Every Addiction, be it Alcohol, Opioids, Smoking or any other starts from having urge to take the substance.
This may be due to peer pressure or stress or any other reason. Once the substance is used person gets the feeling of "High" which is Euphoria from the substance.
This may lead to binging on the substance and sometimes state of Intoxication.
Finally the pleasurable effects are over and a state of Withdrawal starts. This is experienced in the form of Craving for the substance or unpleasant physical symptoms.
At this point the person has to take the substance again and this cycle continues...
Starts from Lets Try for Fun and Ends up being a Compulsion to avoid negative effects of withdrawal.
Many factors play important role in this cycle and not everyone becomes addicted to the substance. Most important is the Motivation.
It is generally believed that Success is getting what you want. If you get what you want, you are successful. Success is usually gauged in terms of money, recognition, career, relationship, status, awards, etc.
Success for most means what others see you as... what others think about you! We think we are successful when people think we are successful. When people don't think we are successful, we too deny ourselves to be successful. There is an irresistible urge to prove our worth to the world. The urge to perform, to achieve is all about letting the world acknowledge it. All of us want to be successful... right from our childhood. The race of success begins with scoring good marks in school followed by pursuing and completing a professional course and then getting a well paid job... an endless list! Success is like hankering after ceaselessly.
You cannot be successful forever. That 'they happily lived forever' is an illusion. Everytime one succeeds, there is another milestone to be achieved for further success. Success is ephemeral. It is objective. It is a material entity which is quantifiable, which is numerically stated, which is objectively evaluated. Once a goal is achieved, it becomes the stepping stone to another goal. Success is like running behind the ever receding horizon. It would be interesting to ask questions to the one whom you consider to be successful. The person, at the pinnacle of success, might say that 'the best is yet to come'.
Life is a celebration and we need reasons to celebrate life. Unfortunately, we do not celebrate without reason. We need not celebrate only monumental success... We can celebrate day-to-day's trivial moments of trivial success. We should celebrate success everyday. We should find some reason to celebrate everyday. When we wake up in the morning and do not set some milestone, some goal or some target for the day, we may end up wasting our time. Success has measurability... something which can be measured. This measurability makes one feel that one is successful.
Success is an accomplishment of what one wants or expects. Targets should be realistic and not driven by one's ambition. One can achieve success by setting parameters even on one's death-bed. All that one needs is an attitude to succeed. Success involves seeking validation (of one's performance) and appreciation of others. Appreciation does not ensue without any reason. Performance is an expression of one's potential or the manifestation of one's personality. When such performance is appreciated , it becomes success. There is nothing wrong in seeking such validation as man is a social animal. We should endeavour to enjoy our success seeking validation and creating our self-image. However, when we start creating our self-image solely on the appreciation of others, we place our remote in other's hands who can manipulate and manuvere us. Eventually, we might lose our autonomy.
When we help others to be successful, we are paving the path of our own success. Both the King and the King-Maker are successful. However, the King is always at a risk of losing his kingdom. A King-Maker does not have anything to lose. A King-Maker is beyond success and failure.
Children can be inspired and motivated to create their milestones of success. We can inspire them only if we ourselves have trodden the path we want them to tread. However, children can be motivated by way of rewards and punishments. Success and Happiness are two separate entities which govern our existence. Not every success makes us happy...Not every happiness gives us success. At times, one wins while losing and loses while winning . When one succeeds, there is a compensating loss at some place which makes one say 'Am successful but am not happy'. Success is material; Success can be quantified. Happiness is spiritual; it can never be quantified. We need to be successful because we have to have aspirations ; we have to have motivation to manifest our potential. But we also need to be happy because that is the transformation we take ourselves to from the material world to the world beyond.
Success involves competition. One is successful when the competitors are left behind... while the ones left behind are failures. Sooner or later, one stops finding competitors outside and starts finding competitor inside. On this path of competing with oneself, one arrives at a destination where one does not want to compete with oneself anymore. This is contentment. One does not feel the urge to fight with oneself, to improve upon oneself. One thinks one has reached the level where now one can watch than act/do/perform/achieve/rise high. Sucess now becomes an irrelevant redundant parameter. Success /No Success ceases to exist. The urge to succeed is over. Such a contended person refuses to engage in the material world. He believes in being happy in the present moment.
Contentment is a continuous happiness. There is no uniform, universal definition of success. Success is delivering an expected performance. This expectation is based upon the assessment of one's potential. Potential exhibiting into performance which equals an anticipated performance is Success. We should not measure our success in terms of the failures of other. We should win not because the other has failed. We should win because we deserve to. Never get influenced by the definitions and the goalposts of others to feel successful.
Want to enroll in a counselling course? Do drop an email at ipms_ngp@yahoo.com.
The person suffering from an anxiety disorder will not see his life limited only by having problems with attention, memory and concentration. This psychological condition impacts at all levels: mind, body, emotions, quality of life, relationships ... It is a state that distorts everything and that makes us lose control of reality.
We know that anxiety and concentration problems are related, therefore to improve this situation the key must necessarily be to treat the original trigger. The most appropriate thing is to consult a specialized professional . The origin of this disorder is often in lifestyle, lack of coping strategies, or even unresolved trauma .
Gender is a significant determining factor in mental health and in how it is managed by healthcare services, according to recent studies conducted by this group and based on health questionnaires completed in the Basque Autonomous Community (2018) and in Spain (2017), and on the Spanish sample corresponding to the European Health Survey (2014). What stands out in the analysis of these three databases is the higher prevalence of poor mental health among women of all ages and across all social groups; in addition, there is a multiplier effect due to the accumulation of experiences of inequality. This reality also appears to be unequal in terms of the age and socioeconomic level of the patients.
Each person is a world and each mind needs particular strategies. However, on average, the following keys can help us:
Detect irrational and non-functional thoughts, especially those that fuel discomfort.
Rationalize emotions and leave space for them without blocking them. It's about understanding what they want to say, understanding their message to handle it much better.
Practice deep breathing and relaxation techniques .
Get some exercise on a day-to-day basis.
Establish routines and leave spaces for leisure and mental rest.
Accept that you cannot have control of everything that surrounds you and begin to assume that life is also made of uncertainties.
To conclude, these strategies will not pay off in a day or a week. We need time to re-educate the brain, to change the pattern of thoughts and the pressure of emotions. However, change and improvement is always possible. With commitment and psychological therapy, advances always come.
All phobia, whatever it may be, has its origin in anxiety. In this condition, irrational fears, distorted thoughts, uncontrolled emotions and behaviors that escape one's own control intermingle. Therefore, if the person with ailurophobia sees their daily life limited by this type of fear, it is advisable to seek specialized help.
The coping strategy usually starts from the following techniques:
The exposure therapy . In this case, it would imply bringing the person closer to those anxious stimuli (cats), to mediate cognitive and emotional reactions.
Cognitive-behavioral therapy is the most suitable to enable the person in the proper management of phobias. Thanks to it, we can detect maladaptive thoughts, regulate emotions and incorporate more adjusted behaviors.
Relaxation and breathing techniques are very suitable in these situations as well.
To conclude, although this phobia is not as common as the fear of dogs, it can also be very exhausting. After all, cats are those common tenants in many homes and on many of our streets. Treating this psychological condition will allow us to live much better.
The fear of cats is not as common as the phobia of dogs, but in certain cases, it can be very limiting. Let's know the characteristics and possible associated causes.
Mysterious, intelligent, vigilant, agile and always wrapped in that eternal aura between elegance and enigma. Felines have been the protagonists of legends and even terrifying tales, such as the now classic story by Edgar Allan Poe, The Black Cat . Be that as it may, the fear of cats is for some something justified and real, a very limiting type of phobia in a world that generally adores these creatures.
To speak of phobias is to enter a world that is as ordinary as it is singular at the same time . We are facing one of the most common psychiatric disorders, because who more and who less has their own irrational fear, that which may or may not hinder the performance of their daily life. Now, if there is one aspect that defines this condition, it is the clear difficulty in finding the origin of these fears.
In 1914, the American psychologist G. Stanley Hall published his now famous genetic study of fear in the American Journal of Psychology. In it, he identified 136 phobias, a list that is much more extensive today. For his part, the benchmark for the study of ailurophobia or fear of cats was the American neurologist Silas Weir Mitchell , who in 1902 began to collect as much information as possible to better understand this type of phobia.
continue reading on https://www.psychological-consulting.com/l/having-trouble-concentrating-lately/
The term dark personality is fairly self-explanatory. It refers to anyone with a less empathetic personality than others. These characters are negative because they display errant or even sociopathic behaviors.
The professional definition of the phrase goes deeper than the one above. Psychologists refer to it as the study of distinct personality types. They explore the Dark Triad, a subject that concentrates on the three negative traits of narcissism, Machiaveillanism, and psychopathy. These experts study, in addition, people with psychopathic and sociopathic tendencies.
"Psychologists have long discussed the idea that there exists a set of “dark” personality traits alongside the more benign Big Five — so much so, in fact, that one team of researchers argued that too much time had been spent pondering the darker side of human nature and that a “Light Triad” was needed to counteract it.
There is also debate around whether such traits — psychopathy, narcissism, Machiavellianism and sadism — are stable, or whether they can be induced.
Narcissists are “grandiose self-promoters who continually
crave attention.” Paulhus notes that: “You have undoubtedly been annoyed by
these tiresome braggarts.” Frank Sinatra, the great crooner of my mother’s
generation, was something of a narcissist, a trait he shared with any number of
super-stars in the performing arts, then and now.
Machiavellians, according to Paulhus, are “Master
manipulators… one of them has cheated you out of something valuable—the fact
that you may not have realized until it was too late.” They differ from
narcissists in their incredibly high scores on tests of manipulativeness, and
their inclination to be involved in white-collar crime. The stock swindler
Exchange, only to use his position to bilk his investors out of hundreds of
Bernard Madoff, who worked his way up to the leadership of the New York Stock
millions of dollars, is the classic Machiavellian.
Psychopaths, as Paulhus notes, are “arguably the most
malevolent,” scoring high on measures of callousness, impulsivity, manipulativeness,
and grandiosity, thus being dark across the board. They often harm others as
way. Their impulsiveness makes them less adept at the white-collar crime of the
they go about seeking thrills with little concern for who gets hurt along the
in their way. Charles Manson and Whitey Bulger are classic cases of psychopathy
Bernie Madoff variety and often inclines them towards violence when others get
nevertheless leading to costs for those who are drawn close to them.
(see Do You Have Criminal Genes?). But Paulhus notes that there are many people
whose psychopathy is low enough to keep from landing in jail, while
What is especially troubling about this first set (the
original “Dark Triad”) is that they are often socially adept, and can make excellent
first impressions. For example, they do better on job interviews than ordinary
greater willingness to show off their strengths to strangers while playing it
people, advantaged by their lack of anxiety about the opinions of others, and
smooth and comfortable.
Everyday sadists share the trait of callousness with the
first three types. Still, they are distinguished not by their impulsiveness or
manipulativeness (which are in the normal range), but instead by their
such as police officers or the military, where they can harm others in a
enjoyment of cruelty. As Paulhus notes, everyday sadists may be drawn to jobs
personnel are sadistic, but simply that their ranks may have a higher than an average
legitimate guise. Paulhus is not saying, incidentally, that all law enforcement
number of everyday sadists (who, as noted by a police official interviewed
recently on NPR, can do great damage to police-community relations).
The most famous exploration of the question is almost certainly Zimbardo’s Prison Experiment, which claimed that being in a powerful position over others — in this case, acting as a prison guard — could induce sadistic behaviour in apparently non-sadistic people. The experiment’s influence is undeniable; it’s even been made into a film. But it has also been subject to criticism, casting some doubt over the extent of its findings.
Now a new paper in Personality and Individual Differences has joined the conversation, examining whether sadistic tendencies can be induced. The study finds that they can — particularly in people who already have some level of sadistic interest — but leaves a question mark over what that might mean for real world behaviour."
Sociopaths
First of all is the sociopath. These individuals areproducts of the environment.Sociopaths behave in negative ways because they have gone through trauma. Their sociopathic conduct serves as a coping mechanism; as a result, they respond poorly in violent or sexual situations.
Key Points
The Dark Triad personality traits – narcissism, psychopathy and Machiavellianism – can be toxic and damaging in the workplace. But be aware that someone exhibiting these traits may initially be a high achiever and potentially charming, conscientious and achievement-oriented.
There are tools for identifying Dark Triad traits, but it is important to recognize that, unless you are also a skilled psychologist, you should not make a diagnosis on your own. If you do have any concerns about a team member's negative behaviors, you should raise them with your HR department. Your responsibility is to manage the impact of negative behaviors in the workplace, rather than try to diagnose and pin a psychological label on someone.
Conflict management, assertiveness and emotional intelligence skills will all be useful in managing someone with Dark Triad traits. However, given the risk these behaviors bring and their potential for causing serious damage to the organization, these behaviors must be addressed actively and vigorously
With thanks to Dr Peter Jonason, senior lecturer University of Western Sydney. For more information about the Dark Triad, visit www.peterjonason.com.
References
Hogan, R. (2007). Personality and the fate of organizations. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
Paulhus, D.L. (2014). Toward a taxonomy of dark personalities. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 23, 421– 426.
Paulhus, D. L., & Jones, D. N. (in press). Measures of dark personalities. In G. J. Boyle, D. H. Saklofske, & G. Matthews (Eds.), Measures of personality and social psychological constructs. San Diego, CA: Academic Press.
"Many of us believe we are masters of own destiny, but new research is revealing the extent to which our behavior is influenced by our genes.
It's now possible to decipher our individual genetic code, the sequence of 3.2 billion DNA "letters" unique to each of us, that forms a blueprint for our brains and bodies.
This sequence reveals how much of our behavior has a hefty biological predisposition, meaning we might be skewed towards developing a particular attribute or characteristic. Research has shown genes may predispose not only our height, eye color or weight, but also our vulnerability to mental ill-health, longevity, intelligence and impulsivity. Such traits are, to varying degrees, written into our genes—sometimes thousands of genes working in concert.
Most of these genes instruct how our brain circuitry is laid down in the womb, and how it functions. We can now view a baby's brain as it is built, even 20 weeks before birth. Circuitry changes exist in their brains that strongly correlate with genes that predispose for autism spectrum disorder and attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). They even predispose for conditions that might not emerge for decades: bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder and schizophrenia."
When that exchange of likes , comments and intimate conversations begins , most people do not seek to cheat on their partner. The purpose is not sex or betrayal as such.
What exists, in reality, is the longing for new experiences, the adrenaline rush , the reinforcement of self-esteem, the search for furtive emotion giving illusion to a moment of the day.
The profile of the digital infidel is someone with low self-esteem who needs quick reinforcement .
We cannot forget that there are countless portals and applications enriching themselves precisely with this type of need. Emotional problems are a business for large Internet companies.
Where am I in today's dating market? Another reason digital flirting is practiced is to see if one still has "potential." Am I still attractive? If I didn't have a partner now, could I find another one quickly? It is enough to enter certain pages or try your luck on social networks to find out.
The digital universe is simpler than the real world. This is, without a doubt, another obvious question: the online world moves at a different pace, it has different rules and everything is more stimulating and, above all, fast. We sign up for certain applications to search for something specific, we enter groups with similar tastes ... All of this saves us from wasting time, navigating anonymity and obtaining what we want in no time.
To conclude, the times of Sex, lies and videotapes that Steven Soderbergh brought us in that famous 90's movie have completely changed. Sex is already possible in another type of scenario, videotapes have given way to mobile phones and lies, yes, they are still falsehoods that hurt and break relationships.
In an online world the possibilities are endless and the betrayals multiple. Digital hoaxes occur more and more frequently but ... what is behind this fact?
"Electromagnetic energy in the brain enables brain matter to create our consciousness and our ability to be aware and think, according to a new theory developed by Professor Johnjoe McFadden from the University of Surrey.
Publishing his theory in the journal Neuroscience of Consciousness, Professor McFadden posits that consciousness is in fact the brain’s energy field. This theory could pave the way toward the development of conscious AI, with robots that are aware and have the ability to think becoming a reality."
"Consciousness is physically integrated, and causally active, information encoded in the brain’s global electromagnetic field, according to the conscious electromagnetic information (cemi) field theory developed by University of Surrey’s Professor Johnjoe McFadden.
Early theories on what our consciousness is and how it has been created tended towards the supernatural, suggesting that humans and probably other animals possess an immaterial soul that confers consciousness, thought and free will — capabilities that inanimate objects lack.
Most scientists today have discarded this view, known as dualism, to embrace a ‘monistic’ view of a consciousness generated by the brain itself and its network of billions of nerves.
By contrast, Professor McFadden proposes a scientific form of dualism based on the difference between matter and energy, rather than matter and soul."
Disorders of consciousnessDisorders of consciousness typically occur following severe acquired traumatic brain injury that disrupts the brain systems involved in arousal and conscious awareness. Coma patients show no signs of being awake and no signs of conscious awareness. A coma usually lasts up to one month; after that, a patient may progress into a vegetative state, in which they are awake but show no overt signs of awareness, or into a minimally conscious state, in which they inconsistently show a little awareness of themselves and their environment. Patients are more likely to recover from the minimally conscious state than from the vegetative state; currently, however, it is very difficult for clinicians to tell these two conditions apart. The proposal to use psychedelics as a treatment for patients with consciousness disorders is based on the theoretical concept of brain complexity. The vertebrate brain is segregated into localized areas that differ in their structure and function, but perception and behavior require global integration of information from these multiple areas. Brain complexity is a measure of the interplay between segregation and integration, and can be defined as the extent to which individual neurons interact across multiple scales.
The health of people with low incomes often suffers because they can’t afford adequate housing, food, or child care. Such living conditions, and the stress they cause, can lead to higher rates of tobacco and alcohol use and increase the risk of health problems developing or worsening over time.
An overwhelming majority of people with mental and psychosocial disabilities are living in poverty, poor physical health, and are subject to human rights violations.
Mental health issues cannot be considered in isolation from other areas of development, such as education, employment, emergency responses and human rights capacity building.
There is a bidirectional causal relationship between poverty and common mental illnesses—depression and anxiety—and the underlying mechanisms.
A new Science Magazine review examines the literature on natural and controlled economic experiments involving individuals living in poverty.
Research shows that mental illness reduces employment and therefore income, and that psychological interventions generate economic gains. Similarly, negative economic shocks cause mental illness, and antipoverty programs such as cash transfers improve mental health. A crucial step toward the design of effective policies is to better understand the mechanisms underlying these causal effects.
In this chaotic year, many brands and businesses are relying on adrenaline only. Organizations can only run on those fumes for so long. Adrenaline-based speed can lead to burnout.
In the beginning, when the emergency becomes clear, team energy rises, and performance goes up. Almost all of us have unknown reserves. As the executives’ experiences reflect, this reaction feels full of purpose, and much gets done. Leaders tend to become the best version of themselves in this phase, and teams instinctively pull together and become highly productive. Few people question the leaders’ authority, and groups work in hectic but harmonious ways. The urgency created by the shock paves the way for rapid decision-making and turbocharges teams’ bias for action.
Then the second phase hits a regression phase, where people get tired, lose their sense of purpose, start fighting about the small stuff, and forget to do basic things like eat or drink — or they eat and drink too much.
The concept of regression comes from developmental psychology and describes how people roll back to a less mature stage when faced with pressure. Regression is one of the mind’s ways to defend itself from confusion and insecurity by retreating to an emotional comfort zone.
From combat psychology in particular, we know that regression is the most dangerous phase for teams. Soldiers' most stressful events don’t involve dangerous missions that require courage and action. They actually involve waiting: being in the middle of nowhere on a post, repairing equipment and handling administrative tasks, and being unable to use their particular skills. It turns out that boredom, lack of new experiences, and monotony can be much more stressful than combat.
For a leader, a crisis can be both the finest hour and the darkest day. Teams will remember their actions and decisions — good and bad — for years. So, as you navigate the waves of the crisis, remember that each phase requires a different approach. Sometimes the phases don’t come in a neat sequence, so think of them as currents and counter-currents speeding up or hindering your team’s progress.
Yes, you can succeed at first by leading from the front line. But after the first few weeks of emergency, take a step back and ensure your team gets through the inevitable regression phase. This phase is uncomfortable but also beneficial because the conflicts in the group can raise the most challenging questions, bring forth new answers, and reset expectations to more realistic levels. Only then can you start charting the road to recovery and emerge from the crisis as a stronger team and company.
Most experts believe psychopaths and sociopaths share a similar set of traits. People like this have a poor inner sense of right and wrong. They also can’t seem to understand or share another person’s feelings. But there are some differences, too.
Psychopathy and sociopathy are different cultural labels applied to the diagnosis of antisocial personality disorder. Up to 3 per cent of the population may qualify for a diagnosis of antisocial personality disorder. This disorder is more common among males and mostly seen in people with an alcohol or substance abuse problem, or in forensic settings such as prisons. Psychopaths tend to be more manipulative, can be seen by others as more charming, lead a semblance of a normal life, and minimize risk in criminal activities. Sociopaths tend to be more erratic, rage-prone, and unable to lead as much of a normal life. When sociopaths engage in criminal activity, they tend to do so in a reckless manner without regard to consequences.
Traits of a Psychopath
Psychology researchers generally believe that psychopaths tend to be born — it’s likely a genetic predisposition — while sociopaths tend to be made by their environment. (Which is not to say that psychopaths may not also suffer from some sort of childhood trauma.) Psychopathy might be related to physiological brain differences. Research has shown psychopaths have underdeveloped components of the brain commonly thought to be responsible for emotion regulation and impulse control.
Psychopaths, in general, have a hard time forming real emotional attachments with others. Instead, they form artificial, shallow relationships designed to be manipulated in a way that most benefits the psychopath. People are seen as pawns to be used to forward the psychopath’s goals. Psychopaths rarely feel guilt regarding any of their behaviours, no matter how much they hurt others.
But psychopaths can often be seen by others as being charming and trustworthy, holding steady, normal jobs. Some even have families and seemingly-loving relationships with a partner. While they tend to be well-educated, they may also have learned a great deal on their own.
When a psychopath engages in criminal behaviour, they tend to do so in a way that minimizes risk to themselves. They will carefully plan a criminal activity to ensure they don’t get caught, having contingency plans in place for every possibility.
Psychopath Pop Culture Examples: Dexter, Anton Chigurh in No Country for Old Men, Henry in Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer, Patrick Bateman in American Psycho
Traits of a Sociopath
Researchers tend to believe that sociopathy is the result of environmental factors, such as a child or teen’s upbringing in a very negative household that resulted in physical abuse, emotional abuse, or childhood trauma.
Sociopaths, in general, tend to be more impulsive and erratic in their behaviour than their psychopath counterparts. While also having difficulties in forming attachments to others, some sociopaths may be able to form an attachment to a like-minded group or person. Unlike psychopaths, most sociopaths don’t hold down long-term jobs or present much of normal family life to the outside world.
When a sociopath engages in criminal behaviour, they may do so in an impulsive and largely unplanned manner, with little regard for the risks or consequences of their actions. They may become agitated and angered easily, sometimes resulting in violent outbursts. These kinds of behaviours increase sociopath’s chances of being apprehended.
Sociopath Pop Culture Examples: The Joker in The Dark Knight, JD in Heathers, Alex Delarge in A Clockwork Orange
Who is More Dangerous?
Both psychopaths and sociopaths present risks to society, because they will often try and live a normal life while coping with their disorder. But psychopathy is likely the more dangerous disorder because they experience a lot less guilt connected to their actions.
A psychopath also has a greater ability to dissociate from their actions. Without emotional involvement, any pain that others suffer is meaningless to a psychopath. Many famous serial killers have been psychopaths.
Not all people we’d call a psychopath or sociopath are violent. Violence is not a necessary ingredient (nor is it for a diagnosis of antisocial personality disorder) — but it is often present.
Clues to a Psychopath or Sociopath in Childhood
Clues to psychopathy and sociopathy are usually available in childhood. Most people who can later be diagnosed with sociopathy or psychopathy have had a pattern of behaviour where they violate the basic rights or safety of others. They often break the rules (or even laws) and societal norms as a child, too.
Psychologists call these kinds of childhood behaviours a Conduct disorder.
Conduct disorders involve four categories of problem behaviour:
Aggression to people and animals
Destruction of property
Deceitfulness or theft
Serious violations of rules or laws
If you recognize these symptoms in a child or young teen, they’re at greater risk for antisocial personality disorder.
