The pressure and drugs

Although it may seem that the drug is under control, every day that someone attempts to drugs for the first time, and dependence. If we want that drugs are bad for us, so why take more and more involved to insist on them? One can not overestimate the importance of speaking on behalf of parents with children. The problem with today's children and young people is that many parents work full time. We no longer live in a world where only one parent assigns work in the morning.Rather, we must now work with both parents (sometimes against two full-time equivalents). So if this is the case, which focuses on children? Exactly.

It begins innocently. A child or teen is hanging out with friends at someone's home or after school, when suddenly someone pulled out a pack of cigarettes. Not long before the cigarette, and all trains were given. But the question remains: "Why try to children the need for drugs or alcohol?"Perhaps the answer lies in the fact that often the children see their parents doing things that I do not drink or smoke in front of them.

Another type of situation that many young people are, where the decision to drugs or alcohol to cope with the parties. It 'really the responsibility of parents (not school) to sit with their children and talk face to face the dangers of drugs and, therefore,Drinking alcohol. There is a reason why the age limit when you are legally allowed to buy cigarettes and alcohol. But despite this fact, children are still gaps and opportunities surrounding it. For some, this rebellion against the foster parents are catastrophic setbacks. Every year, kids with drugs. Some join gangs, drugs, and others a lesson even more difficult to overdose accidental cause premature death.

Schools have tried tothe initiative against drug use among young people, compulsory courses on the dangers of drug use, but the problem remains to compensate. Ultimately, the only thing that appears is the use of drugs and alcohol early intervention to stop the parents and children, but not enough to talk about abuse, inform them of the dangers of drugs and alcohol behind. Finally, at some point in the life of a child if the parents say they will not nearly as manyWeight. If we can help a child to know not only offered the difference between good and evil, but also contribute to confidence and strength of character of drugs and alcohol, to deny, if not real progress. Until then, all we can do is to remain a shining example of how to behave in a mature adult, and expect the best.

Urge Of Drug And Alcohol Addiction Programs

Numerous people with a drug and alcohol addiction problem do not see or acknowledge that they have a problem with alcohol and drug abuse. Intervention used in a drug and alcohol addiction treatment program used to be more offensive since problem would be confronted about their excessive use and endangered with penalty if they did not begin treatment. Today, the more successful drug and alcoholism treatment option consists of caring and understanding counseling and intercession. Studies have found that more people begin drug and alcohol addiction treatment program when family members or employers are honest with them and try to help the drinker see that alcohol abuse is unfavorably affecting their health and lives in many ways.

A large amount of people who start out taking drugs or drinking too much are not bad people, they may have just lost their way or perhaps have had some calamity in their lives or perhaps they just don't feel they can deal with day to day life on their own. Whatever the reason, they soon become dependant and this is when they need outside help. Unfortunately they will not ask for help and often friends and family don't consider they need to be the one to help. This is so sad because these people really do need involvement to help them overcome this disease. A nippy investigation will divulge the astounding fact that many people, especially college students socialize by drinking and partying, and alarmingly, one case per night is gulped to quench their thirst. This is taking it too far, organize and restraint is necessary in everything we do, so you need to watch how much and how frequent you drink.

Help Your Dear Ones:

If you or someone close to you are in a similar circumstance and require the help of an alcohol and drug treatment program, you can log on to the internet and seek the solutions you are searching for. Many alcohol and drug treatment programs exist in various localities, and one might be in your area, check them and get that critical help now, because your expectations and indeed entire life depend on it.

There are various kinds of treatment available for drug and alcoholism addiction. Some of these have been practiced for years while others are comparatively new and developing. According to a study conducted, self help programs like psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy are the most effective ones, either alone or in combination, in reducing the use of alcohol.

Activities under Drug and Alcohol Addiction Program:

In most of the drug and alcohol treatment program [http://www.drugtreatmentinfo.org/Drug_Addiction_Support/], accomplice engage in a series of mental, written and verbal activities that lead to recovery and abstinence. The source behind is to provide a new social network to the drug addicts and alcoholic from his usual group of allies and a fellowship that inspires enthusiasm and give somebody the use of support to push them towards reaching and maintaining self-discipline. It also provides certain beneficial steps to the patients to help his turn his mind away from alcohol and drugs when under stress.

Alcohol Support Group on the mend

The life of an alcoholic depends miserable. It 's a vicious cycle leads to complex psychological problems, in addition to physical damage. People with alcohol dependence need a fairer deal. It is not used for the treatment, when the addict begins to drink. In addition to therapists, there are many other institutions providing health services, outpatient treatment programs viable. These programs are effective when the patient is ready to get rid of this dependence andalso to support families. For patients who do not want four hours of supervision, counseling can help treat mental illness.

In addition to expert consultation, support groups have proven very effective in the recovery process. It should be noted that not a single sub-process works exactly the same way for everyone. Different people have different reasons for this addiction, and if the cause is treated appropriately, it will be easier to deal with suchDiseases.

You can find links for details of self-help groups interactively, and similar programs on the Internet. It 's a good choice for a rational exploitation, especially for those who are heavy drinkers. These groups can be anywhere in the process of recovery. You can also use the yellow pages to find the location of these groups.

Sometimes, group therapy, a group of experts could be animated. Morecould self-help or self-help support meetings for free. In both cases, group therapy sessions very useful for patient dependency. Group meetings drug may also be part of clinical treatment in patients with the same problem as you, share issues in context. And 'through this debate could see that there are many similarities, such as drug abuse and other group members who are suffering. INIn this way, you learn different coping strategies from others.

There are people in the support group who have come a long way through the recovery process. Through discussion, they realize that someone may have initially the same problems you have now. This is likely to increase their hope and give an incentive to remain in recovery. It will take time, you can completely get rid of this dependence.

It 'alsoa platform that some of the things that you can get off your chest, for example, when you have no family to share their problems, then this could be the place where you can say anything. Sometimes it is not the equivalent for your family to understand even simple problems with addiction, but people who had the same experience as the situation is a better way. If you have a group to share the disaster would be his burden light.

These areDimensions of recovery from alcoholism, but when you're not willing to improve your fitness, you can do to help. For those who are committed to this habit are free, some of the best focus group of local experts or rehabilitation programs that have an excellent reputation for service.

Christian Rehab - A step towards a life free of addiction

If rehabilitation centers Christian Resort?

No time to retire the Christian rehabilitation centers. Be the first rehabilitation center for freedom of research and dependency is also part of many who have tried in your life without trial in the management of a drug or alcohol. The choice of treatment depends on the choice of treatment for a Christian or you want for your family. The procedure is based mainly Christian rehabson the principle that religion will come to the help of those who have been deviated from the path of virtue and good life. There are some Christian centers which use the 12-steps in a slightly modified form of the traditional style that included the use of Christian principles, values as well as quotes from the Bible as a part of the treatment procedure.

Reasons why Christian Treatment is chosen over other type of rehabs:

One of the main reasons why Christian rehabs are chosen over the other is the cost factor. You can not always pay for everybody a lot of money, addicted to all members of your family to enjoy. Instead of opting not to a rehabilitation center, is better for Christian rehabs, which is usually based on charity and its main objective, the structure of society as a whole, rather than go to services and personal financial benefits click update . Most rehabs working with numerous churches and Welfare Association, or never reach theFore, but more for the health of addicts and their reintegration into normal society. Care is also taken in many of these rehabs, to support the dependent family.

Some other types of care in rehabilitation centers of Christians who:

Most rehabs hours denominational spiritual healing, combined with a series of treatments. Among these are the most common species are socialprocedures and rehabilitation medicine. In social therapy, a treatment process called Narconon uses the drug or not believe in using all types of drugs to solve the problems of drug abuse, drugs or alcohol. The treatment takes place according to the nutritional factors most important for achieving improved health for drug or alcohol addicts. This process will be neither a registered medical or psychiatric, is designated as a social model of addiction treatmentPeople.

Contrary to this, there is the process of medical rehabilitation. This includes the use of other drugs, and sometimes even under anesthesia, effects of rapid detoxification of the substance is all the dependencies. Relaxation drug Travers from the painful process of detoxification process, tried to calm her. In general, it is difficult to reach people who rely on this method of treatment. Or a combination of one of them is a Christian rehabilitation program usesCenters with 12 steps of the program.

Exercise and Addiction - The New Frontier of Addiction Recovery

Are you trying to quit smoking or stop drinking alcohol? Are you recovering from a drug addiction? Do you struggle with prescription drug abuse or a gambling problem? The best approach to addiction recovery may have been right under our noses all along: exercise. What you don't know about this topic might just surprise you.

Whether you are addicted to alcohol, street drugs, prescription drugs, gambling, food, or nicotine, the neurological pattern that develops is the same. The reward center in your brain is underactive, and it takes more in life to tell that part of your brain that you're having a good time. Nothing but the addiction seems to satisfy that reward center, and the brain is tricked into thinking that the addiction is necessary for survival.

Quick bursts of exercise at 70-80% of one's maximum aerobic threshold for at least 30 minutes a day can give your brain's reward center the quick burst of dopamine that it's looking for when feeling a craving to use a substance (or behavior). Not only that, exercise rebalances all of your mood related neurotransmitters and releases BDNF, a factor which is like Miracle Gro for your brain. It helps to grow new brain cells in areas of the brain that tend to shrink with depression and substance abuse.

One of the neatest things that exercise does is release endorphins, which are chemical cousins with synthetic morphine. Releasing your body's natural pain killers is one reason for that infamous "runner's high." Endocannabinoids are thought to be the other reason for this phenomenon. These are the receptors in the brain associated with marijuana, and there are two other activities that can fill these receptors: exercise and eating chocolate. The ability to do something that is within your own control builds a sense of self efficacy, something that's missing in individuals who feel powerless and helpless to control addictions.

Exercise simultaneously builds new neural networks within the brain, decrease cravings, significantly reduce withdrawal symptoms, address underlying depression and anxiety, and fill the void often left behind after addictive behaviors stop. One excellent example of how well exercise can help correct addiction is a popular recovery program in Manhattan. This program attributes it's significantly higher rate of recovery success to the inclusion of an exercise program, and some of it's graduates run in the NYC Marathon each year.

If you're trying to quit smoking or stop drinking your lunchtime chardonnay with a straw, make exercise your new best friend. Buy a jump rope and do 10 minute bursts, or even buy a mini trampoline to use when cravings hit. The "hit" of exercise will be a good replacement for reducing tension, and you'll have more energy, too.

The healing of the brain depending on Oxycontin abuse

Oxycontin does not want to run your life, right? Want to be free again, right?

Forget what you saw on television or cinema. Forget the negative image that it creates anxiety. It 's easier than you think your order Oxycontin addiction.

If you know what can happen, then you know how to continue. Tell us where you are now and what happened to start.

If you have an addictive substance like Oxycontin, itsBrain becomes addicted. And 'literally addicted to it. Oxycontin abuse beat your brains out of balance. Over time, the brain is increasingly dependent on her that there are more and more OxyContin. He wants it. This is what you need. Your brain is dependent on OxyContin now instead of neurotransmitters, which, once treated normal function of the human brain.

Your brain is in a negative pattern of normal rollers. It adds more value to OxyContin. A brain is accustomedyou are painfully aware of the importance of Oxycontin. We will show that your life is running.

You should now have a better understanding of relapse. There is a reason why so often relapse among addicts. The brain is accustomed to the program. The brain dependent on creating powerful drive and want to use OxyContin.

Those who relapse are not failures. They are weaker character. You have a real problem biochemistry. You have a brain attached.Friends and family have not heard of them. So how would they see? In fact, drug treatment does not even have enough common solution to this problem until recently. For too long, it has often led to an addiction to prescription drugs are an addiction that even higher.

Want to learn a new tool for balancing the brain chemistry of addiction. It can help when you are engaged in the use of OxyContin. This is a completely natural drinkYour brain is addicted needs of essential nutrients. Help neurotransmitters that were exhausted by Oxycontin recovery. You can help suppress the desire to use if you want even if you're still with OxyContin.

Drug Abuse and a Return to Sanity

Drug Abuse can and will take a person to the depths of their soul and if they don't get the opportunity to face their addiction to the dregs of society. The behavior exhibited by a person in the grip of their addiction is at lest antisocial and at the worst insane. I don't pretend to be a psychiatrist and therefore probably shouldn't make the diagnosis of insanity but society does it all the time. In this article I intend to look at the word sanity and how that relates to a person moving from the "insanity" of drug abuse to the relative sanity of recovery.

Drug Abuse affects all areas of an addict's life. Relationships are shattered when alcohol and drugs come before the people in someone's life. As relationships end addiction replaces the void left in the addict's life. Family, friends, associates at work all become victims of the addict's abuse. The addict falls deeper and deeper into the abyss of their addiction. What ever ties the addict had to society (church, community, employment) are lost to the growing strength of the addict's addiction. We can see from this progression that the person (addict) is losing parts of the self and is replaced by the growing addiction.

Sanity comes from the Latin word sanitas and means healthy or whole. When the drug abuse has taken hold of a person they are no longer healthy or whole. When the Romans used the word sanity they referred to a healthy personality, a healthy whole person a sane person. When a person afflicted with drug addiction has the opportunity to detox and enter into addiction treatment they are given the chance to return to wholeness/sanity. The relationships that were lost will return. The participation with community will begin again. The addict will return to a whole person not from insanity but to a person that had lost parts of the self.

The Blood is Mightier Than the Sword

The reasons that a person might harm themselves are as vast and complex as our individual genetic makeup. However, there seems to be one predominant goal associated with self-harm: release.

"I would resort to cutting myself for two reasons: the first being to release the tension, the build-up of emotions and thoughts that I just could not deal with. I wanted to scream but couldn't," said Julia P. who has battled and overcome self-harming behaviour.

Self-harm manifests itself in a number of ways but can be defined as any behaviour that causes 'deliberate and often repetitive destruction or alteration of one's own body tissue, without suicidal intent,' says Armando R. Favazza, M.D., the author of Bodies Under Siege. The most prevalent form of self-harm in Western culture is cutting, which involves taking any sharp implement such as a knife or a razor blade and cutting across the skin, usually drawing blood.

There has always been a certain stigma surrounding self-harm. It was once thought of as a cry for attention or as a failed suicide attempt. In fact, evidence points to the fact that most people who engage in self-harming behaviours are not trying to end their lives but are rather using it as a coping mechanism for unbearable emotional pain. And many go to great lengths to hide their self-harming behaviours, which dispels the myth that it is simply a plea for attention.

Self-harm can disguise itself as cuts around the arms, wrists, shoulders, stomach, inner thighs and ankles but can also include branding (burning the skin with a hot object), hair-pulling, self-strangulation, stabbing, carving words or symbols into the skin, head-banging, pinching, biting and even piercing and tattooing, when it is done to relieve emotional stress.

Self-harm does not have its own category in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders but is rather mentioned as a symptom of other disorders, including depression, eating disorders such as bulimia nervosa and anorexia nervosa and personality disorders. It is also commonly found in patients suffering from severe anxiety.

"I would want to scream but couldn't. It was like I wanted to blow up and scatter all over the place. I would desperately search for something to stop it. I just pulled a knife from the drawer and started cutting like a maniac up and down my arms and upper thigh. I would usually choose a serrated knife. I liked to feel the ripping. With each cut I would feel calmer. It was easier to deal with; I had something to focus on. It would give me a high... an almost euphoric feeling," said Julia P. putting words to her battle with self-harm for the first time.

Although Julia cut to gain a sense of calmness, there were other reasons as well, that are all too common within the realm of self-harm.

"I would cut and it would help me release the emotions that were hidden and building up to an almost unbearable level. It would help me cry when I couldn't," she said.

Self-harm has been linked as a response to a number of childhood incidents, including sexual abuse, assault, incest, feelings of worthlessness and helplessness, negative self-images as the result of an eating disorder, drug and alcohol abuse as well as family disruption or the death of someone close.

Although self-harm can be found across all cultural and age brackets, symptoms tend to begin at around the age of 14, according Dr. Favazza. Although it is impossible to predict who might be inflicting self-harm, there are some signs to look out for, including wearing long sleeves in hot weather, spending more time alone, claiming to have an over-abundance of freak accidents, scars, cuts, bruises and other unexplained blemishes.

Every situation of self-harm is different but one thing is for sure. If you or someone you know is cutting himself or hurting himself in any way, it is important to talk to a mental health practitioner, because there are likely underlying psychological reasons for the behaviour that need to be addressed.

In some cases, medications such as SSRI anti-depressants, including Paxil and Zoloft, have been found to be effective, but individual cognitive behavioural therapy, which is centered around finding healthier ways to cope with life stressors, has been more effective at terminating symptoms.

In many cases, simply talking about it with a loved-one, trusted friend, teacher, or guidance counsellor can be enough to start the healing journey. Self-harm is much more common than was once thought and is certainly nothing to be ashamed of. Talking about it and taking the issue out of the closet is the first step toward a healthy body and mind.

Anxiety Attacks, Agoraphobia and the Safe Zone

Agoraphobia is linked to Anxiety Attacks in that the same symptoms are prevalent and the fact that Agoraphobia is often born out of fear of an Anxiety Attack.

The word 'Agoraphobia,' is from the Greek, and literally mean a fear, or morbid fear, of the marketplace.

Be very careful that you don't confuse this word with 'Agraphobia.' I've seen people make this mistake. Agraphobia means fear of sexual abuse, so you can well understand the need for care!

Agoraphobia used to mean purely a fear of open spaces, but since it's been found to link with Anxiety, it means nowadays a fear of crowds and also a fear of leaving a safe place. Your home, for instance. Actually, a good test for Agoraphobia is to see how easily you are able to leave home. If you have no problem whatever in walking through your front door into the world outside, then you're fine.

However, if you have a secret dread of doing so, then I'm afraid you're a victim of the condition. Sometimes, well meaning family members literally drag some poor relative out with them, feeling that once they have them outside, the symptoms will somehow evaporate. They don't.

The sufferer's then put through a period of living hell while the people he or she is with go shopping.

Sometimes, people have 'safe zones' in their own home. They've never had an Anxiety Attack in the bathroom, let's say, so the bathroom is the one room where they're completely safe. Once there, nothing can touch them.

I knew one lady who'd never left her sitting room for six years, let alone her home.

The initial trigger for this was that one day she was walking home with a basket of shopping, when she was approached by three men, jostled a bit while they talked about what she must be like in bed. Apart from being pushed around a little bit, that was all they did.

She reached home and never left. Her husband did all he could for her. Naturally, he wanted to take her to see the doctor, but she refused to go out even with him. He was a fireman, a great big chap. Even a gorilla would have felt safe with him! But she simply drew the curtains and lived from that day onwards in the sitting room.

The poor man divorced her after, I think, six years. In all fairness, she'd do nothing to help herself, and he had his own life to lead. Frankly, this was an extreme case.

I would think that anyone who suffers this condition will sooner or later want to help themselves. One way, of course, is that if you've suffered previous attacks, then re-examine them. You lived through them. You weren't injured in any way, so you've proved through experience that they're toothless tigers

Drug Abuse and Alcohol Abuse - The 9 Underlying Causes and 2 Major Reasons They Abuse Drugs

What are the underlying causes of drug and alcohol abuse? And why do you need to know? If you're trying to solve a drug or alcohol abuse problem, wouldn't it be a good idea to find out first what's causing it? Obvious question right, well maybe not so. Perhaps knowing about the cause to drug abuse is the first step to solving the problem.

Drug and alcohol abusers were all born with various degrees of abilities and inabilities. The less able drug or alcohol abuser are the more dependent they became.

An easy example to show is with children. In their early age, they're unable to cook, or work for a living. Therefore they depend on their parents to survive.

As children grow, they learn new skills, and as a result, become less dependent on their parents.

The more able children become in dealing with challenges in life, relationships, and work, the less dependant on their parents they become.

Another simple example is an injured person who just broke his leg and is temporarily dependent on crouches until he or she regains their ability to walk.

The problem with alcohol and drug abusers is they lack some natural abilities that are basic and essential to succeeding in life.

Some or all of the hidden causes of addiction fit into one of these 9 situations.

Drug And Alcohol Abusers Have Difficulties With:

PROBLEMS they can't solve, often the problems multiply when they take drugs. Many have unresolved internal conflicts.

Sometimes, family, friends, the police or doctors need to step in to help them out.

PAIN - They aren't able to tolerate disappointment, pain and upset. They immediately try to block out painful feelings and sensations
Trust: They aren't able to be trusted and many don't trust themselves
Promises, they aren't able to keep their word once given and have difficulty following through on promises
Self Esteem: They're unable to be themselves and express themselves easily
Memory, they have difficulties remembering things and often forget
Luck, they seem to have awfully BAD luck
Goals, they seem unable to reach their goals and give up on their true goals
Truth, they have a hard time telling the truth

If a loved one fits into all of these categories, pay attention as you'll need a program of recovery to save their lives before it's too late.

Here are the 2 major reasons people use drugs:

To Ease pain
To Avoid problems

Many addictions follow accidents, failures, breakups, losses of self respect, giving up on life goals, job problems, . .. . The list goes on. What is common to all these pains and problems is the ABSENCE OF a better solution and an inability to resolve the original problem. Factually, what's missing was a real accessible solution to the problem in the first place.

Stop Masturbating and Compete in a Sagging Economy

In life, it's the small things that make you or break you. As the economy gets more and more competitive, and as the stakes get ever higher, all the time you spend online searching for pornography is taking away from time that you could be making more money, making more contacts, and better positioning yourself to compete and win in the workplace.

The first thing any serious winning competitor will tell you is that hard work got them to wherever they are today, whether they be athletes or business people. And hard work means scraping and fighting for every inch of territory that you gain in life. Those small increments are critical to success - or failure if you ignore them. One of the small increments is online porn addiction. It weakens your ability to compete on several levels:

Here are some key ways your life is impacted by online porn abuse:

First, the time spent hunting for pornography impacts your ability to use that time in more productive ways. This is time you could be putting into making money, increasing your business, securing your position in a company, expanding your professional skills, teaching, or whatever it is you do for a living.

Second, using online pornography is a negative pull on your self esteem. You not only feel guilty about the time you waste, but also about how you've evaded people in your life and/or things you should have been doing instead.

Third, your ability to socialize, over time, becomes more and more fragile, because you're always working to hide how much time you're wasting with online porn. You're ashamed of how, slowly but surely, you've begun to prefer online pornography to real human interaction.

Fourth, the time you spend online, time spent away from improving yourself, opens up doors for all of your competitors, whether they be competing with you in business or for a person you find attractive. Either way, you're more likely to lose - just because of the time and effort you spend with online porn, looking at pixels on a screen.

So what's the solution? You need to bring your online porn addiction in line. You need to control the amount of time you spend online, or eliminate it. Both are steps in the right direction, so complete elimination is not necessary, but is an added bonus.

Acknowledge that you have some things you need to change in order to better compete in the world. In other words, accept that you have a problem in the first place.

Define just how much time you're wasting online each day, or every other day, or however often you get online to find porn. This is time that can be directly applied to other things that are more pressing in your life.

Come up with a list of things you'd rather be doing instead of staring at a computer screen, hoping nobody catches you. The list could include anything like "Make more money," or "Meet more people," or picking up a sport, writing a book, traveling, etc. Anything.

Outline a loose action plan, and jot it down.

Make efforts to fill the time you have access to a computer to view porn with another activity from your list of things you'd rather being doing. Instead of arranging to be home when others are gone, arrange to be away from home at the same time others are away, effectively closing your window of opportunity to view pornography.

Start slow, build confidence, and stick with it.

Once you start down this path, you'll find it just as addictive as online porn, but instead of sliding down the slippery slope of low self-esteem and addiction, you'll find yourself climbing slowly and steadily to success, and feeling better about it every step of the way.

Computer Obsession: Is It A Real Addiction?

Psychologists disagree as to whether computer obsession is even a real addiction. Although many therapists treat "computer addiction" as a disorder, other therapists claim that computer obsession is more like pathological gambling than a true addiction, because it involves a behavioral failure to resist an impulse and not a physical dependence upon some sort of substance.

There have been few studies on the fairly recent phenomenon of computer addiction, so there are few scientific facts to quote. However, there's plenty of anecdotal evidence that seems to suggest that computer addiction not only exists, but may actually be close to an epidemic worldwide. Most heavy computer users are aware of their own problem or know of other people who seem to display all the symptoms of an addicted personality.

Like many drug users, computer addicts have a tendency to lose track of time when they're online. They can spend entire days in cyberspace and not realize it. They go without sleep, they forget to eat, they stay home from work or school, and they ignore their day-to-day responsibilities, all like any other type of addict. They oftentimes find themselves wanting to get up and tend to their lives, but are unable to pull themselves away from their computer chairs.

Given the choice between the real world and the world of cyberspace, the virtual world wins.

Game Play Addiction, Email, Chat Rooms

One large factor for computer addiction involves video games. Some games in particular have notorious reputations for being difficult to walk away from, such as Doom, Lode Runner, and even the lowly game of computer Solitaire. Many colleges are now beginning to include workshops on computer addiction as part of their standard freshman orientation.

Other areas that are very difficult to ignore are email, chat rooms, and newsgroups. Many companies have recognized the potential for losing large amounts of time and are fighting back, denying employees access to the Internet, email, chats, or games while on the job.

Different from TV Watching?

Folks who aren't convinced of the danger of computer addition point to other segments of society, especially that of television viewing, and ask if it's any more dangerous to spend the same amount of time on a computer as sitting on the couch watching whatever is on at the moment. They say it's not the computer that's at fault, citing heroin addicts, who don't blame the needle for their addiction. After all, the Internet has been a boon to humans, leveling the playing field between small towns and big cities, allowing people to work from home, and putting more information in the hands of more people than any other time in human history.

Since it's a psychological problem and not one of substance abuse, the debate will likely continue for some time to come, especially since the World Wide Web is still a relatively new phenomenon. However, that doesn't change the fact that thousands of students fail their classes because they're spending too much time online and millions of productivity hours are lost every day due to employee surfing in the office.

In one final irony, if you look at your own computer habits and decide that you need to seek help as a potential computer addict, the only support groups you're likely to find will be online.