Now that we have passed Black Friday, we are increasingly being bombarded by shopping adverts about even more special shopping windows, including for Christmas. This period is when retailers make a sizable proportion of their yearly profits and there are numerous subconscious consumer decision-making processes that companies seek to exploit when we are shopping. In […]
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In this post you will learn more about how gambling addiction is defined, how and why it manifests and the most effective treatment models. Gambling addiction can also be called problem gambling, compulsive gambling or gambling disorder. What is problem gambling? Problem gamblers often refer to their zone of emotional comfort, where nothing else seems
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Motivational interviewing (MI) is not a modality in itself but can be a very useful add-on when practicing integratively in counselling and psychotherapy. It emerged as a collaborative approach to promoting client change in substance abuse treatment centres from the 1980s. Miller & Rollnick, (2002) explain that it came about essentially as an alternative to
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In a post pandemic world it can sometimes feel like there is no shortage of social opportunities for a night out, whether that is a celebration event or a weekend opportunity to party. However, over-indulging in alcohol or drugs on a night out can present many risks and hazards. You are at greater risk of
The dangers of taking it too far on a night out with drugs or alcohol Read More »
I was recently interviewed by Lucy Donoughue from Happiful Magazine as part of the I am I have podcast series. We started our chat with an explanation about what a gambling addiction might look like and how it could impact the person living through it, or those closest to them. We also talked about the scenario about someone who
Is it possible to quit gambling ‘cold turkey’? Read More »
There are lots of reasons for making psychological mistakes when trading in financial markets. The recent lock-down experience has witnessed an explosion in the number of day traders seeking to capitalise on increasingly volatile markets in addition to others seeking to make financial trading a source of additional income or as a means of changing
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The term sexual anorexia is one (amongst many) that causes a fair bit of conflicting discussion in the addiction treatment and therapy field. For some the term trivialises the more serious eating disorder conditions by seeking to give credibility to a behavioural pattern that is not pathological. For others the two conditions share similar characteristics
Sexual anorexia and the challenge of social isolation Read More »
Physical dependence is not the same as addiction but the terms are often conflated in treatment and recovery circles. Physical dependence is a process that occurs when the brain adapts to the effects of a drug and develops the phenomenon of tolerance. In other words, an individual will require more and more of the particular
Dependence and addiction are often conflated in treatment and recovery circles Read More »
What is Scroll Free September? Scroll Free September is an initiative from the Royal Society for Public Health which is asking all of us (not just young people) to take a break from all personal social media accounts throughout September. This follows their collaboration with the Young Health Movement on the publication of the #statusofmind report examining the positive
Scroll Free September: do you need to go cold turkey? Read More »
Defining behaviours as an addiction or a disorder can create lively debate in the therapy world. Take internet gaming. There are users out there, for sure, who overdo playing video games. But so what, you might say. Individuals overdo lots of stuff, after all, so what is so special about video games? And is it
Who are addicts and who are enthusiastic gamers? Read More »