to several times a day along with having sex too. You can be said to be addicted to pornography if it begins to drastically change your life, for example if you are constantly thinking about it or feel the need to masturbate to the point when it affects your day to day living such as work.

The recovery process for addiction to sex

As with all types of addiction it is possible to beat the addiction, recovery can take many years and the hardest time will be during the first year. Very few people who are addicted to sex can overcome the addiction alone and need a specialists help in treating their addiction due to their being many complex feelings to overcome such as emotional, psychological and of course problems in relationships. Usually in the cases where the addict is married then both partners should receive counselling as the partner of the one who is addicted to sex often has independent problems and feelings of anxiety, stress, loss and loneliness. Recovery from sex addiction can take several years and many have to remain in counselling for extended periods of time but providing you know you have a problem and want to get past it then it can be done.

With the huge advancements in home computing and the internet, online games have come a long way and now you can meet up with others online who are half way around the world and you can battle them in the world of online gaming.

While online games are meant to be a way of relaxing, having fun and escaping for an hour or so many people are now becoming seriously addicted to the escape that online gaming brings.

However for some the fun ends and their life is taken over by this new fantasy world and in some cases even to the point of giving their life for it. There are many mental and physical perils to online gaming and fun can very quickly turn into addiction, some of the online fantasy games give you a new persona to the point where the gamer believes they are that person and nothing else matters but mixing potions and welding swords to advance through the levels of the game to the coveted number one position. For some gamers this means never leaving their homes, they don’t eat, sleep and their normal day to day living ceases including work and school.

Some anti-gamers have dubbed online games as “heroinware” in that the addiction is likened to that of the drug heroin. One of the factors of online gaming which seems to draw people in is the fact that you can “chat” or interact with people all around the world under the disguise of the particular character they are playing in the game. Unfortunately for some that persona completely takes over their life and they start to live the character. Another factor that drags people into the gaming world is the series of complex tasks and assignments such as finding a specific item or achieving a goal, this gets the gamer totally immersed into the game and leads them to spending hours at a time or even days immersed in the game. Online gaming is all about power and status and those taking part take it very seriously to the point where the game becomes their life.

Recovery is possible but getting the addict to admit they even have a problem is one of the hardest to overcome. Recovery can only begin if the person realises they have an addiction and very few who are addicted will admit or even realise it. One of the biggest problems for those who have become addicted to online gaming and their character in the game is giving up their character or “killing” them off and coming back to reality. Counselling for online gaming addiction is essential as many gamers who do manage to give up their character do so for only a very short while before returning again. With companies such as Microsoft and Sony pushing online gaming as the next generation of games which earns them a revenue of around $1.8 billion a year there is no wonder that so many are becoming addicted to the world of online gaming.

Have you ever stopped to wonder what it is that attracts people to go sky diving, snow boarding, riding death defying roller coasters or any other form of extreme sport or lifestyle? The simple answer is the adrenaline rush that all of these give you.

However while the odd ride or sky diving trip does you no harm and can break the boredom, you can become addicted to risk taking. Actually it isn’t that you enjoy the actual risk taking but rather the rush of adrenaline that course through your body at this time. Adrenaline gets your heart bumping and sends the blood rushing around the body at high speed; it boosts the mood and makes you feel invincible.

The addiction to risk taking can however begin to affect your life and eventually to take it over, you are forever getting more daring in the risk taking until it gets to the extreme, the adrenaline no longer flows as easily or quickly as it once did and you need to take things to the extreme in order to send the boost of adrenaline rushing through your body and bring the feelings that you have come to love and consider to be normal. But whereas you were once getting the rush from enjoying sports you find you are now taking risks in your everyday life that can cause severe problems in life and extreme danger to yourself and to others.

You eventually can get to the point where you try virtually anything and everything to get that rush from running through red lights in your car to waiting until the last minute possible to beat the train across the crossing; this however has gone past the point of risk taking and you are now taking risks to the extreme of risking your life. When you aren’t getting the rush you feel depressed, angry, sweaty, anxious and generally miserable with life in general, this is the point when you have to take hold of the reins realise you have a problem and take back charge of your life.

However this can be easier said than done, you want to change; you swear you are going to change but then before you know it you are back seeking the adrenaline rush. Getting over addiction to risk taking should be taken just as seriously as when you are quitting any other form of addiction, you need help and should talk with your Doctor and seek counselling. Addiction to drugs can kill you and addiction to risk taking can do just the same if you don’t change your ways and get into recovery. Recovering from risk taking and the adrenaline rush it gives is all about retraining the brain, getting the chemicals to readjust, and this can take time and a great deal of strength on your part but it can be done. If you cannot do it alone then take the advice and help from a specialist in addictions because there are programmes for specific addictions and addiction to adrenaline rush brought about by risk taking is no exception.

We have all heard of the term “you’re a workaholic” and the majority of us more than likely believe that it is nothing more than just a joke term.

However for some people workaholism does have true meaning and goes far beyond a joke, in fact it can tear their life apart and their family.

Workaholism is actually an addiction and if left to its own devices then it can become a very serious addiction that can have a profound affect not only on the person’s personal and family life but also on their health too. We all like to do the best job we can when working and like to get on the bosses good side, but when does this turn into an addiction? And what can be done about it once it has got a hold?

Working to the best of your ability is one thing but working overtime every night and then the weekends too is a completely different thing. When it gets to the point when you give up holidays, don’t take days off for sickness but rather go into work feeling ill, then this is the point of no return and a good indication that you are an actual workaholic. When it gets to the point where you are eating, sleeping and dreaming of work and get shaky, jittery and irritable when not at work and you are never home and your family begins to complain then this is the time when you should seek help.

So what brings a person to this point, the majority of people who are true workaholics are so because they have to be in control, the person cannot stand to think that if they are not on top of every situation at work then someone else could step in an begin to take over, to take their position, be on top. You become filled with over importance and it is this fear that drives a person to workaholism. However it doesn’t stop there the self importance and fear of losing it quickly turns into obsession and this leads to the vicious circle of anxiety triggered by fear sparking more anxiety and in turn more fear.

By this point your family could have given up all hope and you too, your only world now is work even though you are probably suffering from many of the commons symptoms that anxiety and stress bring, such as constant headache, aches and pains, panic attacks, trembling turns and palpitations to name a few. The only way to bring yourself out of this cycle and back to the real world is to admit you have a real problem and then do what seems like the impossible, take some time off work.

Depending on the severity of your problem you might with understanding from your friends, family and work colleagues be able to recover in just a short time but then again if the situation has gone on for some time you might need medication and the help of a Doctor to get back on track. However the important point to remember is that you can recover from workaholism just as with any other form of addiction however long it takes with a little support and understanding.

A startling study recently conducted has shown that binge drinking in teenagers is on the increase and seems to be the latest addiction when it comes to teenagers.

In a recent survey on teenagers in the US over 45% of those attending college and a third of seniors in high school admitted to binge drinking on at least one occasion during the previous two weeks of being asked. The problem is not just confined to the US, binge drinking in teenagers in a wide spread occurrence around the world and is increasingly becoming a problem.

Binge drinking is the drinking of more than 5 alcoholic drinks following one another on a single occasion and it has been reported by the National centre for addiction and substance abuse that more than five million high school students are reported to binge drink at least once a month and this figure is on the increase.

While it seems that drug abuse is on the decline in teenagers of high school age, this is being replaced by the need for alcohol and in particular binge drinking. This is particularly worrying as binge drinking is well known for the effects of boosting drink related accidents in teenagers particularly with road accidents. Even more worryingly considering that the top four causes of death among teenagers are road accidents, homicide, suicide and drowning in which alcohol has played a role and is usually the main factor in those under the age of 20.

One of the main reasons for the increase and addiction to binge drinking in teenagers is that alcohol can be bought inexpensively when compared to drugs. Teenagers admit that getting hold of alcohol is far easier than it was 5 years ago and when compared to other beverages such as soft drinks, alcohol and in particular beer when bought in kegs, works out cheaper and of course is the mainstay of many college and now teenage parties.

Along with this advertising plays a role in encouraging the younger generation to binge drink, bars promise happy hours where beer and alcohol is often half price or two for one within a designated period thus encouraging the person to consume it rapidly during a short space of time.

Alcohol causes many serious problems besides many deaths every year and underage drinking of course is also illegal. Binge drinking in particular can be deadlier than drinking smaller regular amounts over longer periods of time due to the sheer amount of alcohol that courses through the system and binge drinking can become a serious problem without you even realising you have become addicted to binge drinking and alcohol.

The biggest problem with binge drinking in teenagers is that the teenager’s brain is still developing and it is during the teenage years that the biggest changes are made to two important areas within the brain. These two areas are responsible for the persons motivation, impulse behaviour and addiction, alcohol contains a toxin which is poisonous and with excessive alcohol use such as binge drinking the brain is prevented from working correctly and over the long term this can lead to a variety of problems including memory problems, difficulty with balance and can have a serious affect on the teenagers learning abilities.

1. The support of family and friends

Recovering from addiction is the time when you realise who your friends really are, true friends will help you through this particularly hard time by being there for you. This is a time also when you should accept the help your family is willing to give instead of trying to push them away.

It is important that you be open and honest with them and lean on them when you need to and don’t be afraid to admit that you need help. This may be difficult at first as part of the addiction will probably have caused you to have become withdrawn from those you love.

2. Take part in support groups

Support groups can provide invaluable assistance when trying to beat addiction, groups will be able to provide helpful advice and you will be in the company of others who are in the same predicament as yourself so know what you are going through. Most support groups will meet once weekly and many local authorities run groups which can be found listed in the yellow pages or online.

3. Keep a journal of your efforts

Keeping a written account of your efforts will provide you with a great way to get your thoughts and feelings off your chest and will give you a way of keeping track of the progress you make. When times get hard a journal of your own thoughts and feelings and being able to look back and see how far you have come can make a big difference.

4. Keep yourself busy

One of the best ways to keep your mind off your addiction is to keep busy, take up a new hobby for the less spare time you have on your hands and the busier you are especially in the first 6 months the more likely the chances are that you will beat your addiction.

5. Take one day at a time

Don’t look too far into the future and worry if you can stay true to your convictions of kicking your addiction, just take each day as it comes and remember each day that passes is another step to becoming addiction free.

6. Seek counselling or medical help if needed

There is no rule that says you have to do this by yourself, some people have beat their addiction on their own while others need help. Professional counselling can be a great help when trying to quit any addiction, counselling can help you see why you became addicted in the first place and also help you to change aspects of your life that led to your addiction to make sure you stay free. If you are suffering from withdrawal symptoms then your Doctor may be able to help you to ease the suffering.

7. Remember that relapse doesn’t mean failure

Over half of all the people trying to beat addiction will have a relapse at some time or other, remember if you have a relapse that it doesn’t mean you have failed, all it means is that you have stumbled so pick yourself up and get right back where you were before the relapse.

8. Change your social circle

The chances are that you are mixing with people who have the same addiction which you are trying to beat now is the time to leave these people behind and start mixing with a new crowd.

9. Stay away from places that trigger your addiction

Try to avoid places and situations where your addiction could be triggered, for example if you are trying to give up smoking then avoid pubs and clubs where there will be a lot of smokers. If you continue to put yourself in situations which trigger your addiction you are only making things harder on yourself and eventually you could exhaust your will power and determination.

10. Recognising and dealing with your problem

Just by admitting you do have a problem you are taking a big step towards being free from your addiction, write down how you feel about your addiction in as much detail as you can and what it means to you to finally break free from it.

Addiction is defined as being something that brings uncontrollable urges and cravings which a person cannot deny even when faced with the facts of the negative aspect that their addiction brings them. However scientists are now saying that addiction is a disorder of the brain brought on by the changes that persistent drug use has on the brain structure and its function and these changes are felt for a long time after the person has stopped using drugs.

However it seems that some people can become addicted more easily to drugs than others and that not everyone does become addicted to them therefore it is thought that genetics may play a part in the susceptibility to addiction.

Understanding addiction as a brain disease

Most people think that addiction to drugs is nothing more than a total lack of will power on the person’s behalf but research has shown that this is not entirely true. The person with an addiction however isn’t totally blameless and must accept responsibility for their behaviour, but it can help to explain why an addict can’t quit their addiction on their own.

When drugs are used persistently over a long period of time and persistent changes are being made to the structure of the brain then it can be just like a flipping a switch in the brain from normal to addict.

How addiction can be treated

Research has shown that the best way to treat a person with an addiction is to treat the individual as a whole using a combination of medications, therapies, social services and rehabilitation. A surprising find was that the compliance of the person with the addiction wasn’t necessary for treatment to be successful.

In fact studies have suggested that by increasing the pressure on a person with addiction, whether this pressure comes from the legal system, friends or relatives, to stay with a program and receive treatment this will greatly increase the chances of recovery from addiction.

How you can help someone with an addiction

It is important that we remember that while the person with the addiction had the choice of taking drugs or not in the first place, they didn’t choose to become an addict. The brain of the addicted person is by now not functioning properly and all control of the amount of drug they now need to take is no longer under their control.

Try to help them by finding a program which will treat the person as a whole, such programmes will tackle their addiction to the drug, any behavioural issues they have, any mental illness and teach them life skills. If the person doesn’t want your help and refuses it then remember that treatment doesn’t necessarily have to be voluntary to work, if all else fails then consider involving the justice system.

Exercise is good for all of us when taken everyday in some form or other for short periods of time, it helps to keep us to keep fit and healthy, however some people can go to the extreme with their exercise routine and it rapidly turns into an addiction which they can no longer control.

Just as with any addiction people come to rely on the feelings of well being and euphoria which their addiction brings, exercise can give a person these same feelings of euphoria or “rush”. Studies have shown that addiction to exercise is on the increase in gyms and fitness centres with both men and women now exercising for many hours at a time instead of the average hour spent at the gym exercising.

Signs that you are addicted to exercising

• You begin spending more and more time at the gym.
• You move from one form of exercise to another quickly, for example you use the treadmill then move onto the rowing machine and continue like this using most of the equipment available.
• You sign up for more classes for example, yoga, tai-chi, aerobics, weight lifting.
• Lifting weights or taking part in any strenuous form of exercise for more than two hours per day.
• Returning to the gym more than once per day.
• You feel uncomfortable not exercising.
• Your always on the move when not in the gym finding it hard to sit and relax.

Over exercising linked with bulimia and anorexia

Being addicted to exercise has been linked with anorexia and bulimia when instead of the person inducing vomiting to purge themselves of food they over exercise to rid themselves of the calories. All addicts whatever their addiction have a fear of loss of control and over exercising is a way of gaining control over the body.

What do people get out of over exercising? Addicts have the addiction because of the feelings their addiction brings them and over exercising is no exception, when we exercise the body releases the body releases chemicals called endorphins which bring a feeling of elation which gives a person a “rush” or “high” as it is commonly called.

However just as with any addiction this feeling eventually is only brought on by increasing the amounts of the thing which gives them the “rush” which means more and more exercise must be taken to achieve the same feeling.

What can be done to break the addiction?

Over exercising can have the opposite effect of why we should exercise in the first place, exercise is only good for us in moderate daily amounts anything beyond this begins to damage our health, both physically and mentally.

Experts recommend that anything beyond 90 minutes of continuous exercise 7 days a week is too much and you are becoming addicted and the only way to break the habit is by ceasing any form of vigorous exercise for at least a month. This they say allows the body to get some much needed rest to recover and helps the mind to heal and break the pattern of addiction.

People usually start off using drugs as a way to escape the problems of daily life, drugs make them feel better, happier, remove worries for a short time and generally make the person feel on top of the world. Using drugs however has serious consequences on a person’s health and more and more of them have to be taken to achieve the same results the longer they are used.

A person using cannabis or heroin can very quickly become addicted until giving up the drug is almost impossible to do and they no longer take them to give them a buzz but simply just to be able to survive day to day life.

What are the symptoms of drug abuse?

Describing drug use and problems associated with addiction is hard as each drug is different and can cause different problems, there is however some basics which relate to overall drug use and abuse. Each drug will produce different patterns of:

• Use
• Intoxication.
• Hangover.
• Overdose.

Substance abuse or addiction covers many different levels including:

• Using large amounts of the drug without seeming to be intoxicated.
• Using large amounts of the drug for experimentation.
• Using large amounts of the drug to get intoxicated.

The addict may use drugs for more than just one of the above reasons and many will turn to different drugs to get different effects. Trying to understand why people take and become addicted to drugs isn’t easy, but almost all of the people who take drugs did so in the beginning for the enjoyment and good feelings it brought them.

Spotting someone who is on drugs in the beginning is very hard and for parents who are worried their children might be taking them keeping open communication is perhaps the best way to go. Teenagers can be a problem though as the more you enquire into their behaviour the more likely they are to see it as an intrusion which could push them further away and lead to resentment and total refusal to communicate.

The effects of drug dependency

When you think about coming off drugs people automatically think of the withdrawal effects but there is far much more to it than just physical withdrawal symptoms. Breaking the habit affects the mind as well as the body and these feelings can be much harder to deal with than the physical ones, common feelings are:

• Anxiety and depression.
• Sleep and rest.
• Self esteem.
• Having to learn how to cope.
• Learning to control moods.

The symptoms and pattern will depend greatly on the type of drug that a person is addicted to, the type of person they are and the circumstances in which they are trying to quit.

What you can do to help

Just by admitting there is a problem and wanting to take steps to deal with it is a major step forward to recovering from addiction, the next step forward is to get the right support for your addiction. If your addiction is tranquillisers or alcohol then it could be just as dangerous to try and give them up immediately.

You should always get advice from your Doctor and sometimes a Doctor can prescribe medication to help you get through the first phase of quitting. For you to be successful it is also important that you seek help through counselling and a wide source of information on groups which can help with your particular addiction can be found online.

Some form of gambling is available in almost every town today, from the simple slot machines to the up market casinos and of course the online casinos offering poker rooms where high stakes are used and massive bills can be run up on credit cards. For most people gambling is nothing more than fun and is considered harmless entertainment, however, for 4% to 6% of gamblers it becomes an addiction, which not only can have a devastating effect on their own lives but that of their loved ones too.

What is the difference between casual gambling and compulsive gambling?

Casual gambling can be defined as playing a game of chance and people will bet on many different forms, for example dog or horse races, lotteries, casinos, cards rooms and playing bingo.

Compulsive gambling is defined as an illness which begins to take over a person’s life and in the end they will have no control over the amount they lose and most place huge bets and will get seriously into debt.

The three phases of gambling addiction

• The winning phase
• The losing phase
• The desperation phase

The winning phase – When a gambler is in a winning phase they will often win large amounts of money over a short period of time, this fills them with optimism that they will continue to win which in turn enhances the excitement they feel when betting and they begin to increase the amount of money they bet.

The losing phase – During this phase a gambler will brag about how much they have won in the past and they will begin to beg, borrow or steal money to use for gambling, gambling and getting back to the winning streak is all they will think about and it starts to affect not only their life but those around them. This is the stage when debts begin to build up as the gambler loses more money striving to reach the winning streak again.

The desperation phase – By the time a gambler reaches this stage the addiction is overwhelming and they will have increases their gambling dramatically in the hope of turning things around and will have alienated friends and family in the process. By the now the gambler could be experiencing feelings of hopelessness, suicide and could have turned to alcohol or drugs for relief.

Who is affected by gambling?

It is thought that about 4% of the adult population will experience a serious problem with gambling that will lead to significant debt building up and cause problems such as job losses, family disruption, criminal activity and even suicide.

Compulsive gambling affects not only those that gamble but also their family, friends and employers. As the compulsive gambler extinguishes their own bank balance and credit cards they will turn to family and friends to carry on with their addiction and may even turn to illegal activities.