Is Mindfulness an Emerging Treatment for Addiction?

Is Mindfulness an Emerging Treatment for Addiction?

A great article on the benefits of mindfulness practices and daily living to address addictions.

“For example, a person in our smoking program commented, “Mindful smoking: smells like stinky cheese and tastes like chemicals. YUCK!” She noticed that smoking wasn’t as great as she might have convinced herself previously. And this is the beginning of the end – we start to get disenchanted with what we were doing – just by paying careful attention. ”

Link: http://www.rehabs.com/pro-talk-articles/is-mindfulness-an-emerging-treatment-for-addictions/

What is Addiction? [Gabor Maté]

A beautiful and poignant piece about some of the real issues surrounding addiction, escapism from emotional pain. Gabor Maté has always been a favorite of mine for his amazing holistic view on addiction and life’s struggles.

Masturbation for the Porn Addict

Many people ask me, if porn is unhealthy for me but I still want to masturbate every now and then without hindering my recovery, how can I do this? Masturbation without porn or fantasy and in moderation can be a healthy activity and a part of a healthy life style. But this is not for everyone, if you have Erectile Dysfunction caused by porn, a religious tenant against it, or if you simple enjoy the experience of abstinence, then by all means stay masturbation free! 🙂

With compulsive porn abusers it’s clear that porn is the real issue, which leads to excessive masturbation. But without the porn around to over stimulate the brain, it’s clear that many people don’t masturbate even half as much. We have been pleasuring ourselves for a long, long time before porn came around, and with the proper moderation it can be a helpful tool to balance our lives. In general, those who are just starting the recovery process may have a more difficulty engaging in this practice. Don’t worry, after a few weeks or a month of removing porn from your life you will find becoming aroused much easier. Continue reading →

‘Compass Of Pleasure’: Why Some Things Feel So Good [NPR]

A great audio interview over at NPR with neuroscientist David Linden. In it David talks about his new book Compass Of Pleasure, detailing the brain on a neurochemical level when we interact with addictive substances and behaviors. One of the most interesting things I took home from this interview was how his findings point to STRESS as a major contributor to sudden increases in cravings for the addictive substance or behavior.

‘Compass Of Pleasure’: Why Some Things Feel So Good [NPR]

While most people are able to achieve a certain degree of pleasure with only moderate indulgence, those with blunted dopamine systems are driven to overdo it.

“Any one of us could be an addict at any time,” Linden says. “Addiction is not fundamentally a moral failing — it’s not a disease of weak-willed losers.

Reddit: The experience of someone two years porn free

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Hi everyone! I just wanted to share this amazing Reddit Gold caliber article, a harrowing self account of misery to freedom from one man who has passed the 2 year mark of life without porn. It is touching and informative, I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

The experience of someone two years porn free

“I was 34 years old when I decided to quit, after having done porn pretty continuously, and increasingly, from the age of 13 when I found my Dad’s magazines in his bedside drawer. By the time I decided to quit, I was married (unhappily – though I wasn’t totally conscious of that fact), and had a two-year-old daughter. I was a software engineering manager making a bunch of money, I had a big house in a posh neighborhood. I had all the outward signs of success…. (click here)“

Compassion Meditation

This meditation is similar to the Loving-Kindness Meditation except that it focuses on self-compassion. What is compassion? Self-Compassion: An acceptance that you are suffering, coupled with a deep seeded authentic wish that your suffering is stopped. What flows from this mind of compassion is natural actions of self care and non-harming, combined with a joy and excitement that comes from engaging in actions that will result in your long term happiness and the removal of your suffering. Continue reading →

Loving-kindness Meditation

Loving-kindness meditation is the art of awakening the heart through intentions of goodwill and compassion, practiced for thousands of years by various Buddhist traditions. Today, modern science is now verifying it’s amazing ability for radical, positive transformation and healing. It will lead us to a deeper understanding of the causes of suffering and the causes of peace and contentment in our life. Leading us naturally to take up care and drop violence in our thoughts, speech, and actions.

So, what does all this have to do with porn addiction? Continue reading →

Q: What is the opposite of a porn habit?

Q: What is the opposite of a porn habit?

A: To me, it’s creative energy and intimacy.

Porn is fake intimacy, and we all crave intimacy. Life without porn mean you find more natural sources of intimacy, like with real people. Intimacy can be comradery, friendship, family, love, trust, respect, joy.

Creative energy comes to us when we gain our sensitivity to life back. We do hobbies, sports, crafts, tinkering. With porn we feel dead, no energy to be creative or do much of anything.

Combine creative energy and intimacy and you get things like community, fundraisers to help people in need, collective art projects, running workshops for free, and other creative ways to help uplift your community.

These are things I have experienced from quitting porn.

Neuroscientist Kelly McGonigal

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Neuroscientist Kelly McGonigal speaks about her book “The WillPower Instinct” and describes the importance of supercharging your prefrontal cortex as a means to better decision making. This video is packed full of amazing scientifically researched and study based tools to help overcome addiction and achieve goals by strengthening this part of the brain. Her approach is based on mindfulness, acceptance, and forgiveness, and I wholly indorse her methods.

Some of the methods she prescribes are similar to the Identifying Triggers tool, and the Equanimity Meditation. I hope you try them out!

Happiness without porn?

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Hi everyone. I’m going to start making a series of posts based off my Identifying Triggers tool, each post will show the process I go through to identify, explore, and debunk a new ‘Trigger’. A trigger is any thought, feeling, image, or memory that causes you to want to look at porn. This tool is based off a behavior modification technique called cognitive behavioral therapy, and is a very powerful means to transform our addiction in a mindful and compassionate way. I hope this will be helpful for you. 🙂

Continue reading →