Drug Addicts, Behavior Addicts, Bloggers
BOOK REVIEW: In the Realm of the Hungry Ghosts, Close Encounters with Addiction, by Gabor Mate, M.D. Drug addicts have a limited stock of substances to choose from. A limited repertoire. Drug addicts have fewer escape routes than those available to behavioral addicts. How is the choice made? Why am I addicted to self-healing and blogging while other people are addicted to sex or sports?
Emotional Connection Addiction
Maybe in infancy you were not cuddled but you were spoken to and taught to read at an early age. Your communication system became an important conduit of emotional connection with the world. There is an emptiness that lies at the heart of addiction and some people can fill the hole with words.
Properly nurtured children do not need to sooth themselves
People who cannot find or receive love need to find substitutes. That’s where addiction comes in. Addiction is the lazy pilgrim’s path to transcendence. Children whose emotionally nurturing relationships with adults give them a strong sense of themselves do not need to soothe themselves by passively taking in food, entertainment or drugs. The drug and obesity epidemics demonstrate a psychological and spiritual emptiness at the core of consumer society.
All addiction is dopamine addiction
The so-called nymphomaniac or female sex addict, is not addicted to sex at all. She is addicted to the dopamine rewards that flow from the feeling of being desired and desirable. The addict is always seeking the dopamine hit of new experiences.
Compulsive sexual promiscuity, like all addictions, serves to help the addict avoid experiencing unpleasant emotions. It takes a lot of discipline and courage to work through a negative thought and negative emotions. Replacing a negative emotion with a positive one is the core of addictive behavior
False appetites
Addictions can never truly replace the life needs they temporarily displace. The false needs they serve, no matter how often they are gratified, cannot leave us fulfilled. The brain can never feel that it has had enough, that it can relax and get on with other essential business. It’s as if after a full meal you were left starving and had to immediately turn your efforts to procuring food again. In a person with addictive behaviors, the orbitofrontal cortex and its associated neurological systems have been tricked from childhood onward into valuing false wants above real needs. Hence, the desperation of the behavioral addict. The false urgency is to have that want answered immediately, as if it really were an essential requirement. The hungry ghost is never satisfied.
- Don’t litigate. Ask and you shall receive
Improving the Elliot McGucken lawsuit business model. Dr. Elliot McGucken is an outstanding photographer. The good doctor covers a lot of ground artistically and geographically. It is a shame that he resorts to federal copyright infringement lawsuits to make a buck. It seems that the McGucken lawsuit business model could evolve into a friendlier form… - McGucken Settlements and Verdicts
Dr. Elliot McGucken Copyright Lawsuit Settlement Calculator. When I returned home from my work-out on the beach this morning, I immediately sat down and wrote this blog in one hour. This is the second post in response to recent email from an attorney requesting information about prolific plaintiff and photographer Dr. Elliot McGucken. Have you… - How much is your McGucken case worth?
Got sample McGucken lawsuit dollar amounts? Thank you for your interest in my Elliot McGucken matrix. It is more productive for me to write this blog than to accept your email request to chat with you. Attorneys taught me to ask the most important question about any lawsuit. How much is your case worth? What… - KENNY GETS LUCKY!
VOLUNTARY DISMISSAL: Elliot McGucken v Kantor Gallery, Kenny Schachter, Artsy, et al. An 11th hour settlement agreement was reached in McGucken v Kantor Gallery as to defaulted defendant Kenny Schachter only. Kenny finally gets lucky. Following this copyright infringement lawsuit on Pacer has been an exciting legal journey. Too bad settlements are confidential pursuant to… - Go Green Forever as HUMAN COMPOST
As reported in the Los Angeles Times, residents of five states now have the carbon free death option of human composting instead of cremation or burial. Human composting is less expensive than a casket burial, but more expensive that cremation. This is a nice idea however at this time my personal exit plan will remain… - My ability to speak has returned
Did I recover from an unknown disease or am I just better off living alone? Ever since I moved out of the old age retirement home in March of 2021, I have been experiencing recovery from an unknown disease. My tongue was getting tied and I thought maybe I was dying of myasthenia gravis. It…
