Addictions

Addiction & Behavior Health Assessment

Addiction & Behavior Health Assessments
Scroll to Addictions & Impulse Control Assessments
"Do you do things sometimes that you regret almost immediately, yet find yourself doing it over and over again, each time promising yourself 'never again'? Are these behavior cycles simply the result of bad habits, or are they symptoms of addiction or a behavior disorder that may need professional treatment to overcome? Maybe you, or someone you love, struggles with alcohol or drug use, gambling or shopping until no more credit can be extended, or the internet or cell phone seems to cause great anxiety when taken away. Eating disorders, such as anorexia and bulimia, are also related to behavior health. Answer these Yes/No questions to help you learn the warning signs and symptoms of a number of behavior health issues and help you figure out if you or someone you love is suffering from them."

Screening and Assessment from SAMHSA

Destiny Websites

Do You Obsessively Check Your Smartphone?

How many times a day do you check your smartphone? Do you find yourself checking your phone even when you are out with your friends? Research into the checking habits of smartphone users showed that people checked their phone an average of 34 times a day, often repetitively checking it less than ten minutes after the last check. It becomes an unconscious behavior or habit. It's an addiction with occasional positive feedback, but it breaks concentration and often annoys your friends. Consider setting aside times and places that are smartphone-free.
Topic: Smartphones Language: English  Lexile: 1120 News Source http://www.cnn.com

Video Games Activate Reward Regions of Brain in Men More than Women, Stanford Study Finds

Brain activity explains why men are more prone to Internet addictions than women. Researchers at Stanford University School of Medicine used functional magnetic resonance imaging to study brain activity while young adults were playing video games. Both genders figured out the objective of the game but the men showed a greater motivation to succeed and greater success in discovering the strategies for conquering territory. The mesocorticolimbic center of the brain, a part associated with rewards and addictions, displayed greater activation in male brains.
Topic: Internet addiction Language: English Lexile: 1330 Video: http://med.stanford.edu

How Computer Addiction Works

Do you spend more time in a chat room or playing online games than you do with your family and friends? If so, you may be addicted to Internet activities. Some dispute whether excessive computer use is an addiction but others find it interfering with their daily lives. Even in the midst of negative consequences, they seem unable to stop and may hide how much time they spend online from others. Computer activities are used as an escape from stress as the user withdraws from healthy relationships, ignores responsibilities, and loses sleep.
Topic: Internet addiction Language: English Lexile: 1240 http://computer.howstuffworks.com

Time to Reboot: Engaging Youth in Preventive Behavior Change

For a generation where text messages and online communication are a daily part of life, these technological tools can provide a useful way to deal with depression, phobias, eating disorders, and substance abuse. Discover how computer technology is being used as a therapeutic aid to improve physical and mental health. For those who have not responded well to traditional therapeutic approaches, computer-based therapy can provide psychosocial and behavioral interventions, individualized feedback, and intrinsic motivation. Interactive computer simulations provide a way for adolescents to gain information and make decisions about their health.
Topic: Computer-assisted psychotherapy Language: English Lexile: 1370 http://www.apa.org

Internet Addiction

Even though the Internet can be a positive and useful tool in your life, it can also be a destructive and debilitating force. Like food or alcohol, the Internet can become an addiction. Examine five types of addictions that are related to Internet use. Become familiar with the warning signs that might indicate Internet addiction. Analyze why college students are particularly vulnerable to developing Internet addictions. Assess your time online and make a plan for adjusting your Internet usage if needed. Evaluate your addictive triggers, confront your denial, and adopt healthy behaviors.
Topic: Internet addiction Language: English Lexile: 1340 http://www.counseling.txstate.edu

Teens Sleeping with Cell Phones: A Clear and Present Danger

Four out of five teens sleep with their cell phone on. It might simply double as an alarm clock, but many leave it on to be accessible to their friends. The need for peer acceptance causes them to be on call so that a friend won't get mad at them for not answering. This can lead to sleep deprivation and hypervigilance, even though teens need more sleep than adults. Find out why texting can cause anxiety and become addictive.
Topic: Cell phones and teenagers Language: English Lexile: 1320 http://www.pbs.org

Working To Stop Teens Texting Behind The Wheel

Recent research has shown that teens texting while driving has become a serious issue. This article examines the issue and reveals what is being done to get teens to put down the cell phones and focus on driving. It explains how cell phones and texting have become an enormous part of a teen's everyday life, how parents can play an important role in teens' driving decisions, and how authorities are looking to changes in the law for help.
Topic: Cell phones and traffic accidents, Teenage automobile drivers, Distracted driving, Cell phones and teenagers Language: English Lexile: 1140  Video     News Source: http://www.npr.org

Are Social Networking Sites Addictive?

Nearly everyone knows someone who is constantly updating their status on Facebook or Twitter. For many, online social networking has replaced face-to-face clubs, hobbies, and professional organizations. Social networking sites make it easy to manage your friendships and meet new friends with similar interests. Investigate whether social networks are just a fun way to connect with people or a potentially addictive activity. From kids to stay-at-home moms, many people are spending way more than the average 15-hours-a-month online. Investigate the consequences of excessive Internet use on health and relationships. Discover how social networking sites are designed to be addictive.
Topic: Social networking, Online social networks, Internet addiction Language: English Lexile: 1010  http://computer.howstuffworks.com

Curse of the Smart Phone . . . and Adults Are as Guilty as Children

Adults use their smartphones during movies and plays almost as often as teenagers. Nearly 20% of adults and about 25% of teens use their smartphone during performances in spite of messages to turn devices off. Ordinary mobile devices are less frequently used and left on during performances. Mobile phones are extremely distracting to actors and the audience in theatres. Explore issues of social etiquette, the work-life balance, and changing use of leisure time. Discover how smartphones also interrupt vacations, meals, and sleep.
Topic: Smartphones   Language: English Lexile: 1310      
User Rating: Stars: 5.0Stars: 5.0Stars: 5.0Stars: 5.0Stars: 5.0 http://www.telegraph.co.uk

Video Game Addiction No Fun

Video games are fun until they begin to take over your life. Online role-play gaming has become an addiction for many. A treatment center in Amsterdam is helping young adults break their dependence on video games and get their impulse control disorder under control. Examine the criteria for an addiction and ask yourself whether compulsive gaming meets the criteria. Analyze physical and psychological responses to entering the virtual world of video games. Identify warning signs that someone is addicted to gaming.
Topic: Internet addiction Language: English Lexile: 1040 http://www.webmd.com

Articles

"Hanging Up on Cell Phone Addiction
What to do when an electronic device becomes your best friend"
Published on December 21, 2012 by Jeremy Spiegel, M.D.in Mind Tapas
Reprinted in Psychology Today