Smartphone Or Internet Addiction Can Also Negatively Impact Your Life By:
Increasing loneliness and depression. While it may seem that losing yourself online will temporarily make feelings such as loneliness, depression, and boredom evaporate into thin air, it can actually make you feel even worse. A 2014 study found a correlation between high social media usage and depression and anxiety. Users, especially teens, tend to compare themselves unfavorably with their peers on social media, promoting feelings of loneliness and depression.
Fueling anxiety. One researcher found that the mere presence of a phone in a work place tends to make people more anxious and perform poorly on given tasks. The heavier a persons phone use, the greater the anxiety they experienced.
Increasing stress. Using a smartphone for work often means work bleeds into your home and personal life. You feel the pressure to always be on, never out of touch from work. This need to continually check and respond to email can contribute to higher stress levels and even burnout.
Exacerbating attention deficit disorders. The constant stream of messages and information from a smartphone can overwhelm the brain and make it impossible to focus attention on any one thing for more than a few minutes without feeling compelled to move on to something else.
Modify Your Smartphone Use Step
For most people, getting control over their smartphone and Internet use isnt a case of quitting cold turkey. Think of it more like going on a diet. Just as you still need to eat, you probably still need to use your phone for work, school, or to stay in touch with friends. Your goal should be to cut back to more healthy levels of use.
Are People Bored At Their Smart Phones
It seems that no matter where you are, no matter the environment , no matter the place, there are lots and lots of people who are looking at their smart-phones. In their own little bubble. Oblivious. For many, it is instinctive such that when they are bored, they look to their smart device for distraction.
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Related To Others With Addiction
There is no question that genetic makeup has at least some effect on a persons risk of developing addiction. As described by many studies, including one from the journal Psychiatry, having a close family member who is struggling with an addiction can make it more likely that an individual will develop an addiction as well.
In fact, certain portions of the human genome have even been identified as having a direct connection to specific addictions, according to a study in Nature. With this knowledge, it may be possible in the future to more accurately identify just how likely a person is to develop addiction. Still, genetic potential is no guarantee that an individual will develop addiction. Other complex, environmental factors also contribute to the potential that a genetic predisposition will become a true substance use disorder.
Warning Signs Of Smartphone Or Internet Overuse Include:
Trouble completing tasks at work or home. Do you find laundry piling up and little food in the house for dinner because youve been busy chatting online, texting, or playing video games? Perhaps you find yourself working late more often because you cant complete your work on time.
Isolation from family and friends. Is your social life suffering because of all the time you spend on your phone or other device? If youre in a meeting or chatting with friends, do you lose track of whats being said because youre checking your phone? Have friends and family expressed concern about the amount of time you spend on your phone? Do you feel like no one in your real lifeeven your spouseunderstands you like your online friends?
Concealing your smartphone use. Do you sneak off to a quiet place to use your phone? Do you hide your smartphone use or lie to your boss and family about the amount of time you spend online? Do you get irritated or cranky if your online time is interrupted?
Having a fear of missing out . Do you hate to feel out of the loop or think youre missing out on important news or information if you dont check you phone regularly? Do you need to compulsively check social media because youre anxious that others are having a better time, or leading a more exciting life than you? Do you get up at night to check your phone?
Withdrawal symptoms from smartphone addiction
- Restlessness
- Craving access to your smartphone or other device
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Why Do Commuters Use Their Phones
Most commuters use their phones to relax while on their commute or use it so they can avoid interaction with their fellow travelers. I doubt that anyone who reads this blog on a regular basis falls into this label, for the most part we will be the survivors when the **** hits the fan. I am such a dinosaur! I dont even have a cell phone!
Why Anything Can Be Addictive
Gambling studies expert, Nottingham Trent University
For many people the concept of addiction involves taking drugs such as alcohol, nicotine, cocaine and heroin.
But in this week’s Scrubbing Up, gambling studies expert Mark Griffiths warns that if the rewards are there people can become addicted to almost anything.
For the past 25 years I have been studying gambling and I passionately believe that gambling at its most extreme is just as addictive as any drug.
The social and health costs of problem gambling are large and have many things in common with more traditional addictions, including moodiness, relationship problems, absenteeism from work, domestic violence, and bankruptcy.
Health effects – for gamblers and their partners – include anxiety and depression, insomnia, intestinal disorders, migraine, stress related disorders, stomach problems, and suicidal thoughts.
If behaviours like gambling can become a genuine addiction, there is no theoretical reason why some people might not become genuinely addicted to activities like video games, work or exercise.
Research on pathological gamblers has reported at least one physical side effect when they undergo withdrawal, including insomnia, headaches, loss of appetite, physical weakness, heart palpitations, muscle aches, breathing difficulty, and chills.
In fact, pathological gamblers appear to experience more physical withdrawal effects when attempting to stop their behaviour when compared directly with drug addicts.
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So What Now How Do You Heal From This Addiction
Addiction to approval, nearness for the sake of nearness, or needing to be needed, arent permanent traits. Theyre symptoms of a bigger problem lurking behind the shadows of every thought and reaction. Trust.
And the soul-searching begins with asking ourselves questions like these…
Do I actually believe that God will bring comfort during my times of deepest desperation and loneliness? Do I even remember to ask Him for it before running back to my old habits?
Will He really give me the desires of my own heart, or does He just do that for everybody else?
Can God give me enough strength to handle these awful feelings while I wait for Him to help? And can I trust that His solution would be better than my own?
Coming face-to-face with the amount of trust we actually have in God isnt for the faint of heart!
Trust draws us near, but it pulls us away too. Life is a rubber-banded journey of creating distance and drawing near to both God, and peopleand at different points all along the way. But when we learn to fully trust and value Gods advice over others, our experiences with people become rooted in Truth, and our decisions are much easier to stand by.
Our yeses become yeses, and our nos become noes.
Confusion and responsibility overreach are replaced with perfect peace and a sound mind.
Our shoulders relax as we cast our cares on Him, remembering that He alone can sustain us.
Insecurity and doubt falls away as Gods quiet confidence takes its rightful place in our hearts.
The Myth Of The Generic Addictive Personality
The fiction is the concept of a specific addictive personality. In fact, most researchers in addiction today would caution against the idea of a single, generic personality that is prone to addiction. An article in Scientific American verifies and offers evidence for the fact that there is no one personality type that leads to addiction. In fact, some seemingly disparate traits can lead different people to become addicted to drugs or alcohol, depending on other factors.
While there are several different types of traits that can be recognized in individuals who develop substance use disorders, they are not all present in every person who becomes addicted. Therefore, the image that some people see of the socially outcast criminal is an inaccurate vision of the individual who becomes addicted to drugs or alcohol.
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Who Can Become Addicted To Drugs
The short answer is that anyone can become an addict. However, there are some factors that can make certain individuals more susceptible than others. Drugabuse.gov states that three of these factors are biology, environment, and development.
Biology and environment go hand in hand, in a way.
According to a study in PubMed Central, Both genetic and environmental variables contribute to the initiation of use of addictive agents and to the transition from use to addiction. Addictions are moderately to highly heritable. Family, adoption and twin studies reveal that an individuals risk tends to be proportional to the degree of genetic relationship to an addicted relativeThe moderate to high heritabilities of addictive disorders are paradoxical, because addictions initially depend on the availability of the addictive agent and the individuals choice to use it.
In other words, addiction can be genetic but is also affected by the environment in which one is raised. If drugs and alcohol are not readily available and are not considered the norm as someone is growing up, they are less likely to begin using the substances.
However, if substance abuse is common in the home they are raised in, they may be more prone to considering it normal and partaking in it themselves, leading to addiction.
This is where development also comes into the picture.
What Makes Addiction Grow Worse
Many people metabolize drugs in different ways.
Some people, for example, do not require much alcohol to reach the point of intoxication. Others can seemingly drink vast quantities without feeling intoxicated.
This often relates to a combination of age, gender, body weight, and other factors.
As part of regularly consuming large amounts of a substance, the body may become accustomed to its effects and metabolize it more efficiently. The person may require increased amounts of the substance to achieve the same effect that smaller amounts of the substance used to create.
Medicine generally refers to this phenomenon as tolerance.
When tolerance increases alongside the need to take a substance to avoid withdrawal symptoms, it often indicates the onset of an addictive disorder. If a person does not receive treatment, it can lead to dangerous consequences.
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Things You Should Know About People Who Struggle With Addiction
If youve never struggled with addiction, youre lucky. You will never know the horror of being addicted, or of wanting to stop and not being able too. Imagine something so powerful that it uses you. Its like that for those of us who are susceptible to addiction.
We voluntarily take our first drink or drug and then it takes over. We develop a psychological dependency an emotional and mental process that goes hand-in-hand with addiction. Our inebriated state becomes our brains new normal.
Our body becomes physically dependent. We need higher and higher doses to create the same euphoric effect. As tolerance builds, signals are sent to our mid-brain, over-riding our frontal lobe the area of our brain responsible for executive functions such as planning for the future, judgment, decision-making skills, attention span, impulse control and inhibition. The mid-brain is the area responsible for survival. Its our fight or flight responses. The signal it receives says get high or die.
The susceptible persons brain responds differently to chemical stimulation than non-addicts do. The majority of people will be able to use drugs and alcohol with few consequences. They dont over-indulge because they dont like feeling out of control. However, for those of us struggling with addiction, we dont feel out of control when we use. We feel in control, maybe for the very first time in our lives.
You Dont Care Who You Date As Long As Youre In A Relationship
Many people who struggle with compulsive relationship behaviors need others to build up their self-worth. If you find it hard to love yourself or make yourself happy, you might look for someone to fulfill that need.
This consuming need for a relationship can make it easier to end up with someone who isnt the best match. It could even have a harmful impact if you stay in an abusive or toxic relationship to avoid being single.
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Signs And Symptoms Of Smartphone Addiction
There is no specific amount of time spent on your phone, or the frequency you check for updates, or the number of messages you send or receive that indicates an addiction or overuse problem.
Spending a lot of time connected to your phone only becomes a problem when it absorbs so much of your time it causes you to neglect your face-to-face relationships, your work, school, hobbies, or other important things in your life. If you find yourself ignoring friends over lunch to read Facebook updates or compulsively checking your phone in while driving or during school lectures, then its time to reassess your smartphone use and strike a healthier balance in your life.
Treatment For Smartphone And Internet Addiction
If you need more help to curb your smartphone or Internet use, there are now specialist treatment centers that offer digital detox programs to help you disconnect from digital media. Individual and group therapy can also give you a tremendous boost in controlling your technology use.
Cognitive-behavioral therapy provides step-by-step ways to stop compulsive behaviors and change your perceptions about your smartphone and the Internet. Therapy can also help you learn healthier ways of coping with uncomfortable emotionssuch as stress, anxiety, or depressionthat may be fueling your smartphone use.
If excessive use of Internet pornography or online affairs is affecting your relationship, counseling can help you work through these challenging issues and reconnect with your partner.
Group support. Organizations such as Internet Tech Addiction Anonymous and On-Line Gamers Anonymous offer online support and face-to-face meetings to curb excessive technology use. Of course, you need real-life people to benefit fully from any addiction support group. Online support groups can be helpful in finding sources of assistance, but its easy to use them as an excuse to spend even more time on your smartphone. Sex Addicts Anonymous can be a place to try if youre having trouble with cybersex addiction.
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Common Behaviors Of Addicted People
The progression of addiction is gradual, and more often than not family members and friends may not notice that something is amiss until someone is over their head. When you notice that something isnt quite right with a loved one, you may notice little things that cause a small blip on the radar screenbut that awareness often passes and you may not even think that someone you love is struggling with substance abuse.
But, as the old saying goes, addiction is cunning, baffling and powerful. Over time, those little quirks and anomalies in the way a person behaves, thinks and acts start to add up, and those you love are transforming right in front of your eyes. When you see a family member or friend change for the worse, the thought they may be addicted to drugs and alcohol may start crossing your mind with increasing regularity.
If you suspect substance abuse in those you love and want to help, knowing what to look for is essential in finding the appropriate professional help. The following are 7 of the most common behaviors of addicted people.
Why Do People Get Addicted To Alcohol
Addiction is common: approximately 10 percent of Americans suffer from a drug use disorder at some point in their life1. If youre struggling with alcohol or any other substance, youre certainly not alone.
But why do people get addicted to alcohol, and what makes this such a common issue in our society?
Since we dont talk openly enough about alcoholism and what it means to be an alcoholic, many people might not even realize they need help. For me, I had never even heard the word alcoholic or addict until I entered treatment. When I first started drinking, it was fun. All of my friends did it, and it didnt seem like a big deal.
What I didnt realize was that my thoughts about alcohol and my relationship with alcohol were almost immediately different than that of my friends. I was always waiting for the next time I could drink. I almost always got drunk or blacked out and made decisions I would never have made when I wasnt drinking.
Addiction presents itself differently in everyone, but there are several common reasons people get addicted to alcohol. Its also interesting to note that alcohol is one of the most accepted substances to use in the United States. This fact makes it difficult for many people to realize that they could even have a problem with alcohol.
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