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Dealing With Porn Addiction / Dealing With Porn Addiction / Internet And Porn Addictions: Dual Diagnosis
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on: August 29, 2010, 06:28:33 PM
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Started by Administrator | Last post by Administrator
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Internet And Porn Addictions: Dual Diagnosis
News, internet, pornography By Curtis Cartier
Tue, Aug 17, 2010
Ask Stephen L. Braveman what most of the patients he treats for pornography and sex addiction have in common and he’ll tell you that, in about 85 percent of the cases, they’re also addicted to the Internet.
“It’s very common for people who come in my door to say they’re addicted to their Blackberry or addicted to their computer,” says Braveman, a Monterey-based marriage and family therapist specializing in sex therapy. “It’s not a big deal for a computer programmer who’s making a million dollars a year working on their computer. But for someone like a commute train operator who’s checking email when they should be watching the tracks, it’s a big problem.”
Although Braveman’s practice is focused on patients’ sexual problems rather than their online habits, he says the Internet has brought a slew of new challenges for the modern sex therapist. Instant, and often free, access to online pornography makes avoiding temptation exponentially more difficult for sex addicts who are looking to tamp down their obsessions. Child pornography, also widely available online, is fueling an increase in pathology and criminality among those who produce and consume it.
Braveman says he recently treated a soldier who had been downloading child pornography onto his government-issued laptop. Instead of having him discharged or court martialed “and wasting the $100,000 they spent trying to make him a killer,” Braveman says the young man’s commander came to him looking to get the soldier treatment.
In many cases, Braveman says his patients have to find a replacement for the computer altogether, because even if a patient gives up online porn, he or she can quite easily switch to online games, shopping or gambling.
“With porn addicts we have to be very careful,” he says. “If we don’t find a proper outlet, they can switch to something else. If we get them away from adult content but they spend hours on computer games, we haven’t helped them much.”
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Dealing With Problem Gambling / Dealing With Gambling Addiction / Bid to curb online gambling
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on: August 29, 2010, 06:07:17 PM
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Started by Administrator | Last post by Administrator
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Bid to curb online gambling
Bank urged to act on credit-card bets
Aug 25, 2010 10:58 PM | By AMUKELANI CHAUKE
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The Gauteng Gambling Board has asked Reserve Bank governor Gill Marcus to block internet users from using their credit cards for gambling online.
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The board has also asked media houses and advertising agencies to pull all advertising for online gambling sites - including Silversands Casino's ads featuring actor Dolph Lundgren, Ed Jordan's Piggs Peak commercials and print adverts for the African Palace online gambling site. It also warns that those who do not will be severely punished - as will those who gamble online.
Last week, the Johannesburg High Court dismissed an application by Swaziland-based Casino Enterprises, which owns Piggs Peak, which argued that it was not subject to South Africa's online gambling ban as it operated outside the country.
Casino Enterprises said gamblers should not be forbidden from gambling at its online casino.
The ruling will see the Gauteng Gambling Board gun for international online casino operators and their customers. As Casino Enterprises also hauled the National Gambling Board to court, the ruling now applies to everyone in the country who gambles online.
The Reserve Bank will now be expected to instruct banks not to authorise credit-card transactions related to online gambling anywhere in the country. The ruling prohibits adverts for online gambling sites on TV, radio, billboards and newspapers.
Edward Lalumbe, Gauteng Gambling Board's chief operating officer, said: "Part of the reason we have been fighting online operators is because we cannot guarantee that a gambler will win. If they do, we cannot guarantee that they will be paid their winnings."
Now banks, broadcasters, advertising agencies and casinos that defy the order face fines of up to R10-million or 10 years in jail, or both.
Anti-gambling organisations have welcomed the ruling, which they said would put the brakes on teenage gambling addicts who use their cellphones and parents' credit cards to flutter online.
Professor Peter Collins, the National Responsible Gambling Programme's executive director, said online gambling was a growing problem, which earned the industry an estimated R500-million a year.
Collins said that internet gambling was a growing problem among addicts.
"We have dealt with people who go to the casino to gamble, and then after hours, they go home to continue gambling online," he said.
Warren Whitfield, Addiction Action Campaign CEO, congratulated the Gauteng Gambling Board, saying: "The problem is that you never know who is on the other side of the line. Gamblers use their wives' credit cards to gamble."
Peter McKenzie, managing director of Oracle Airtime Sales, which handles advertising for M-Net and Multichoice, said he would comment once he had received a notice from the board.
SABC spokesman Kaizer Kganyago said the state broadcaster had not yet received notice to pull online gambling advertising from their channels.
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Dealing With Problem Gambling / Dealing With Gambling Addiction / Parents Leaving Children In Car While Gambling Becoming A Problem
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on: August 15, 2010, 06:35:33 PM
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Started by Administrator | Last post by Administrator
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Casinos and state governments have made advancements that are keeping deadbeat parents from collecting on winning jackpots. The next issue the casinos may tackle is the growing trend of parents leaving children in the car while they go in a casino to gamble.
The trend is one that is sweeping across the US. The intention is usually to go inside the casino, play the slot machines for a few minutes, and return to the car. Too often, however, the parents are staying in the casino for hours and the children are being found by security guards.
The latest episode came on Thursday in Pennsylvania when Sharon Balek was charged with child endangerment. Her children, eight and fifteen years of age, had been left in the car for six hours while Balek was in the casino gambling. This is a growing problem that authorities are concerned about.
"We've had calls through the years with kids left in shopping centers, but what's making this hot is that we've had five in just a two month period," said Fred Harran, public safety director in Bensalem, as reported by The Philadelphia Inquirer. "The gambling addiction, the glitter of it all, people go in to gamble and forget the kids. I just don't get it."
Perhaps Harran does not understand gambling addiction, but several problem gambling counselors warn that family abandonment can be part of the process. The casinos are also on the lookout for any behavior that seems suspicious while patrons gamble inside the establishments.
There have been some extreme cases where the children left in the car are unable to even walk or talk. Children as young as fifteen months have been found in cars while their parents are inside the casino. In other cases, older children have been left in the automobiles until way after midnight.
Several states in the US have recently changed their laws to prevent parents who owe back child support from collecting jackpots. The jackpot winners are checked against a database carrying the names of people who owe support. If the jackpot winner's name is on the list, they are denied the winnings.
August 15, 2010
Posted By April Gardner
Staff Editor, CasinoGamblingWeb.com
Submit News!
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Dealing With Problem Gambling / Dealing With Gambling Addiction / Inside the Mind of a Problem Gambler & The Science of Addiction
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on: May 23, 2010, 04:09:21 PM
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Started by Administrator | Last post by Administrator
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By Black Voices On Money on 05/17/2010 – 11:21 am PDT
When I was young, my father used to tell me and my brother that a gambling addiction is one of the worst addictions for a person to have. He said that it’s worse than drugs, alcohol or anything else. I am not sure if my father was right about that or not, but we listened to him. Millions of African Americans find themselves financially ruined by the gambling that takes place on casino boats that are heavily marketed to inner city communities.
A new study in the Journal of Neuroscience analyzes the minds of problem gamblers. Researchers Henry Chase and Luke Clark analyzed 20 people who enjoy gambling, some of whom were recreational gamblers, and some of whom were “pathological gamblers,” meaning that gambling may cut into their everyday lives.
They scanned their brains while allowing them to play on a simple slot machine. The study found that one of the trappings of gambling addiction is the “near miss,” where you almost win, but not quite. The researchers concluded that the presence of a near miss has an impact on the brain’s reward system, namely two areas called the ventral striatum and anterior insula.
Scientists have long known that a brain chemical called dopamine has a huge impact on how gambling affects us all. Dopamine is a$$ociated with other forms of addiction, but they do not fully understand how it works.
“This study provides an important advance in our understanding of how the brain’s reward circuits underlie one form of addictive behavior, pathological gambling,” said Steven Quartz, director of the California Institute of Technology’s Brain, Mind, and Society Ph.D. program. “Many modern games of chance, especially slot machines, compel some people to play repeatedly even when they are not winning.”
The conclusion of the scientists is that near misses are tempting for the problem gambler, because it tricks the brain into thinking that it is actually learning something about the gambling environment. The gambler thinks, “I almost won, and now I’ve got it figured out.” The reality is that the same probabilities always apply and you are no less or more lucky than you were before.
Be careful when gambling, it can significantly affect your life. If you find that you have a gambling problem, make sure you get help. Please call The National Council on Problem Gambling at 1-800-522-4700, if you think you or a loved one may need help. This is an issue in the black community that is rarely addresses, even though gambling is often promoted to us. A gambling addiction is one of the easiest ways to destroy your financial security, as well as your relationships and personal life.
Lawrence Watkins is the CEO of the Great Black Speakers Bureau. For more information, please visit LawrenceWatkins.com.
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Dealing With Problem Gambling / Dealing With Gambling Addiction / Success Rates of Overcoming Gambling Addiction
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on: May 17, 2010, 06:44:09 PM
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Started by Administrator | Last post by Administrator
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Gambling is playing a game for money, a$$ets, or collateral. This includes but is not limited to casinos, horse races, dog races, lotteries, card rooms, and playing the stock market. In1980 the American Psychiatric a$$ociation defined compulsive gambling or pathological gambling as an Impulse Control disorder. Like addiction, compulsive gambling is a psychological behavioral addiction driven by the high of placing a bet and the adrenaline of winning.
You can't get something for nothing
Luck of the drawAccording to the Williamsville Wellness program in Hanover Virginia, an residential treatment facility that has been treating people individually for gambling addiction for 60 years, there are 6 to 10 million compulsive gamblers in the U.S. today. The Williamsville Wellness facility maintains that compulsive gambling is a progressive illness that is diagnosable and treatable. It has been called the "hidden illness" because it is not as obvious as other addictions may be. The compulsive gambler desires greatness without effort and escapes into a dream world of gambling where the next lucky break is just about to happen. The compulsive gambler will bet everything, lose everything, and then beg, borrow, and steal to keep in the game despite the consequences of lost income, a$$ets, and relationships. The most serious consequence of gambling aside from utter financial ruin is suicide.
Do you feel lucky?
"Lady Luck"Dr. Robert L. Custer started the first inpatient gambling program in Cleveland in 1972, at the Brecksville VA Medical Center eight years before it was clinically defined by The American Psychiatric a$$ociation in 1980. Dr. Robert Politzer was instrumental in developing the first state funded compulsive gambling recovery program through John Hopkins Hospital from 1979-1983. Dr Valerie Lorenz is credited with pivotal research in the family of the compulsive gambler. She developed a prototype recovery program for gambling addiction that she now teaches at the Williamsville Wellness resident facility in Hanover, Virginia. Her program focuses on one on one therapy with a strong emphasis of family. Dr. Politzer and Dr. Lorenz have co-chaired the Maryland Task Force on Compulsive Gambling which elaborates on the work problems, social crimes and economic costs of this addiction.
Don't gamble with what you can't afford to lose
The invitation to gamble is everywhereMany people start to gamble innocently enough. Just out for a good time, the first time gambler is drawn to the excitement of betting and the allure of winning. And what's the harm? After all, it's perfectly legal. But that initial adrenaline and "rush" of betting often leads to addiction. The gambler begins to bet more and more despite losses. As the compulsion to gamble increases, the "game" is the only thing that the gambler thinks about. Pathological gambling leads to a myriad of social ills such as depression, suicide, bankruptcy, family break-up, domestic abuse, a$$ault, fraud and homelessness.
Gambling: Just say no.
Welcome to fantasy island
Addictive gambling is defined in three stages. In the first stage, the gambler experiences an initial winning streak releasing intense amounts of adrenaline into the brain. Wishing to duplicate that initial "high" the gambler pays any price to get that feeling again. In the second phase, the gambler starts to lose from time to time and begins to bet more and more money despite the consequences which leads to a vicious cycle of debt. Stage three is the desperate phase. At the advanced stage of compulsive gambling, the person has suffered considerable loss, experiences intense distress, isolation, and a sense of futility.
The allure of "easy money"
Gambling machines are "enablers." Electronic gaming machines (EGMs) are the most addictive form of gambling ever created. Due to the crazy lights, colors, and sounds, the gambler gets caught up into a whirlpool of velocity gambling faster and faster, losing more and more. Video lottery terminals (VLT) take only one year of regular playing to become addicted. Sixty-percent of all VLT revenue comes from compulsive gamblers and are the single largest source of gambling revenue in many countries. Slots can be found in casinos, race tracks, bars, restaurants, bowling alleys, billiard halls and gas stations across the land. Horse racing, sports betting, and card games take up to four years of regular playing to become addicted.
Treatments for Gambling
The game of life
According to the Williamsville Wellness program, only 15 percent of compulsive gamblers ever seek treatment. Most pathological gamblers do not believe they have a problem and remain untreated. The Williamsville Wellness program that has been used for 60 years by recovering gamblers believes that compulsive gambling is symptomatic of underlying problems such as isolation, boredom, and loneliness that have lead to this psychiatric disorder. They testify that treatment is the best chance of recovery. They utilize family therapy, educational groups, and Gamblers Anonymous meetings which use a 12-step program the same way Alcoholics Anonymous does. The typical program lasts four weeks and the patient stays 24 x 7 at the facility. Sometimes less treatment is needed, sometimes more, depending upon the severity of the case.
Recovery from gambling addiction
Treatment from gambling has a low success rate. Only 15 percent of pathological gamblers are ever treated and only a fraction of that small percentage can kick the habit for good. Most gamblers return to the "game" after abstaining for awhile. One of the most effective treatments is offered by Gamblers Anonymous which is similar to Alcoholics Anonymous 12-step program. The program is designed to be a fellowship of people sharing a similar problem. At best, the pathological gambler can maintain normal living by not gambling or hanging out with people who gamble or near games, and by attending Gamblers Anonymous meetings regularly. Like sex, drugs, alcohol, and shopping, gambling is a risky and addictive behavior. The best way to avoid a gambling problem is to not start. Like so many things, just because it's legal, doesn't mean it's good. So do yourself a favor and don't start. And if you have a pathological gambler in your life, the first thing to do is to cut off funds for gambling as in not giving him/her a loan. The second would be to seek out treatment at either an inpatient facility like Williamsville Wellness or enroll in a local Gamblers Anonymous Group. The pathological gambler is taking the ultimate chance....with his/her life.
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Dealing With Porn Addiction / Dealing With Porn Addiction / X-rated Internet explosion wreaks havoc with troops’ careers, lives
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on: April 13, 2010, 03:37:59 PM
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Started by Administrator | Last post by Administrator
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X-rated Internet explosion wreaks havoc with troops’ careers, lives
By Jon R. Anderson - Staff writer
The Marine staff sergeant knew things were spinning out of control. What he once thought was a harmless flirtation with online porn had become a full-blown obsession.
But looking at photos and videos of men and women having sex wasn’t hurting anyone, he tried to tell himself. His wife never needed to know.
“It’s like the old line about what happens on deployment, stays on deployment,” the 34-year-old infantry platoon sergeant says.
Except that he couldn’t escape the images and the need to look at more. At night, after his wife was asleep, he would sneak out of bed and spend hours online. Secret subscriptions were piling up. What started as pa$$ive voyeurism led him to prowl online hook-up sites and have webcam cyber sex with strangers.
“I just started needing more and more of it constantly more,” he says. “It felt like I couldn’t stop.”
Military therapists and chaplains say they hear such stories with alarming regularity. Online erotica has been a marital minefield since the dawn of the Internet. But with the explosion of Web 2.0 — social networking sites, video sharing, blogs, wikis and mash-ups — the seamy side of Porn 2.0 is picking off military marriages and killing promising careers like a shadow army of well-placed snipers.
Addiction on the rise
The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have created a new generation of dysfunctional pornography abusers, says Capt. Diana Colon, a therapist who heads an Army mental health clinic in Schweinfurt, Germany.
Civilian pornography use is high: The most recent studies suggest as many as one in 10 people in the general population suffer from pornography and others sexual addictions fueled by the Web.
But military use, given the largely young and male population, is believed to be much higher.
“Twenty percent would not shock me. That would be a conservative estimate,” says Navy Lt. Michael Howard, a licensed therapist and chaplain who specializes in treating sexual addiction. He has helped dozens of troops and their spouses overcome sexual addiction issues, he says.
Porn can destroy marriages as easily as the infamous “other woman.” According to a 2002 survey of 1,600 top divorce lawyers, more than half of all divorces involved a spouse hooked on porn sites. That same year, Army Lt. Col. David Bartlett Jr. strangled his wife with a computer cable after an argument about his online porn habit.
But the online videos available then are nothing compared with what porn users can find today, thanks to the same Web 2.0 technologies that have fueled revolutionary social media sites such as Facebook and YouTube. Porn 2.0 is as much user-created and traded as it is industry-generated and sold. Online do-it-yourself porn is creeping out from sites such as RedTube and Adult FriendFinder onto mainstream social media sites such as MySpace, Facebook and Twitter.
Video games, too, skirt the edge of virtual sex; the “Grand Theft Auto” series lets players have sex with a prostitute and then kill her; and on “Second Life,” where the real-life Army has launched a cyber-recruiting effort, your avatar can hire prostitutes, go to strip clubs and watch virtual porn.
Sexually explicit electronic content is everywhere. “Sexting” — sending sexually explicit photos and videos via cell phone — has caused scandals in schools and in the military. Porn apps for iPhones are readily available.
Your brain on porn
“Online porn is to sex addiction what crack cocaine is to drug addiction,” says Robert Weiss, director of the Sexual Recovery Institute in Los Angeles. Weiss is a longtime sexual-addiction counselor who is helping the military set up treatment programs.
If you watch a brain scan of a sex addict looking at porn, it lights up exactly like the scan of someone on cocaine, Weiss says. Here’s what happens:
As the brain interprets pornographic images, it releases adrenaline into the bloodstream, speeding the individual’s heart rate and constricting the blood vessels. Hands get clammy and eyes dilate.
“There is a heightened state of arousal — not sexual arousal, but a very physical change,” Weiss says.
At the same time, the pituitary gland and hypothalamus begin to pump out endorphins, the body’s natural pain relievers, and the endorphins, in turn, crank up production of dopamine, a neurotransmitter that opens the pleasure centers of the brain while blocking the pain processors.
And that’s just from looking. Masturbation amps up the dopamine even more. Too much dopamine over time can lead to addiction.
Just as with other addictions, what generated the initial high isn’t enough later on. As tolerance grows, addicts develop an increasing need for greater exposure and a wider variety, Weiss says.
Careers in ruin
That’s what happened to Sam (not his real name), an officer who began his career in the enlisted ranks. A former Marine Force Recon specialist with multiple combat tours under his belt, he says he turned to porn as a form of stress relief.
“I got into all kinds of stuff. Porn was my way of coping with the stress. It was my outlet, but it just kept escalating,” he says. “The Internet made it so easy. Eventually, there wasn’t anything I wouldn’t look at. I just needed my fix.”
He was disgusted with himself, but inexplicably drawn into it even as he shut out his family and sank into depression.
“It was a relief when I finally got caught,” he says. Kicked out of the military for possessing child porn and required to register as a sex offender, he’s now trying to figure out how to rebuild his life.
And he’s not alone. Consider just a few recent cases:
• Navy Lt. Cmdr. John J. Hall, commander of a riverine unit in Iraq, got 40 months in prison after admitting to downloading child porn. His wife said he returned from war a changed man.
• Lt. Col. Richard Butler, the top law enforcement officer for the 10th Mountain Division at Fort Drum, N.Y., was arrested in January on child pornography charges after returning from duty in Iraq.
• Marine Pvt. Josh Fry, who was autistic and had a variety of lifelong behavioral problems, was booted from the Corps last year after platoon mates found pictures of nude underage girls on his cell phone.
Clearly, all online pornography users aren’t getting hooked, much less turning to child porn. But like alcohol, gambling, cigarettes and coffee — anything that packs a buzz — casual flirtation can quickly become obsessive fixation, especially when stress is high.
A delicate subject
No one knows just how widespread porn addiction is in the military. But military divorce rates have soared nearly 40 percent over the past decade, and researchers in a major ongoing Army study tracking military marriages recently added porn use among problem areas to explore.
Anne Jackson doesn’t need a study to be convinced that pornography addiction is a problem at Fort Hood, Texas. A military spouse and a domestic violence prosecutor for Bell County, Texas — the home of Fort Hood — Jackson says fighting over online pornography use is a common thread in many of the military cases she handles.
“The spouses are saying their husbands are coming home addicted to pornography, and they’re not equipped to handle that,” she says.
“Despite being a touchy subject, the rise of sexual addiction in the military is an important issue and one worthy of an open dialogue,” Weiss says.
Over the past two years, the military and Veterans Affairs Department have enlisted Weiss’ help setting up treatment programs around the U.S. and at bases overseas. The most recent trip: a three-day workshop in December for chaplains and therapists in Japan.
Marine Corps officials declined to be interviewed or answer questions about the scope of pornography addiction among Marines in Japan.
But “the people on the front line understand the problem and are doing everything they can to address it,” Weiss says.
Who really suffers
Colon, the Army therapist, is one of those on the front lines. She returned from a 15-month tour of duty in Iraq last year where, despite official bans, she saw legions of troops getting hooked on porn. Now the chief of an Army mental health clinic in Germany, she says she’s been counseling “a lot of soldiers on this issue.”
“This is a very controversial subject, and there’s not much training on it,” she acknowledges. But she says she has seen firsthand how pornography addictions are contributing to additional problems among troops, including failed marriages and domestic violence.
Colon estimates that pornography plays a role in as many as 20 percent of the marital problems military counselors face.
“In many cases, pornography becomes compulsive and so addictive that the individual can no longer have a healthy relationship,” Colon says. “Unfortunately, the women in these relationships pay the price.”
It’s when Web surfing turns covert, and secrets are being kept, that things really get out of hand. When the lies begin to unravel, the spouses feel betrayed.
“I’ve had a lot of cases like that,” Colon says. “The wife feels betrayed. It usually feels like an affair.”
Traitor in the bed
June was shocked when she found out about her husband’s porn addiction. She knew that her husband, Frank, a Marine platoon sergeant, was struggling with what he had seen in Iraq.
She was unprepared for what she would see.
“It was shocking,” she says. “He betrayed me and his child. I wanted to kill him.”
Although they’re both now in therapy, trying to put the pieces back together, recovery is slow.
There is no underestimating the pain that is felt, says the Navy’s Howard, even when the infidelity “only” takes the form of porn.
“Many men don’t get that. They’ll define infidelity strictly in physical terms. But for the spouse, it’s exactly the same kind of betrayal.”
Typically, Weiss says, spouses have a sense that something is wrong long before the truth finally comes out. Then they’ll find themselves on an emotional roller coaster, raging one minute, wanting to work things out the next.
“Spouses need a lot of validation. They need a lot of support. It’s OK for them to be so angry and so frightened,” he says. “It’s OK for them to throw him out and demand counseling.”
For those who try to work things out, there is hope: About 80 percent of the couples Weiss sees end up staying together.
The biggest part of that, he says, involves restoring trust.
“I worry about the person who says they will never do it again,” Weiss says. “But the person who says, ‘I’ve got to watch out every single day’ — that’s the person who understands that this doesn’t go away. The behavior can go away, but the potential is always there.”
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Dealing With Problem Gambling / Dealing With Gambling Addiction / Counselling centres seeing more cases of gambling addiction
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on: April 07, 2010, 02:30:23 PM
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Started by Administrator | Last post by Administrator
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Counselling centres seeing more cases of gambling addiction
By Satish Cheney
SINGAPORE : Counselling centres have said they are seeing more cases of gambling addiction since Singapore's first casino opened.
And they are bracing for the numbers to rise, especially with foreign workers seeking help as well.
A Gamblers Anonymous meeting takes place every Monday at the Christian Care Services.
A member, who did not want to be identified, said he plans to get a self-exclusion order.
He has lost about S$100,000 so far from various gambling activities.
He said: "My friends are all either bookies or loansharks. I gamble through the Internet, soccer betting, then Internet casino and then Internet 4D.
"If you realise you are addicted to gambling, then it is advisable for you to apply for the self-exclusion order, but you have got to make a full commitment..."
The centre said that since the casino opened, there has been a 10 per cent increase in people seeking help.
Dick Lum Chee Seng, director, Christian Care Services Singapore, said: "They got invited by friends when the casino opened during Chinese New Year and they were drawn by the attraction, and they went and they got burnt."
Counsellors said the average profile of someone who is addicted to gambling involves males, who are Chinese, between the ages of 30 and 40, and who earn about S$1,000 to S$3,000 a month.
Over at the One Hope Centre, foreign workers have also been seeking help.
Its executive director related a story about one worker who squandered her red packet money - instead of using it for her return trip to China.
Tan Lye Keng said: "She went to try her luck because the casino just happened to open on the first day of the Chinese New Year. She went around to visit, hoping to have a big win, but ended up losing everything."
Reverend Tan added : "We have a lot of Chinese nationals who share with us that among their friends, a lot of them who have gone to the casino - they really need help. We need to be concerned not just about our local people but also all the foreigners who are in our land."
The centre said it plans to expand and train more counsellors, in anticipation of more people seeking help. - CNA/ms
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Dealing With Porn Addiction / Dealing With Porn Addiction / Tiger Woods and Porn
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on: March 17, 2010, 05:52:33 PM
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Started by Administrator | Last post by Administrator
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By Charita Goshay
CantonRep.com staff writer
Posted Mar 13, 2010 @ 04:00 AM
The Rev. Craig Gross says it is a sure bet that Tiger Woods never imagined he would make such a mess of his life, but it is what can happen when a person is overtaken by addiction.
Gross is a co-founder of XXX Church, a national ministry that helps people who are struggling with sex and pornography addiction.
There’s debate over whether or not Woods, who is in therapy, is a sex addict.
“I think it’s highly debatable right now, for sure, but when you look at Tiger Woods’ case, I’d say he fits all the (criteria),” Gross said. “He isn’t just in love with another woman.”
Gross, who has spoken at several area churches and at Malone University, gained national attention for distributing Bibles at a pornography trade show.
Gross said religious people are no more immune to such addictions than nonbelievers.
“For people with religious beliefs, the divorce rate is the same,” Gross said. “I think that kind of shows, especially when it comes to sensitive issues like sex, that we’re not addressing those enough in churches. We’re not offering safe places where people can be honest.
“Churches may not have the same amount of drug addicts as other institutions, but there are issues that don’t get addressed.”
Because the average person doesn’t have the same opportunities and resources as Woods, Gross said “average Joe” sex addicts frequently turn to online pornography.
“It’s free, it’s becoming more acceptable, and people can get it when and where they want it,” he said. “But it’s a gateway for a lot of other issues. I tell people that what you look at online will take you offline.”
Gross said that, because pornography has no boundaries, a sex addict will “start taking risks you never thought you would.”
“Your life slowly spins out of control,” he said. “Most men don’t come clean until they get caught.”
Gross noted that ministers aren’t immune but are reluctant to seek help for an addiction.
“Tiger’s not going to lose his golf gig, but you’re going to loose your gig as pastor if you get caught with a hooker or looking at porn,” he said.
Gross said the reasons that trigger sex addiction are varied.
“For a lot of people, it’s exposure to it as child,” he said. “Men are very visual and have a need for sex. Tiger didn’t map this out saying, ‘Maybe I’ll hold a press conference, with my mom in the front row.’ ”
Gross disputes the idea that there is no emotional component to sex addiction.
“It’s all emotional,” he said.
Gross said that, in the case of women and sex/pornography addiction, the popular culture plays a crucial role. He cites Paris Hilton and Kim Kardashian as examples of women who became celebrities by way of sex tapes.
“We’re living in a world where this is popular; sex sells,” he said. “It’s to the point where it’s not a big deal or frowned upon as much.”
He added that some women also view pornography to appease their partner, “so he doesn’t cheat.”
Gross said people who want to break their addiction must take certain steps.
“The first thing is recognizing you have a problem; most people are in denial,” he said. “Don’t wait until you get caught or lose your job or marriage.”
In addition, he strongly recommends finding a support group, telling a person you can trust who will be help you be accountable or online program. For more information, visit www.xxxchurch.com.
Copyright 2010 CantonRep.com. Some rights reserved
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Filtering Software and Subscription Questions / Filtering Subscription Questions / Hi, New here
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on: February 24, 2010, 11:25:06 AM
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Started by sinnaownews | Last post by sinnaownews
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Gday
I thought that I would introduce me personally to the community forum.
I have seen numerous positive posts regarding this discussion board as a result I've been visiting for a time being a guest just viewing it out.
Anyhow, I have just in reality signed up and intend to donate some-thing helpful to the online community.
I really hope that this is correct subforum to submit this intro in, if not, you should move it.
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Dealing With Problem Gambling / Dealing With Gambling Addiction / Ethel, LLC Comments on the California Intrastate Gambling Bill
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on: February 06, 2010, 05:11:31 PM
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Started by Administrator | Last post by Administrator
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ARLINGTON, VA February 8, 2010 – Ethel, LLC, the owner of ProblemPoker.com, a website that helps those affected with online gambling addiction comments on California’s proposed Intrastate Gambling Bill. ProblemPoker.com has been successfully providing their Gambling Addiction help services since early 2006, and California’s consideration of legalizing online gambling causes some concern.
Two major safeguard that are known to prevent individuals from gambling online is the legality of gambling online, and the concern of Internet scam websites that could essentially steal money from an individual’s account. These concerns have been reinforced through Ethel, LLC’s many interactions with gambling addicts and during numerous corporate visits to various gambling addiction wellness centers throughout the country. It is the opinion of Kevin Jones, Director of Marketing, “…if the state decides to legalize online gambling, gambling reduction software like ours should have a presence in order to blunt the negative social concerns that such legalization would cause.”
Ethel, LLC does not take a position on legality of gambling. Nevertheless, the Company believes that support services and State funding must be provided to treat the thousands of individuals adversely affected by gambling.
About Ethel, LLC
Individuals can sign up to Ethel, LLC’s gambling website self-exclusion program from the ProblemPoker.com home page at www.problempoker.com.
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