Maybe we should ask the experts–those seeking help. There is much debate about whether or not pornography is addictive. Pornography addiction is controversial even among professional therapists. This debate heated up when the Fifth Edition of the Diagnostic Statistical Manual for Psychiatric Disorders (DSM-V) for therapists did not include sexual addiction as a clinical diagnosis. Read more
So many have been shocked by the news of Robin Williams and what appears to be his self-inflicted death. For years, he was to me a poster-child for depression. Laughter became his shield, as it has for many who suffer from mental anguish, but he still was internally haunted. I know in my own struggles Read more
Comedian and actor Robin Williams died on August 11, 2014. According to local law enforcement authorities, he probably died by suicide. Williams had it all: a rare talent, a great career, family, friends. However, talent, wealth, fame, family, and friends can mean nothing when you suffer from an acute, deep depression, and believe you have Read more
I noticed a decided anti-Catholic bent at the AA meetings I was attending, but my sobriety has only benefited from my religious upbringing. Forgive me for leading with a rather painful and obvious pun, but I have a confession to make: I am a member of Alcoholics Anonymous who is also a practicing Catholic. I Read more
When their son had to take a medical leave from college, Jack and Wendy knew they — and he — needed help with his binge drinking. Their son’s psychiatrist, along with a few friends, suggested Alcoholics Anonymous. He had a disease, and in order to stay alive, he’d have to attend A.A. meetings and abstain Read more
Archbishop John Dew, of Wellington New Zealand, is one 37 community leaders who have signed the Call for Action on Alcohol statement, asking for new laws to restrict the sale of alcohol. Among them are representatives from medical colleges and organisations, universities, churches, the Heart Foundation and the Cancer Society. The petitioners have identified four Read more
Rising economic confidence and “aggressive” marketing techniques are the driving factors behind an 8.9 million litre rise in alcohol availability last year, says one concerned health organisation. Latest figures from Statistics New Zealand, which compared figures over the last five years, show the total volume of alcohol available in New Zealand rose to 466 million Read more
Pastoral Letter Most Rev Gerard J Holohan Bishop of Bunbury 29th September 2013 The Rural Financial Counselling Service reported recently that the number of rural people within Western Australia succumbing to internet pornography addiction, drug use and depression, is growing. Research shows internet pornography addiction to be a rapidly growing problem across Australia and overseas. Read more
Is sex addiction real? That is, is it really a disorder, involving diminished control over behaviour? Questions such as these are difficult to answer because it’s always difficult to distinguish diminished capacity to resist a temptation from a diminished motivation to resist. People who tell us they literally can’t resist might be deceiving themselves, or Read more
Years ago, after a plane trip spent reading Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s Notes from the Underground and Weight Watchers magazine, Woody Allen melded the two experiences into a single essay. ‘I am fat,’ it began. ‘I am disgustingly fat. I am the fattest human I know. I have nothing but excess poundage all over my body. My Read more