December 4, 2018

Internet Addiction Treatment – Part III

The treatment of Internet Addiction is similar to the treatment of any other serious addiction. It generally begins when the individual reaches a “bottom” – a place where the negative consequences of the addiction are so severe and damaging that he or she decides to seek or accept help. With Internet Addiction the bottom often involves a sense of disconnection or alienation from physical experience; a breakdown of physical relationships; impaired performance in school, work and other important instrumental…

November 27, 2018

Preventing Internet Addiction: Is the Goal Abstinence or Balance?

In my first post on Internet Addiction, I began with a distinction that is central to defining and classifying addictions: The distinction between addictions to substances such as drugs or alcohol, and addictions to behaviors or processes such as shopping or gambling. In this post, I’d like to introduce a second important distinction, one that is relevant to issues of prevention and treatment. The distinction is that some of the things that we become addicted to are not essential…

November 21, 2018

What is Internet Addiction and How is it Diagnosed?

Richard Gilbert, PhD

There are two broad categories of addiction. The first category, of course, is Substance Abuse, where the individual is driven to take a physical substance, like alcohol or drugs, into the body. The second category is called a “Process or Behavioral Addiction,” where the person has a relentless need to engage in a behavior or process such as shopping, sex, or gambling, or to participate in Internet-based activities such as surfing, checking, posting, chatting, texting, and…

June 18, 2018

What to Do if You Have Social Anxiety

Social Anxiety or “social phobia” is becoming increasingly prevalent. Social Anxiety is defined as a mental health condition in which social interactions cause irrational anxiety. The National Institute of Mental Health estimates that roughly 7.1% of the U.S. population has experienced social anxiety in the last year. While anxiety is an important coping mechanism, it can be considered a disorder when it becomes excessive or irrational and interferes with normal functioning. For individuals suffering from social anxiety, everyday social…

June 13, 2018

Can You Get PTSD from Emotional Abuse

Imagine being trapped within a traumatic event as it plays over and over within your mind, reliving the event as if it was happening to you again and again in real time. For those with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), this can be their reality. PTSD is a reaction to psychological trauma which develops in response to actual or threatened extreme danger or personal injury. PTSD can originate from a variety of forms of abuse, ranging from physical abuse…

April 4, 2018

We are not a restaurant: Why Yelp is useless in reviewing healthcare providers and treatment centers.

Consumers rely more and more upon social media sites to educate themselves about restaurants, electronics, movies, books and other products and services. For the most part, online reviews can be helpful. I use them when researching new restaurants, buying products, looking for a hotel, etc. However, it has been demonstrated that many Amazon reviews are not always legitimate – some reviewers have been paid or they receive free merchandise. Similarly, Yelp does very little to screen fraudulent or dishonest…

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