Obsessions Part Two

More Obsessions continued from Part One

The Signs of Problematic Computer Use

A person who is “addicted” to the computer is likely to have several of the experiences and feelings on the list below: How many of them describe you?

1. You have mixed feelings of well-being and guilt while at the computer.
2. You make unsuccessful efforts to quit or limit your computer use.
3. You lose track of time while on the computer.
4. You neglect friends, family and/or responsibilities in order to be online.
5. When you are not on the computer, you think about it frequently and anticipate when you will use it again.

Being “addicted” to the computer also can cause physical discomfort. Are you suffering from the following physical problems? While discussions are ongoing about whether excessive use of the computer/Internet is an addiction, the potential problematic behaviors and effects on the users seem to be clear.

College Students May be at Risk

Do any of these stories sound familiar to you?

1. You connect to the Internet and suddenly discover it is several hours later and you have not left the computer.
2. Your friends are worried about you going on a date alone with a person known only from a chat room.
3. You spend most of your time on-line talking to friends from home, instead of making new friends at college.
4. Almost all of your friends are from on-line activities and contacts.
5. Your romantic partner is distraught because you have replaced your sexual relationship with Internet pornography and online sex.

 

Treatment must begin with recognizing that there is a problem. Overcoming denial should be followed by other treatment steps.

Anger Issues

Where Anger Comes From, Where it Goes, How to Keep it There.

The management of your anger issues can be accomplished without drugs. Group counseling, online counseling, self-help, and therapy for anger is available.

Anger is not a brain chemistry problem, nor is it physiological in origin.  Genetics have little to do with anger management, even those with a parent who has anger and
and rage issues can learn to cope/control/deal with their anger.

Interestingly, you hold the key to your own anger management.  When you learn to change your thinking – your internal dialogue – about yourself, others and the world around you, you can find anger relief.  This is at the core of anger management.

To successfully manage anger now AND in the future, you must first have a good understanding of how your emotions originate and how your thinking affects our emotions.

Anger management begins with listening to your self-talk, and then learning how to change it so you remain more calm.

By gaining a true understanding of healthy thinking vs unhealthy thinking you’ll be able to work yourself out of anger, or better still, keep your anger in check.

Dealing With Problems In Our Old Age

Tobacco
The hazards of smoking in the elderly are no different from that in the young and the rates of total mortality among current smokers aged 65 and older are up to 10 times what they are for persons who have never smoked. Even minimal counseling by health care providers can help stop smoking, and the health benefits clearly extend to quitting in old age.

Exercise
Physical activity not only reduces coronary heart disease risk, but also can improve musculoskeletal conditions, bone density, and risk of falls and fracture, and it enhances a sense of well-being for older persons.

Diet
A majority of the elders consume diets that fail to meet the minimum recommended daily allowances (RDA). Especially among bed ridden elderly and women, vitamin D insufficiency has been detected and may contribute to reduced calcium absorption. Nonetheless, low-fat, high- fiber diet is a reasonable recommendation for older persons.

Alcohol
Psychological counseling of older patients about their alcohol intake can result in changes in drinking behavior. Furthermore, elders are felt to be at particularly high risk for alcohol abuse because of physiologic changes in alcohol distribution and metabolism, the concurrent use of variety of medications, the presence of comorbid illness, and an increased risk of falls and accidents. Thus, it seems reasonable to inquire about a patient’s alcohol intake and intervene when a concern is identified.

Medications
Three-quarters of elders regularly use prescription medications and nonprescription medication; 15% take five or more prescription medications daily. The potential for adverse drug reactions and drug interactions clearly increases with the number of drugs taken and probably increases with age, and thus counseling to avoid unnecessary medications may be beneficial.

So, that is the more-or-less traditional approach to dealing with obsessive behaviors – those referred to as addictions or habits – or you can look at the Dynamic Discovery program. Why? Because we help our clients achieve more effective behavior change or modification than the other approaches. Not sure? Try us.