Addiction is a compulsive, harmful activity. Addiction often starts out as a seemingly innocent pleasure, often seduced/initiated into by liberals, only to consume the person pursuing it. Conservative values are an excellent way to combat addiction.
Virtually everyone faces challenges from some type of addiction. Conservative principles are highly effective in overcoming addiction. Religion can also help.
Addiction includes these highly destructive activities:
| Addiction | Comment | Conservative help |
|---|---|---|
| overeating (obesity) | shortens lifespan and causes many diseases | fasting on Fridays in honor of Good Friday, and in general self-denial, portion control, frugality, and the "don't work, don't eat" mantra of the work ethic all help. Eating less during Lent in honor of Christ helps also. |
| video games | causes dropping out from school, violence, and health problems | liberals exploit teenagers with video games, turn them away from church and healthy relationships. Antidote is to recognize that by playing you lose no matter what the game tells you. |
| anxiety | wastes time, harms health, and hinders productivity | faith and reason including powerful concepts like falsifiability, the Coase theorem, and pro-life principles |
| drugs, illegal or prescription | devastating harm is obvious, and includes deadly car crashes that kill innocent victims | conservative concept of slippery slope cautioning against "just trying something"; also, reject peer pressure and self-indulgence |
| pornography | does to the mind what drugs do to the body, enslaving and destroying the mind; dehumanizing people to the level of dog; degrades self-esteem, and leads to horrific crimes | constitutes participation in wrongdoing by others that is hurtful to all; conservatives disfavor the media, of which pornography is a significant part; also, pornographers are liberals who are profiting by exploiting weaker people. Antidote is to associate repulsive images with pornographic ones. |
| gambling | 2-4% of adults and 4-6% of teenagers are addicted, and higher percentages lose money from it.[1] | state-run lotteries are government at its worst: expanding the revenue of government at the expense mostly of the poor; private gambling is often based on taxpayer subsidies or deceiving the public |
| alcohol | destroys the liver and causes tens of thousands of deadly car crashes annually; about 14 million Americans are alcoholics[2] | nearly all beer companies are supporters of the Left |
| smoking | very difficult to stop once one starts; shortens lifespan, causes heart disease and numerous other problems | second-hand smoke interferes with others' rights and well-being; also, tobacco companies are supporters of liberal projects |
| Television, including watching many NFL games. | wastes many hours each week in lost time, interferes with marriages, fosters emotional gambling, and can lead to obesity and time away from God | unplug the NFL, recognizing that the NFL fleeces taxpayer of billions in subsidies and has become a Leftist tool to bully States against passing conservative legislation. One antidote is to realize that many have observed a demonic aspect to professional football, particularly the over-hyped Super Bowl. |
| stock market | wastes billions of hours each week | those who invest in the market typically make more money by spending less time following their investments. Also, an implication of the Coase theorem is that the amount of one's assets, in the stock market or otherwise, is irrelevant to his productivity in society. |
Other addictions
Other additions include consumption of caffeine and excessive internet use. Excessive internet use now extends to social media and mobile phones, where people are compulsively checking for notifications.
Conservative power over addiction
Many addictions are promoted through the media, but conservative principles promote a healthy skepticism of the liberal media. The media do not exist to help anyone, but exist to make money for themselves and to promote a harmful liberal agenda. Without the media, gambling in lotteries would almost disappear, for example. In addition, lotteries are run by government and much of the proceeds go to government, which is not something conservatives support. NFL games would require going to the stadiums, paying a fortune in tickets, and freezing in the stands before becoming addicted to them.
History
Historically the term addiction was defined in terms of physically measurable symptoms of repeated drug use, such as tolerance (more drugs for the same effect) or withdrawal symptoms (illness caused by stopping use). Habituation referred to drug use that was psychologically habit-forming, but not necessarily physically addicting.
In the past 20 years, doctors have reversed the meaning of these words. Habituation now refers to using a drug that causes physical withdrawal symptoms. Addiction has become a term that refers to compulsive behavior that continues in spite of adverse consequences.
A consequence of these new definitions is that it is impossible to be addicted to a drug like Ritalin or Prozac if it is prescribed. It is not compulsive behavior if used as prescribed, and it is not adverse if a physician says that it is beneficial. It is also impossible to have "crack baby" or a "meth addicted baby".[3] It also means that a marijuana smoker is not necessarily addicted. If he likes what he is doing and he is able to function, then these experts would say that he is not addicted no matter how much marijuana he consumes.
More recently the definition has been expanded to include almost any type of compulsive and potentially self-destructive activity.
Examples of addictive drugs include: Heroin, cocaine, alcohol, and nicotine.
Examples of addictive behaviors include: work - work addiction, using the internet - internet addiction, excessive interest in sex - sex addiction.
Psychiatric diagnosis
The American Psychiatric Association lists two related diagnoses: substance dependence and substance abuse. To meet criteria for a diagnosis of substance dependence, at least three of the following symptoms must occur in the same 1-year period:
- (a) tolerance (larger doses of the substance are needed to produce the same effect)
- (b) withdrawal during periods of non-use
- (c) using the substance more frequently or for longer periods than intended
- (d) long-standing desire or unsuccessful attempts to stop or reduce use
- (e) considerable time spent using the substance, making efforts to acquire the substance, and or recovering from its effects
- (f) important activities are reduced or given up due to substance use
- (g) continued use despite related negative physical or psychological effects.
A substance abuse diagnosis is given when one or more of the following symptoms occurs during a 1-year period:
- (a) substance use leads to failure to fulfill important responsibilities
- (b) substance use in situations where it is dangerous
- (c) chronic legal problems stemming from substance use
- (d) using despite related relationship problems[4]
Loneliness
Addiction is often associated with loneliness or a lack of connection to others, which was illustrated in two experiments. In the first it was found that a rat placed in a cage with normal water and drugged water (usually cocaine or heroin) would become obsessed with the drugged water. Professor Bruce Alexander, however, tried placing many rats in idyllic conditions with many other rats and, when given a choice of water, these rats would mostly choose the normal water. This showed that addiction in more related to the bonds around use rather than the substance itself. Thus loneliness coping is necessary for addiction recovery, and the path out of unhealthy bonds is to form healthy ones.
We must forget about ourselves and serve others, watch over others as a shepherd watches over sheep. Loneliness is caused in part by thinking only of ourselves.[5]
References
- ↑ http://www.optumanswers.com/research/articles/gambling.shtml
- ↑ http://www.alcoholics-info.com/Statistics_on_Alcoholics.html
- ↑ http://www.jointogether.org/news/yourturn/commentary/2005/meth-science-not-stigma-open.html
- ↑ American Psychiatric Association (1994). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual-IV. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association.
- ↑ http://newlifehabits.com/2007/08/13/using-prisoner-of-war-methods-to-cope-with-addiction-captivity/