Yes!

Absolutely believe that this is the ultimate way to go!

It works a million times better than suppression approaches!

http://vitalcoaching.com/tantricsex.htm

The best way to get rid of a negative addiction is to replace it by a positive one.

If you try to simply block the flow of your sexual energy and sexual instincts, you go against very profound instincts that were embeded in you.

The best is not to block!

It is to redirect!

Tantric sexual expression is a valid path to solve the suppression dilemma.

It gives you a sexual mastery path!

Check it!

http://vitalcoaching.com/tantricsex.htm

Here are some key ideas to put in place to start shifting a masturbation addiction:

• Maintain sexual stimulation but don't lose semen or much less frequently
• Express more your sexual energy with a partner
• Channel your energy into fitness training or Yoga
• Master your sexual energy through tantric sex
• Etc.

There is more to say about this of course.

An addictive behaviour is related with some inner frustration or feeling trapped.

The addictive behaviour is usually one of the pathways used to escape a reality you don't like.

So, if you change your reality or circumstances and rebuild your life around exciting targets and a life style you REALLY love, the addictive behaviors get kicked out that way.

Master your sexual energy through tantric sex practices!

This last one is the one that resonates best because it gives you a healthy and dynamic way to express your sexual energy without using suppression approaches.

Check this:

http://vitalcoaching.com/tantricsex.htm

That's the other big challenge for men.

If you can explore the paths of self pleasure without losing semen (or at least too frequently) than you will discover that self stimulation actually opens door s of energy in your system that you did not even know you had.

Check this!

http://vitalcoaching.com/tantricsex.htm

Again, remember that in 90% of the cases masturbation is NOT an addiction, only a healthy behaviour.

Remove the guilt or shame associated with it and you get healthier instantly!

REALLY!

the problem is not the actual practice, the problem is the negative emotions, shame and guilt associated with it.

If you are definitely within the "addicted" territory and you know it, you kick out a masturbation addiction in the exact same way as you would kick out any other form of addiction.

• You train new behaviors
• Redirect your energy
• Replace it by a positive addiction
• Etc.

Every addiction requires its own set of strategies, so in the case of masturbation, you want to tap into strategies which are unique to that specific behavior.

There is no given rule of course.

It is really up to you.

If you are desperate to regain control over your sex life because you masturbate and lose semen every day, then obviously we are within the sexual addiction territory.

On the other hand, if your daily self stimulation practice feels nice, healthy and uplifting, you are not within the territory of an addictive behavior.

If your practice has no negative impact on your physical or mental health, it is okay to engage in having as much pleasure as you want.

Again, for men, the boundary is usually not how self stimulation you perform, it is rather how frequently you lose semen.

That's the element that can have a negative impact on your health.

But even that fact is not 100% proven...

Guilt is close to useless.

It does not help!

So, if you remove the guilt feeling which creates probably 80% of anypotential negative impact of a masturbation session, what is left?

Is masturbation still bad for your body as a cigartte can be bad for you?

Again, if there is no excessive ejaculation (for men), sexual stimulation and self pleasure IS HEALTHY!

There is nothing wrong with it.

Of course, if you decide to follow an ascetic path and embrace the rules of a monastic life, you might have other rules which are dictated by the tradition you embrace.

I am not her to judge any tradition!

I respect that at 100%.

Monastic life has its own set of rules and these rules will vary from tradition to tradition.

It's up to you decide what tradition you want to embrace and how much of it you want to follow.

Now, if the message I send out is:

• Sex is healthy
• Nothing to be ahsamed of
• Self stimulation or self pleasure is as healthy and encouraged as any other sexual activity

more on this coming soon

Yes! This can happen.

Again, it is an addiction if you know it is too frequent for you, want to stop but can't.

sexual stimulation IS HEALTHY.

There is nothing wrong with it.

It is a very healthy and empowering way to explore your sexuality and can help you train new skills (like lasting longer during sex) and open new channels of energy in your system.

Now, if every masturbation session leads to ejaculation, that's a totally different story.

Excessive semen loss leads to energy depletion.

You end up being more tired and physically much more vulnerable...

More on this coming soon

In probably 80% of people, masturbation is NOT an addiction.

They practice self pleasure, enjoy it and it is all very healthy, and stimulating.

It is an addiction if you actually are addicted!

It is an addiction if masturbation sessions are too frequent, you don't like it, want to stop it but can't.

Now, in most people's lives, masturbation is simply a healthy sexual practice and it is perfectly ok and encouraged to keep exploring it.

It is an addiction if it is out of control.

In other terms, if you feel enslaved by a behavior that you don't like and makes you miserable, then it is an addiction for you.

For men, especially if there is loss of semen every time you masturbate, this can have very negative consequences for your health.

If you lose semen every day, your stamina or life force can feel depleted, your immune system weakend.

More on this in future posts...

Yes!

Definitely!

If you can't stand missing the gym or you must eat healthy every day, it can feel on the edge of being alienating...

But, the positive effects of this addiction can be even greater than its negative impacts.

For instance, being addicted to fitness gives you health and energy!

Now, you can as well feel totally enslaved by this "gym addiction" and actually want to get out.

It is a fine line, I totally agree.

More on this coming soon

Labels: all posts, fitness, positive addictions

Perfectionism? Addiction? Mental disorder?

Associating perfectionism with a mental disorder sounds a bit strong.

Perfectionism is not a "clinical term" so I don't think it is the thing to do anyway.

But, perfectionism can be addictive and self destructive, yes!

If being a perfectionist ruins your life and makes you totally disatisfied, it can be seen as a form of addiction.

It can be a form of positive addiction too if it is a mind pattern which helps you perform better in life for instance.

Labels: all posts, perfectionism

Overspending can be totally alienating.

Why? Because it stresses you up and forces you to try earning more and more to finance an expensive life style.

Labels: money addictions, shopping, shopping addictions

Physical dependence refers to a state resulting from habitual use of a drug, where negative physical withdrawal symptoms result from abrupt discontinuation.[1] From the point of view of the dependent person, "dependence is duress," argues addiction researcher Griffith Edwards.[2]

-------------------------

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chemical_dependency

Labels: all posts, links, physical addictions

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Drug_rehabilitation

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Alcohol_abuse

Labels: alcohol, all posts, links

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Drug_and_alcohol_rehabilitation_centers

Alcohol abuse, as described in the DSM-IV, is a psychiatric diagnosis describing the use of alcoholic beverages despite negative consequences. It is differentiated from alcohol dependence by the lack of symptoms such as tolerance and withdrawal. Alcohol abuse is sometimes referred to by the less specific term alcoholism. However, many definitions of alcoholism exist, and only some are compatible with alcohol abuse.

About 18% of American adults have had an alcohol abuse problem at some time in their life, in addition to about 12% who have also had an alcohol dependence problem. Significant correlations exist between alcohol abuse and other substance abuse disorders.[1]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcohol_abuse

Labels: alcohol, all posts, links

There are a variety of addiction recovery groups and methods other than those that follow the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions of Alcoholics Anonymous.

Pagans in Recovery
SOS International [1]
SMART Recovery [2]
LifeRing Secular Recovery [3]
Women for Sobriety
Secular Organizations for Sobriety
Rational Recovery
The 16-Steps for Discovery and Empowerment [4]
Narconon [5]
LDS Family Services Addiction Recovery Program [6]

See also
List of Twelve-Step groups
Twelve-Step program
Self-help groups for mental health

Labels: addiction recovery, all posts, links

A Twelve-step program is a set of guiding principles for recovery from addictive, compulsive, or other behavioral problems, originally developed by the fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) for recovery from alcoholism.[1] The Twelve Steps were originally published in the first edition of Alcoholics Anonymous ("The Big Book") in 1939; more than 25 million copies have been printed in many languages.[2] This method has been adapted as the foundation of other twelve-step programs such as Narcotics Anonymous, Overeaters Anonymous, Co-Dependents Anonymous and Emotions Anonymous. As summarized by the American Psychological Association, working the Twelve Steps involves the following.

------------------------------------

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twelve-step_program

Extreme cases of problem gambling may cross over into the realm of mental disorders. Pathological gambling was recognized as a psychiatric disorder in the DSM-III, but the criteria were significantly reworked based on large-scale studies and statistical methods for the DSM-IV. As defined by American Psychiatric Association, pathological gambling is an impulse control disorder that is a chronic and progressive mental illness.

------------------------------

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gambling_addiction

Labels: all posts, gambling, links

Some studies have shown that less than 8% of those who initially attended GA remained in the program and abstinent from gambling for over a year.[5] These results improve somewhat if members are involved in additional therapy, or if one or more of their family members are involved in Gam-Anon or Gam-A-Teen

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamblers_Anonymous

----------------

PS: That's less than 10% success rate!!!

Labels: 12 step programs, all posts, gambling

Problem gambling is an urge to gamble despite harmful negative consequences or a desire to stop. The term is preferred to compulsive gambling among many professionals, as few people described by the term experience true compulsions in the clinical sense of the word. Problem gambling often is defined by whether harm is experienced by the gambler or others, rather than by the gambler's behavior. Severe problem gambling may be diagnosed as clinical pathological gambling if the gambler meets certain criteria.

---------------------------


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gambling_addiction

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gambling

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gambler%27s_fallacy

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamblers_Anonymous

http://www.gamblersanonymous.org/20questions.html

Labels: all posts, gambling, links

Oniomania (from Greek onios = "for sale" : coined by German psychiatrist Emil Kraepelin) also known as shopping addiction or shopaholism, is the compulsive desire to shop. Although not a DSM-IV recognized disorder, oniomania has recently received increased media attention. Similar to other compulsive behaviors, sufferers often experience the highs and lows associated with addiction. The purchase generates a mood of satisfaction for the addicted, seems to give their life a meaning and lets them forget about their sorrows. Usually back at home the feeling of a personal reward has already gone. To compensate, the addicted person goes shopping again. The bought goods will be hidden or destroyed, because the person concerned feels ashamed of their addiction and tries to conceal it. Without psychotherapy this disorder can persist a whole life or until the financial ruin of the addicted person.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shopping_addiction

http://www.loose-change.org/

Labels: all posts, links, shopping

Sexual addiction, also called sexual compulsion is a postulated form of psychological addiction.

There is no consensus in the medical community that sexual addiction actually exists.

The behavior of sex addicts is comparable to behavior of alcoholics and addicts, where sex functions like a drug. A common definition of alcoholism is that a person has a pathological relationship with this mood altering drug.[1] It provides a quick mood change, works every time and the user loses control over their compulsion.[2] Like alcoholics, sex addicts' lives rotate around the constant desire for their "drug" of choice.

The Mayo Clinic uses compulsive sexual behavior for sexual addiction, and defines it as "an overwhelming need for sex and are so intensely preoccupied with this need that it interferes with your job and your relationships. [...] You may spend inordinate amounts of time in sexually related activities and neglect important aspects of your day-to-day life in social, occupational and recreational areas. You may find yourself failing repeatedly at attempts to reduce or control your sexual activities or desires."[3]

According to Counseling Affiliates, an addiction is at work when sex becomes shameful, secret, or abusive.

The Society for the Advancement of Sexual Health further illustrates addiction by outlining several key components: "Compulsivity, that is, loss of the ability to choose freely whether to stop or to continue; Continuation of the behavior despite adverse consequences, such as loss of health, job, marriage, or freedom; Obsession with the activity."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sexual_addiction

Labels: all posts, links, love addictions, sex

http://www.indiana.edu/~engs/hints/addictiveb.html

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Addictive behavior is any activity, substance, object, or behavior that has become the major focus of a person's life to the exclusion of other activities, or that has begun to harm the individual or others physically, mentally, or socially.

A person can become addicted, dependent, or compulsively obsessed with anything. Some researchers imply that there are similarities between physical addiction to various chemicals, such as alcohol and heroin, and psychological dependence to activities such as compulsive gambling, sex, work, running, shopping, or eating disorders.

Compulsive behaviors are rooted in a need to reduce tension caused by inner feelings a person wants to avoid or control. Compulsive behaviors are repetitive and seemingly purposeful and are often performed in a ritualistic manner.

These behaviors may involve sex, food, caffeine, nicotine, gambling, spending, TV watching, Internet surfing, reading, cleaning, washing, drugs or alcohol. The key point is that the activity is not connected to the purpose it appears to be directed to, and is likely to be excessive. Examples could be a person who is afraid of bonding with a partner choosing to zone out with the TV, or a person who has never had enough love filling up on a gallon of ice cream.

It is thought that these behavior activities may produce beta-endorphins (see Neurobiological basis of addiction) in the brain, which makes the person feel "high." Some experts suggest that if a person continues to engage in the activity to achieve this feeling of well-being and euphoria, he/she may get into an addictive cycle.

In so doing, he/she becomes physically addicted to his/her own brain chemicals, thus leading to continuation of the behavior even though it may have negative health or social consequences.

Others feel that these are just bad habits.

Addiction differs from compulsion in that it inevitably escalates. A web of deceit , cover-ups, and detachment from a sense of self escalate. Harmful consequences can be external, e.g. loss of job, car crashes – or internal , e.g.. detachment, depression, lack of ability to feel or concentrate.

There may also be physical consequences such as illness, hypertension and memory loss.

See also:

Addiction

Compulsion

Habituation

-------------------

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Addictive_behavior

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Hale Dwoskin: Emotional Eating - VIDEO
How to shift an eating pattern - EMOTIONAL EATING - ARTICLE
Raw fruits, vegetables and salads are exciting, not boring! - EMOTIONAL EATING - ARTICLE
What type of foods? - Raw fruits and vegetables Emotional eating is okay - EMOTIONAL EATING - ARTICLE
Suppressing does not work!!! - EMOTIONAL EATING - ARTICLE
What does it take to shift an emotional eating pattern? - EMOTIONAL EATING - ARTICLE How does emotional eating work? - EMOTIONAL EATING - ARTICLE

Labels: all posts, emotional eating, links

This includes:

• Love addictions
• Jealousy
• Etc.

Any more?

There must be! What are they?

Needs that leads to uncontrolled/unwanted destructive (or limiting or self-limiting) emotional response.

No need to go into strict definitions. Everyone instinctively knows what emotional addiction is!

Labels: all posts, emotional addictions

Physical addictions would be:

• Drugs
• Alcohol
• Cigarettes
• Coffee
• Emotional eating
• Sexual addiction
• Compulsive shopping
• Gambling
• Internet addiction http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_addiction_disorder
• etc.

While the emotional component of these addictions is obvious, there is always a physical object as the focal center of this addiction.

Labels: all posts, physical addictions

Okay, I just started posting some of the possible forms of love addictions!

I always kept in the back of my mind that not being able to get over a break up is in fact being addicted to an ex.

I never took this idea deeper.

In fact after just 30 min research, I lready came accross a few other possible love addictions: infatutaion, limerence, unrequited love, etc!

All these terms mean one same thing: you are addicted to someone else!

Jealousy is another form of love addiction: it is related with the need to control someone else's attitudes and actions.

It is on the same line, really!

What is striking is that all these love addictions are created by instincts.

They are simply an instinct which gets out of "control" and can overpower someone's reasoning and emotional balance.

One person needs to shift that balance of power and get back control and direction or simply find a way to overcome that specific addiction or emotional need.

This is in fact a huge chapter.

except for jealousy which is slightly different, all these states can be put together in the category of "love addictions"

More on this coming soon!

Labels: all posts, love addictions

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erotomania

Erotomania is a rare disorder in which a person holds a delusional belief that another person, usually of a higher social status, is in love with them.

The term erotomania is also sometimes used in a less specific clinical sense meaning excessive pursuit of or preoccupation with love or sex.

Labels: all posts, love addictions

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infatuation

Infatuation is the state of being completely carried away by unreasoning passion or love; addictive love. Infatuation usually occurs at the beginning of relationship when sexual attraction is central. It is characterized by urgency, intensity, sexual desire, and anxiety, in which there is an extreme absorption in another. It is traditionally associated with youth.

Labels: all posts, love addictions

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limerence

limerance is an involuntary cognitive and emotional state in which a person feels an intense romantic desire for another person, the limerent object.

Limerence can often be what is meant when one expresses "having a crush" on (or infatuation with) someone else although limerence, unlike a crush, can last months, years or even a lifetime.

Labels: all posts, love addictions

Jealousy is of course another type of obsessive fixation.

Yes! It can be seen within the addiction light as well.

There is a total and permanent need to control someone else's action or attitudes.

When the person slips out, there is a gap and need to gain back control.

Jealousy is an expression of that need.

Labels: all posts, jealousy

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obsessive_love

Obsessive love is as well a form of addiction. It is along the same line as unrequited love of course, even though even when love is reciprocated, you can still be in a state of total emotional dependence.

You experience that when you partner is not present or when you feel they don't give you enough.

There is an emotional gap and no matter how much you receive, you feel it is never enough

Labels: all posts, love addictions

I covered it here:

http://vitalcoaching.com/dating/forwomen/how_to_stay_emotionally_free_when_you_start_dating.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unrequited_love

Is unrequited love an addiction?

Yes!

You are emotionally addicted to someone and feel you can't live without that person!

Yes!

More links

Personal experiences with unrequited love
Unrequited Love Support Group
How unrequited love can be an illness, or even fatal (BBC)

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Alcoholism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Labels: alcohol, all posts, links

Addiction - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Addictions.org - Recovery for Drug or Alcohol Addiction and More

addictions.co.uk : Information on alcohol addiction, drug ...

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Labels: alcohol, all posts, videos