Addictions Tips
Read these 3 Addictions Tips tips to make your life smarter, better, faster and wiser. Each tip is approved by our Editors and created by expert writers so great we call them Gurus. LifeTips is the place to go when you need to know about Psychological tips and hundreds of other topics.
Co-dependency - What to do if you're in an addictive relationship
If you feel you have a dependency problem, here is a general course of action:
*Gain insight to the causes of your dependency
*Learn to recognize destructive thinking, emotional, and behavior patterns
*Realize how unhappy you feel about your dependency
*Learn to avoid cognitive shortcuts (jumping to conclusions, acting upon assumptions, etc)
*Confront your fears
*Work on your self-esteem, self-confidence, and assertiveness
*Observe couples who have healthy (not perfect) relationships. Identify what they are doing differently
*Practice self-control. Don't slip back into familiar patterns when something goes wrong
*Get support from lots of people, don't go overboard with anyone in particular
Sexual Addiction
Three of more of the following criteria may indicate a problem with sexual addiction:
*frequently engaging in more sex and with more partners than intended
*being preoccupied with or persistently craving sex
*wanting to cut down and unsuccessfully attempting to limit sexual activity
*continually engaging in excessive sexual activity despite the desire to stop
*spending considerable time in activities related to sex (eg. cruising for partners, spending hours on-line visiting pornographic web sites
*neglecting obligations in pursuit of sex
*continually engaging in sexual behaviors despite negative consequences
*escalating the scope or frequency of sexual activity to achieve the desired effect
*feeling irritable when unable to engage in desired behavior
Compulsive Gambling
Symptoms of Compulsive Gambling:
*Increasing the frequency and amout of money gambled
*spending majority of free time thinking about gambling
*spending and excessive amount of time gambling at the expense of family time
*Being preoccupied with obtaining money to gamble with
*feeling an aroused sense of action; a gambling "high"
*continuing to gamble despite negative consequences
*Using gambling to cope with uncomfortable feeings
*taking greater risks to make up for a series of losses
*borrowing money to gamble, taking out secret loans, or maxing out credit cards
*bragging about wins, not talking about losses
*frequent mood swings
*gambling for longer periods of time with more money that originally planned
lying or secretive behavior to cover up extent of gambling
| Guru Spotlight |
| Sheri Ann Richerson |
