Treatment for Internet addiction is similar to treating any other addiction. Internet addiction treatment involves therapy and support groups.

Since Internet addiction disorder is a relatively new phenomenon, there is little research on the effectiveness of treatment procedures.

Internet Addiction Treatment: Therapy

Treatment for Internet addiction includes a variety of inventions with a primary focus on cognitive-behavioral and interpersonal psychotherapy techniques to moderate Internet usage and to address underlying psychosocial issues that often co-existent with this addiction (e.g., social phobia, mood disorders, marital dissatisfaction, job burnout, childhood sexual abuse). Internet addiction therapy should utilize time management techniques that help the client structure and regulate internet sessions and strategies that help clients develop alternative activities that take them away from the computer (e.g., more time with family, engage in hobbies, or exercise programs).

Internet addicts typically suffer interpersonal difficulties such as introversion or have limited social support systems in place, which is, in part, why they turn to virtual relationships as a substitute for the lack of real-life social connection. In other cases, due to their addiction, they have lost significant real-life relationships such as a spouse, a parent, or a close friend.

Interpersonal therapy can help with that. It is a brief form of treatment that focuses on improving interpersonal functioning. Specific interventions include encouragement of affect, communication analysis, modeling, and role-playing to establish new ways of interacting that address role transitions and interpersonal deficits.

Internet Addiction Help Includes Support Groups, Couples Therapy

Help for Internet addiction may include the use of twelve-step groups. As part of a comprehensive Internet addiction treatment program, these support groups should also be applied to assist clients in finding adequate support and sponsorship that enable recovery.

Finally, couples counseling may be an essential part of recovery among Internet-addicted clients whose marital and familial relationships have been disrupted and negatively influenced by Internet addiction.

Ed. Note: Internet addiction disorder is not listed in the mental health professional's handbook, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM IV).

About the author: Dr. Kimberly Young is a clinical psychologist and Executive Director of the Center for On-Line Addiction, the first behavioral healthcare firm (since 1995) specializing in Internet-related conditions. She has written many scholarly articles and books on the subject of Internet addiction.

Problem gambling can be helped with the proper treatment which includes psychological therapy and support groups for compulsive gamblers.

When it comes to treating gambling addiction, there is no magic bullet cure. Gambling addiction, like alcoholism, is an illness and should be treated as such.

Treatment of a gambling addiction includes psychological, cognitive, behavioral and relaxation therapy either singly or in combination. It is essential that the person concerned acknowledges the progressive illness and shows a strong desire to stop his activity. Denial always results in failure of therapy.

Like smoking, the gambling addict should never gamble again. A major change in lifestyle is required and constant therapy is required to prevent the destructive behavior to re-occur. Therapy is long and may take years of professional counseling. Many times, as part of treatment, the compulsive gambler will be urged to join Gamblers Anonymous - a self-help support group program for compulsive gamblers.

Triggers such as alcohol and drugs should be strictly avoided. Those with associated depression, anxiety, mania and obsessive-compulsive disorders, may need to be treated with drug therapy along with psychotherapy.

Theories about causes of Internet addiction and whether addiction to the Internet is similar to drug addiction or is it a tool to self-medicate symptoms of a mental disorder.

No one knows what causes a person to develop an addiction to the Internet, but there are several factors that have been proposed as contributing to the causes of Internet addiction.

What Causes Internet Addiction?

Internet addiction can be understood by comparing it to other types of addictions. Individuals addicted to alcohol or addicted to drugs, for example, develop a relationship with their "chemical(s) of choice" -- a relationship that takes precedence over any and all other aspects of their lives. Addicts find they need drugs merely to feel normal.

In Internet addiction, a parallel situation exists. The Internet -- like food or drugs in other addictions -- provides the "high" and addicts become dependent on this cyberspace high to feel normal. They substitute unhealthy relationships for healthy ones. They opt for temporary pleasure rather than the deeper qualities of "normal" intimate relationships. Internet addiction follows the same progressive nature of other drug addictions. Internet addicts struggle to control their behaviors, and experience despair over their constant failure to do so. Their loss of self-esteem grows, fueling the need to escape even further into their addictive behaviors. A sense of powerlessness pervades the lives of addicts.

Learn more about Signs of Internet Addiction.

Self-Medication: A Cause of Internet Addiction

Another possible cause of Internet addiction is that someone who has one addiction may be prone to become addicted to other substances or activities, including Internet use. People with other mental disorders or symptoms as depression, feelings of isolation, stress or anxiety, may "self-medicate" by using the Internet in the same way that some people use alcohol or abuse drugs to self-medicate the symptoms of their mental disorder.

One question that has not yet been answered concerning Internet addiction is whether it is a distinctive type of addiction or simply an instance of a new technology being used to support other addictions. For example, there are gambling casinos on the Internet that could reinforce a person's pre-existing gambling addiction. Similarly, someone addicted to shopping could transfer their addiction from the local mall to online stores. Persons addicted to certain forms of sexual behavior can visit pornography sites on the Internet or use chat rooms as a way to meet others who might be willing to participate in those forms of behavior. Researchers may need to determine whether there is such a disorder as "pure" Internet addiction.

Ed. Note: Internet addiction disorder is not listed in the mental health professional's handbook, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM IV).

Sources:

• Dr. Kimberly Young, Center for Online Addiction

Electronic gambling machines and Internet gambling are the most addictive types of gambling games out there.

The first thing to consider when asking the question about the most addictive types of gambling is that not all gambling problems are created equal. Of the four different types of problem gamblers, the two that are possibly the most opposite in nature are the Action Gambler and the Escape Problem Gambler. The Action Problem Gambler tends to be drawn toward skill-focused games such as poker or blackjack, while the Escape Problem Gambler prefers to sit in front of a slot machine, alone. That being said, there are studies that show some types of gambling games to be more addictive than others. (learn more about Types of Gamblers)

Types of Gambling That Can Lead to Addiction

Electronic Gambling Machines

According to Help Guide, electronic gambling games may be the most addictive gambling games out there. Help Guide suggests that gamblers who play using electronic machines become problem gamblers almost three times earlier than those who stick with table games and racetrack gamblers. The exact numbers are 1.08 years for an electronic machine gambler to become addicted, versus the 3.58 years that is average for table game and race track gamblers to become addicted.

The Illinois Institute for Addiction Recovery considers these types of gambling - slot machines and video poker - to be the "crack cocaine" of gambling. The Institute claims that it is their immediate gratification that makes video poker and slot machines so very addictive. Also, the Institute has found that gamblers progress much more quickly to the dangerous phases of gambling addiction when playing these electronic machines.

Internet Gambling

Internet gambling can be one of the easiest forms of gambling to hide from friends and family. In this type of gambling, gamblers can shut the door and erase their internet files to hide any evidence that they have been gambling online. Help Guide studied 389 gambling addicts who sought care at a health clinic. Only 31 participants reported that they were addicted to internet gambling, but these 31 were pathological gamblers. The study indicated that while internet gambling was the least common type of gambling noted, those who gambled on the internet were more likely to develop problematic gambling habits.

Sources:

• The Illinois Institute for Addiction Recovery
• Help Guide

Most gamblers lose. So why do people bet their hard-earned money? Find out a bit about the psychology of gambling, why people bet money and the reasons for gambling.

Psychology of Gambling: Reasons for Gambling

Ok, so we all understand that gambling offers you the chance of winning money or prizes, but have you considered some of the other reasons for gambling? A look into the psychology of gambling offers insight into that question.

Risk Taking

One of the reasons for gambling is that it's human nature to feel excited when taking risks and the positive feeling gained from gambling is no different. "Will my numbers come up?" "Will my team win?" The sense of anticipation creates a natural high, an adrenalin rush, a feeling that very many of us seek when looking for fun and entertainment. A feeling that some people believe they cannot live without.

Escapism

The gambling environment can provide an escape from everyday life. Whether it be the glitzy casino environment, a loud and exciting amusement arcade or even an online betting company, for the time that we are taking part we can be surrounded by different people, different sounds and emotions, all of which stimulate and arouse our senses.

Glamorous

The media and advertising agencies understand the psychology of gambling and often portray a stylish, sexy, fashionable image of gambling. In film and TV, we see characters enjoying a night at the casino or an afternoon at the races. There is often a suggestion of 'high society' and attending at 'a place to be seen'.

Social

Gambling is accepted as part of this country's culture and as such is widely participated in (with varying frequency) by the majority of the population. Some young people are introduced to gambling by learning to play card games with their parents at home, maybe we go the bingo with friends on a Friday night or meet after school at the amusement arcade.

A Common Misperception

The above reasons for gambling all tie into this: most people think about gambling as a low-risk, high-yield proposition. In reality, it's the opposite: a high-risk, low-yield situation. The odds always favor the house. Despite that, the thought and excitement of hitting a casino jackpot are often too alluring - regardless of its probability.

Sources:

• Illinois Institute for Addiction Recovery

Interested in treatment for food addiction? Here are ways for overcoming food addiction and better coping with trigger foods.

Do you need help with food addiction? Your first stop in getting treatment for food addiction might be a consult with your primary care doctor. Common consequences of long-term food addiction are obesity, eating disorders and diabetes. You don't want to exacerbate any of these or other conditions during your recovery from the food addiction. Talk to your doctor as you plot your treatment course.

Food Addiction Treatment Requires Multi-Step Approach

Others steps for treatment of food addiction include:

1. Find a counselor or therapist. These professionals can definitely raise your chances of recovery as well. Part of your food addiction is psychological in nature. You have used food as a patch to cover up deeper emotional issues. You don't have to confront these deeper issues alone. (read about the Cause of Food Addiction)

2. Identify trigger foods. For some people, it's sugary foods. Others long for pasta and carb-laden snacks. You can find cheese-addicts, chocoholics, fat-cravers - "trigger foods" differ from person to person. Pinpointing your trigger foods is the first step to recovery (aside from admitting a problem, of course).

3. Slowly reduce the amount of trigger foods. Uber-aggressive diets and cold turkey methods usually fail spectacularly, leaving the food addict even more depressed and destructive in eating habits. To succeed, you must adopt a graduated approach. When you feel like you absolutely must have the trigger food, add a small helping of fruit or veggies before you indulge. Do this each time you eat the trigger food or foods, each time adding a little more of the healthy food and eating a little less of the trigger food. Eventually, you will not only associate the healthy food with the dopamine response of the trigger food, but you will ultimately remove the trigger food from your diet.

4. Exercise. For a food addict (as with any addict), trigger foods bring a much-desired high, a rewarding feeling in the body. But you may not realize that exercise can usher in similar highs as well! This makes exercise doubly helpful for a food addict. Not only can it help keep your body fit and healthy, but it can also come to replace the high you miss from trigger foods. Joining a gym will help keep you motivated, as you will get to know others who share your goals.

Overcoming food addiction is not easy, but it can be accomplished. Having a support system in place - a counselor, nutritionist, support group, family/friends - is part of a comprehensive food addiction treatment program.

It's hard to resist food cravings. Learn how to curb food cravings, stop food craving using these simple, but effective techniques.

Physical cravings for food may be a result of low fat intake or low blood sugar. For many of us, the mid-afternoon cravings we feel are merely our body's way of telling us it has been too long since lunch and we actually need to eat. A piece of fruit, yogurt, or a handful of nuts can get the blood sugar levels back up and keep us from reaching for the no-no snacks we think we're craving.

Ways to Stop Food Craving

If the food cravings have nothing to do with missing a meal, here are other steps to stop food craving.

1. Using portion control, transition yourself off your favorite snacks, desserts, red meat, etc. over a week to two week period. Substitute in more healthy foods.
2. Keep a food diary to monitor the time of day and duration of your food cravings. See if there is a pattern. Then use water and/or healthy snacks for controlling food cravings.
3. Don't use high-calorie sodas and high sugar fruit juices to quench your thirst. Instead, drink plenty of water throughout the day to satisfy your hydration needs.
4. Instead of eating 3 meals a day, doctors recommend eating 6 smaller, but healthy meals throughout the day. This keeps your blood sugar from getting too low, spurring a desire to eat sugary, salty snacks and food and making it difficult to resist food cravings.
5. Our last tip to stop food cravings involves developing a support network; family, friends who will help you with controlling food cravings. Share your goals with them and ask them to support you in your efforts in stopping food cravings.

Read more comprehensive information on Food Addiction.

How to Curb Food Cravings

If you're not physically hungry, here are several recommendations for how to curb food cravings from Rebecca Wilborn, director of the Midtown Diet Center in New York City.

1. Brush your teeth and gargle with an antiseptic mouthwash like Listerine. "Part of wanting to eat is the taste. Nothing tastes good after you've gargled with Listerine," Wilborn says.
2. Distract yourself. "Take yourself out of the situation for 45 minutes to an hour," says Wilborn. "Then if you still want whatever it is you're craving, have a small amount."
3. Exercise
4. Relax with deep breathing exercises or meditation
5. Choose a healthy substitute. If you want ice cream, spoon up some fat-free, sugar-free ice cream, frozen yogurt, or sorbet. Wilborn also recommends freezing a container of Dannon Light yogurt. "It takes on a wonderful consistency," she says. If you want potato chips, try baked tortilla chips instead.
6. Listen to your cravings. If you want something salty, you may very well need salt. Add salt to your food instead of having salty snacks.
7. If you know what situations trigger your cravings, avoid them if possible.
8. Drink at least 64 ounces of water a day. "Often hunger is a signal that we're thirsty," says Wilborn.
9. But allow yourself some moments of weakness, too. "Give in now and then," Wilborn says. "It's really not healthy to be so rigid."

Read more information about: What Causes Food Cravings?

Jennifer Grana, a registered dietitian with the Dr. Dean Ornish Program for Reversing Heart Disease in Pittsburgh, agrees that if there is no medical reason for you to avoid your favorite snacks, you should cut yourself some slack. "If you're reaching for a bag of chips only now and then, that's OK." As long as 80% of your food intake is good for you, you can play with that other 20%, she says.

Think of your favorite foods as a reward, she says -- a small treat after you've finished your exercise for the day, perhaps. "Don't think of a food craving as a negative," she says. "For most people, anything is OK in moderation."

Sources:

• Rebecca Wilborn, Director of the Midtown Diet Center in New York City
• Jennifer Grana, Registered Dietitian with the Dr. Dean Ornish Program for Reversing Heart Disease

Comprehensive information about Internet addiction, online addiction. Includes definition, signs and symptoms, causes and treatment of Internet addiction.

There is No Internet Addiction Disorder

To begin with, Internet Addiction Disorder (IAD) is not a real disorder; at least not as far as the American Psychiatric Association is concerned. It started out as a hoax, when in 1995, psychiatrist Ivan Goldberg posted the fabricated symptoms of Internet addiction on his website and the post became viral and was passed around the internet. Goldberg used the symptoms of pathological gambling as his model for Internet Addiction Disorder.

More on Internet addiction signs and symptoms.

In June 2007, the American Medical Association declined to recommend to the American Psychiatric Association that they include Internet Addiction Disorder as a formal diagnosis in the 2012 edition of the DSM. Instead, the group recommended further research of "video game overuse." Members of the American Society of Addiction Medicine opposed calling overuse of Internet and video games a true addiction. Among the necessary research is a way to define "overuse" and a way to differentiate an "internet addiction" from obsession and compulsion and self-medication for depression or other disorders.

Internet Addiction, Online Addiction is Real Some Say

Others, however, do believe internet addiction to be a true disorder and they are trying to get it included in the bible of psychiatric diagnosis, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM). Two of the leaders at the forefront of this movement are Kimberly Young, PhD, of the Center for Online Addiction and a leading researcher in Internet addiction and Dr. Maressa Hecht Orzack, the director of the Computer Addiction Study Center at McLean Hospital in Belmont, Mass., and an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School. Orzack opened a clinic for Internet addicts at the hospital in 1996, when, she said, "everybody thought I was crazy." Dr. Orzack said she got the idea after she discovered she had become addicted to computer solitaire, procrastinating and losing sleep and time with her family.

When Dr. Orzack started the clinic, she saw two patients a week at most. Now she sees dozens and receives five or six calls daily from those seeking treatment for internet addiction elsewhere in the country. More and more of those calls, she said, are coming from people concerned about family members addicted to Internet video games, online gambling and internet pornography.

A growing number of therapists and inpatient rehabilitation centers are often treating Internet addicts with the same approaches used to treat chemical addictions; including the use of 12-step programs.

Because the addiction to the internet is not recognized in psychiatry as a disorder, insurance companies do not reimburse for treatment. So patients with an online addiction either pay out of pocket or therapists and treatment centers bill for other afflictions, including the nonspecific impulse control disorder.

One inpatient program, at Proctor Hospital in Peoria, Ill. admits patients wanting to recover from obsessive computer use. Experts there said they see similar signs of withdrawal in those patients as in alcohol addicts or drug addicts, including profuse sweating, severe anxiety, and paranoid symptoms.

In a December 2005 article, Rick Zehr, the vice president of addiction and behavioral services at Proctor Hospital told the New York Times:

"The line is drawn with Internet addiction when I'm no longer controlling my Internet use. It's controlling me."

Dr. Hilarie Cash, who runs Internet/Computer Addiction Services in Redmond, Washington (home of Microsoft) and other therapists report seeing a growing number of teenagers and young adults as patients, who grew up spending hours on the computer, playing games and sending instant messages. These patients appear to have significant developmental problems, including attention deficit disorder and a lack of social skills.

Most proponents of Internet Addiction Disorder agree that more scientific research into the subject is needed in order to validate that it's a true disorder.

Learn More About Internet Addiction, Online Addiction

• What is Internet Addiction
• Symptoms of Internet Addiction
• Take Internet Addiction Test
• Causes of Internet Addiction
• Treatment for Internet Addiction
• Internet Addiction and Your Child

Article Sources:

• Nurseweek
• Wikipedia
• APA Monitor on Psychology, "Is Internet Addiction Real?," Vol. 31, No. 4, April 2000
• New York Times, "Hooked on the Web," Dec. 1, 2005

How do you know if you're a food addict, have a food addiction? Food addicts may show these signs and symptoms of food addiction.

Have you ever wondered: "Am I a food addict?" Some of the signs and symptoms of food addiction include:

• food cravings
• disturbed body image
• binge eating
• secret eating
• shame and fear about food

Secret Thoughts and Behaviors of Food Addicts

Some food addicts steal food or money to buy food. Others experience discomfort in no-food situations.

Food addicts often cover up feelings when food, eating, or weight is discussed, sometimes shifting the subject to another topic. There is a direct relationship between the illness and secretiveness, according to Kay Sheppard, M.A., author of Food Addiction: The Body Knows and From the First Bite. "Addiction thrives in deceit and isolation," says Sheppard.

When the food addict loses control over food, she also loses control over life. Life is a downward spiral in the addictive process. When one is powerless over food, life becomes unmanageable. Desperately, the addict tries dieting, fasting, exercise, and maybe even purging.

Sheppard, who is an eating disorder treatment specialist, says the food addict becomes involved in self-deception and the deception of others, rationalizing irrational behavior and making excuses for the mountains of food consumed. "If you had a life like mine, you would binge too," says the food addict, who truly does not understand at all why he is bingeing.

According to Sheppard, the addict becomes lethargic, irritable, and depressed when all efforts to control food fail. Weight loss programs cannot provide the answer to the problem of addiction. When the exercise addict breaks a leg, she realizes that her food is out of control and she can no longer kid herself. Promises and resolutions fail. Without accurate information about addiction, addicts are destined to fail and suffer continuous blows to self-esteem.

More Symptoms of Food Addiction Expressed by the Food Addict

What are the symptoms of food addiction?

The Cleveland Clinic reports that only the food addict can determine whether there is food addiction. Here are questions that potential food addicts might ask themselves:

• Have I tried but failed to control my eating?
• Do I find myself hiding food or secretly bingeing?
• Do I have feelings of guilt or remorse after eating?
• Do I eat over emotions?
• Is my weight affecting my way of life?
• How is food addiction treated?

Food addicts also might have symptoms including headaches, insomnia, irritability, mood changes, and depression. They can relieve these symptoms -- but only temporarily -- by eating the foods they crave.

Sources:

• Cleveland Clinic
• Kay Sheppard, M.A., mental health counselor and a certified eating disorders specialist.

Comprehensive information about gambling addiction, compulsive gambling, including risk factors, signs and symptoms, causes, and treatments.

When it comes to gambling, you don't have to travel to Las Vegas or Atlantic City anymore. Gambling is available right in your hometown; even right in your home.

If you don't have a nearby casino, not to worry. There's the lottery, off-track betting (OTB), sports bookies, bingo, poker and more available just around the corner. Can't get out? Then get your gambling action online.

And it's not just adults who are gambling and have a gambling problem. Research shows that adolescents are about three times more likely than adults to become compulsive gamblers.

Pathological Gambling aka Gambling Addiction, Compulsive Gambling

Gambling is defined as playing a game of chance for stakes and, for most people, gambling isn't a problem. For others, pathological gambling is a progressive disease that devastates not only the gambler but everyone with whom he or she has a significant relationship. In 1980, the American Psychiatric Association accepted pathological gambling as a "disorder of impulse control." It is an illness that is chronic and progressive, but it can be diagnosed and treated (learn about Gambling Addiction Treatment).

Risk Factors for Developing a Gambling Addiction

• Family history of addiction
• Depression
• Anxiety

Mental health professionals report that many times addictions are a way to self-medicate an anxiety disorder or depression.

Situations Which Kickstart Compulsive Gambling

• Close personal loss
• Stress, at home, at work
• A considerable win early on
• Debt

Sources:

• Becona E, Del Carmen Lorenzo M, Fuentes MJ. (1996) Pathological gambling and depression. Psychological Reports, 78, 635-640
• DSM IV, American Psychiatric Association