Tag Archives: addiction

Wants and Needs Are Not the Same

Wants and needs are not the same things. And sometimes what we crave, no matter how badly, is the last thing we truly need.

Narcissists Can’t Recognize a Higher Power

No one makes a major life course-correction without submitting to a higher power or operating principle. But narcissists have a big problem with that.

Self-Control in the Age of Addiction

Not all undisciplined behavior represents a genuine addiction. And while there are some rare exceptions, most true addictions don’t just develop overnight. There’s a typical pathway to getting “hooked.” And that pathway is littered with many clear warning signs. Healthy characters respect and heed those signs. But underdeveloped characters tend to ignore or disregard them. That’s why character, and mastering character’s “sixth command,” is so important.

Mastering Appetites in a Gluttonous Age

Our gluttony isn’t just about food. From sex to money, we want more of just about everything. And nothing really satisfies. Moreover, anything we can get too easily and do too often can become an “addiction.”

Mental Illnesses, Diseases, and “Disorders”

Upon hearing the term “disorder,” many folks infer that a genuine disease process is at work that in some measure relieves a person from full culpability. But in fact only a handful of clinical illnesses can potentially render a person not fully responsible for their behavior.

Addiction, Codependence, PTSD, Anxiety and Self-Esteem

If you believe many of the things you read and hear about these days, just about everyone suffers from some kind of addiction.  And despite how commonplace it’s become, I’m always a bit shocked (and outraged) when some disturbed character claims victim status by blaming his or her reprehensible conduct on an addiction of some … Continue reading Addiction, Codependence, PTSD, Anxiety and Self-Esteem