Comparing Process and Substance Addictions
When people see or hear about addiction, the first thing that usually comes to mind is alcohol abuse or drug dependency. However, it is clear that addictive behaviors go far beyond the narrow category of substance abuse. People addicted to gambling, or sex, are also classified as ‘addicts.’ And although they experience the same amount of struggle to stop the addiction, they are not dependent on a particular chemical substance.A generalized definition of addiction is characterized by the repeated, compulsive seeking or use of a substance, behavior, or activity, despite negative consequences (harmful consequences to the individual’s health, mental state or social life). Addiction is often accompanied by physical or psychological dependence, withdrawal symptoms when use halts suddenly, and the gradual buildup of tolerance over time. The vicious cycle of addiction can in theory be derived from any rewarding behavior, and is believed to be strongly associated with the brain’s reward center. In both process and substance addictions-this reward system is heavily prevalent.Although continued repetition of the addictive behavior persists, the goal is no longer aimed to induce pleasure, but to relieve the anxiety caused by the absence of the particular substance or behavior adopted. The behavior is now compulsive and very hard to control.2 Types of AddictionAs mentioned above, process addiction easily transcends simple alcohol or drug addiction. Although substance abuse counts for some of the most numerous and devastating addictions, there are also equally negative conditions connected with “process” (or “behavioral”) addictions. Activities and behavioral patterns can become serious addictions just as easily as drugs or alcohol can.A “process addiction” is simply an addiction to an abusive way of living or self-defeating behaviors. This kind of behavioral addiction affects cognition and emotions. Many research studies have shown how process addictions affect the same reward system in the brain as chemical addictions, in which a behavior is repeated to relieve anxiety or induce pleasure while causing harm to either medical, societal and mental aspects of a healthy person’s life. Both forms of addictions are related in that way. People suffering from a process addiction can be just as oblivious and suffer from denial as any other form of addiction.Examples of process addictions include shopping, gambling, internet, computer, sexual, pornography, eating, video game, work, and love addictions. All have unwanted consequences when repeatedly indulged. Process addictions are usually involved when it is easy to attain instant gratification. The ease at which the gratification is achieved and the speed at which this can be repeated is the key to why process addictions can become so addictive so quickly.The key to any “addiction” is the obsessive and compulsive need or dependence upon a substance, an object, a relationship (love), an activity, or a thing. It’s a phenomenon that has the power to elicit perceived stability to an individual-one that is entirely false and becomes a crutch.Also similar to alcohol and drug abuse, process addictions can build tolerance just as quickly. However, unlike substance abuse, with process addictions the body is not receiving any externally added chemical changes, the necessity for more and stronger participation in the behavior similarly causes severe deterioration. For example, individuals addicted to sex may start off participating in the addiction once or twice a day. As the addiction progresses, the act of having sex multiple times a day is not for achieving an aim of feeling pleasure. It becomes a necessity to abate the anxiety that comes with not participating in the act.Both forms of addiction are dangerous for the general wellbeing of any person and can have equally hazardous effects on financial, relationships, social, mental and physical aspects of an individual’s life.The Function of AddictionPeople use an addiction as a way to cope, to fix situations, and feel better. Addictions may block out sensations of pain, uncertainty, or discomfort. It may create powerfully distracting sensations that focus and absorb attention. It may enable a person to feel “okay” about some insurmountable problem or uncomfortable circumstance. It provides an artificial, temporary feeling of security, of self-worth, purpose, or accomplishment; ultimately having immediate power or control.Most addicts feel that continual use of substances helps them avoid emotional pain, or: feel good about themselves, fill empty spaces in their hearts, escape loneliness, relieve anxiety, feel connected, feel a sense of purpose, cope with difficult circumstances and all together escape reality. Because this “escape” provides such an effective barrier between the individual and reality, it even blinds people from the negative results that are happening in reality, which is continues to the cycle of escaping in mind-altering substances. Over time, whether suffering from substance or behavioral issues, individuals will begin to demonstrate symptoms which often include deterioration in multiple aspects of their life. These can range from physical illness to psychological instabilities.
Top 5 Reasons You Can Make Money Online From Home Starting Today
Making money online from home or owning a home based business can be both frustrating and exhilarating. There are lots of challenges that you may encounter if you choose to make money online from home. If you choose to own a home based business, you need to have enough knowledge as well as skills in running a business including the sales, accounting, marketing, customer service, and so on.If you are up to the challenges that home business owners face, you may need to know the top 5 reasons why you can make money online from home to stay motivated.I. You Are Your Own Boss Making money online from your home gives you the opportunity to be your own boss. Owning a home based business is great due to the fact that you’re the one who determines your success. If you succeed or fail terribly, you have no one to blame, but yourself.II. Low Cost for Your Startup Starting a home based business costs a fraction of the actual cost of opening a brick and mortar store, but your chance of earning high profits is lucrative. You don’t need to deal with any royalty cost including real estate cost, employee cost, and the cost of utility.III. Tax Advantages Starting a home based business provides you with access to more than 450 tax deductions. Tax deductions that you could acquire include office supplies, your home based business, the business miles that you drive, and more.IV. Flexibility If you know how to make money online from home, you can have the opportunity to be flexible with your time. This means that you can work at the most convenient time for you and still have time for your family. A home based business may seem perfect for parents who need to supervise the activities of their kids. Managing a home based business or working at home allows you to work while the children are at school or when they are asleep in the evening.V. Personal Growth Working at home or owning a home business provides you with a room for personal growth. You will face challenges that will test your skills and overcome them. This will help you build a strong confidence, which is extremely valuable to growing your business. You may not be aware of it, but your skill level will grow in particular areas almost every day. Although making money online from home may seem daunting, it’s only in the beginning and things will become handy once you get started. Besides, there are tools, tips, and solutions that you can find to help you earn money online from home.The economy these days is fluctuating and no job is secure. There are times that you have to take risks and accept the challenge. Regardless of the opportunity or filed that you choose to take, you have to give your best to succeed. Many people choose to work at home and start a home based business, but fail as they face the hard part of owning a business at home. Why? Because they are not aware or do not have the knowledge about the ways to make money online from home. They fail because of poor business planning, lack or hard work and dedication, and not realizing that owning a home based business requires motivation and discipline. Owning a home bases business requires thorough research, better business plan, right marketing techniques, and knowing what home base business opportunity to start with.How to Make Money Online From Home For FreeSell Products in eBay or AmazonTo start a home based business doesn’t mean that you need to own a website right from the beginning. Many people sell stuff on eBay or Amazon, so why you don’t you try it? You have lots of stuff that you do not use, but other people want it. Joining auction sites like eBay is almost free and you can sell you unused stuff here. Simply sign up an account, create a profile, and sell your goods. You can also sell new or used items on Amazon. This is one of the ways I first got started and it is really pretty easy. Although this may require practice in order to generate sales, you do not need to deal with expensive marketing campaigns and ads. All you need to do is to learn how to create a legitimate and persuasive page that will get people interested in your goods.BloggingBlogging is increasingly becoming popular these days, and there are people who have made blogging a full-time job. The beauty of blogging is that you only need to create high quality content about a particular topic that will help other people. In addition, you can create your website for free using free platforms such as WordPress.FreelancingFreelancing is somewhat similar to blogging. This allows you to work at the office or at home. Freelancing opportunities include article writing, designing websites, and more. The only thing that you need to have is your expertise or skills about something and many people will hire you.So, in the end, if you are serious about building a real online business, but don’t know where to begin, you can find lots of guidance on how to own a home based business for free. But, you have to remember that earning money online from home does not happen overnight. It is a process and you need to be sure to follow the steps if you wish to succeed.You still need to work hard, especially at the beginning. After you get used to it, however, you will see that your business is growing and you have the option to make it a full-time job. Just remember, you can make money online from home if you have the right mindset, determination, and stay focused.
How Sports Nutrition Can Affect Health
The sports nutrition that any athlete consumes is a very important aspect and a huge determinant of his health and in turn affects his performance. Everyone knows that in today’s competing world of sports, one must perform at his best to even qualify. And when it comes to winning, it’s not enough to give your best- you need to be better than the best.To play any sport, an athlete must maintain a healthy lifestyle. It’s not only required to practice and polish the skills of the sport, but is also equally important to nourish the body so that there will be enough energy and strength to play that sport. Let’s take a look at how the right sports nutrition can help in this regard.You, assuming that you are an athlete or thinking of becoming one, must, first and foremost, understand the principles of sports nutrition completely. What is the point of staying healthy when you do not even know what being healthy is all about?Firstly, it’s important to avoid engaging yourself in false beliefs and misconceptions. Myths are completely different from facts, and your sports nutrition health is indeed a fact so do not, under any circumstances, mix unreal and unproven principles with facts. Compromising with your health based on misinterpretation of the facts can seriously jeopardize your career as an athlete.It’s easy to talk about managing your health than actually doing it. So to start with, you must take note of nutrition requirements that are related to your training program. Failure to recognize these said requirements would cause stress not only to your body, but also mentally. When you don’t know what are up against, how can you build energy to tackle it?Taking experts’ advice on the sports nutrition is helpful too. You might be taking carbohydrates all right but not in the right amount or in the amount that is appropriate for you. So there will either be an excess or a lack, and neither is helpful for your health status.Let’s make one point clear though. There is a lot of difference between having well balanced sports nutrition and dieting to lose fat. Do not, under any circumstances, mistake them to be the same thing or else your health will be compromised.You may have an extremely busy schedule, being an athlete and all, but you must still consume appropriate amount of food. So you must manage your time well to have an adequate time for eating. Time management is definitely the key.For starters, you may not be financially stable right away, but that is how it always is when you are just beginning. However, this scarcity of finances might be a factor for you not to be able to attain adequate food supplies.For those who are already making it big, your sports nutrition health should always come first. This means you have to manage your money efficiently so that you can have the appropriate supply of food, and still have enough to spend for maintaining your lifestyle.A usually ignored, but quite important nutrition and health impairing factor is frequent traveling. Besides from the fact that traveling is expensive, it comes with a huge tendency that you will be taking your food on the road which leaves you with very few healthy choices.Or if you carry the food, it minimized the selection of your food items to those that are portable. That will leave out the food that is difficult for you to carry but is important for your sports nutrition health. The time for eating should also not be modified.Sports nutrition experts break the nutrition into the basic three types that the food basically is made up of. That is protein, carbohydrates and fats. A correct balance of these components in your body is very important. Anything in excess or in deficiencies could be a cause of a nutritional downfall.Proteins give energy to the body. Whereas fats are the things that you should be more concerned about since these are the ones that decide what kind of shape to give to your body. You must not lose more than one half pound of fat in a week because if this happens, your body will individually think that you are undergoing a fasting, trying to starve yourself. If this is the case, your metabolism slows down since there is a need to conserve calories that have been used and also since your muscles will be used as sources of energy.To say the least, you need to carefully follow the guidance about sports nutrition and ponder over the tips given in this article. Remember, it’s possible to be a successful athlete provided you maintain your health well!