I don't doubt that some people truly suffer from devastating addictions and chemical dependencies.

Maybe I'm an alcoholic. Who knows?

I do know that the mormon counselor I saw determined that she should counsel separately with me about my alcohol use, instead of continuing counseling with my (now ex) wife and myself about our marriage trouble.

Well, of all those entities that used to be a part of my life, only one is still with me: alcohol. The wife, the church, and the counselor are not there for me.

When I was in counseling, however, I noticed how quickly most mormons describe something as an addicition. In fact, the first therapist the church put in my path actually asked me if I had any other addicitions, specifically suggesting, "like caffeine."

Really?

My mormon friend once told me that he replaces his "addictions" with "healthy addicitions" like working out or meditating. He explained that he just can't function if he misses a workout.

So, I wonder what else I'm addicted to. I suppose I'm addicted to showering, placing a pillow in my lap when I sit on the couch, dipping chips in my beans at mexican restaurants, talking to dogs in a high register, cheese . . . Christ save me!

The withdrawal symptoms from that one are pretty severe.

Yeah, that was a tough one for me to shake. But so worth it! :)

I'm addicted to cheese...I can't help myself with the stuff.

Oh yeah me too. It is the biggest problem I have in my life.

During my last months of activity a high councillor came to make a plug for the stake's new "addiction recovery" meetings. During his pitch he read off an uncomfortably long list of things to which a person might become addicted.

It started out predictably ("alcohol", "pornography", etc.), but it became increasingly uncomfortable/strange ("masturbation", "endorphins", "exercise"). By the time he got to "zoo sex" (zoo sex!) everyone was staring at the floor hoping the end was near.

I... I don't think too many people signed up?

I think that kind of worrying about "addictions" is an obsession. I'm not saying you don't have an alcohol problem, because you might. But honestly, Mormon attitudes could drive you to it.

EDIT: Whoops.. I didn't mean you have an obsession worrying about addictions. I mean that Mormons do. Sorry, if that came off wrong.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 12/15/2010 01:15PM by Makurosu.

(nevermo disclaimer) I'm "addicted" to caffeine, by which I mean that I psychologically crave it to function and I get serious headaches if I try to go without it. But there's nothing wrong with caffeine and I don't see anything wrong with drinking a cup of coffee each morning. It's something I enjoy in moderation that apparently has some health benefits.

I don't drink alcohol because I'm unable to do so in moderation, but that doesn't mean I think no one else should drink. Each person has to evaluate these things in his or her own life.

Psychology tells us that dependency/addiction is possible for almost any substance or activity because the root cause of addiction is the stimulation of reward pathways in the brain. That said, there is a vast gulf between the pop culture definition of addiction and the psychology definition of addiction (which includes impairment of everyday functioning). If you're so obsessed with porn, alcohol, drugs, or zoo sex that you can't function normally as a result, you probably do have a problem.

That said, ZOO SEX?!?!? Really?

Yes, zoo sex. I imagine jaws would have been dropping if everyone hadn't been trying to show proper respect to the HC. There were other creepy items on the list, but I can't remember what they were. I got the impression that he'd just googled a list and was committed to getting through it.

mateo Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Yes, zoo sex. I imagine jaws would have been
> dropping if everyone hadn't been trying to show
> proper respect to the HC. There were other creepy
> items on the list, but I can't remember what they
> were. I got the impression that he'd just googled
> a list and was committed to getting through it.


I think I would have to sign up, just to find out what Zoo Sex is.

"The word addiction should only be used to describe a catastrophic condition where your regular life functions are sacrificed in order to serve this one need. I.e., you gamble your mortgage payments away until you lose your house."

does that include the gamble of continually banking on a blessings dividend that never comes from MORmON Jesus because you paid tribute to the POS LDS INC swindle? even after your House is gone!

apparently gordon BS hinckley has an addiction to tithing Money, OTHERS tithing Money that he get to collect that is!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xaYMdHNILw

Hence, their advertising, promotion (in the last General Conference) and recruiting for their new addiction recovery program!

Keep them locked in the cult, by any means possible.

I know people who will be in AA for the rest of their lives. I'm not saying AA is a bad thing at all. AA does a lot of good! I suspect that the Mormon version would pile on too much guilt and shame, and TSCC is known to make its members depressed. But, no matter what a recovery group does, it keeps people dependent on it. The cult loves dependency.

The goal is not not independence per se; that's simply a milepost on the journey (JMHO as well as that of my mentor who taught me this stuff).

The goal is "Inter-dependence" where it becomes okay to function either independently or to ask for help, recognizing one's limitations.

In order for one to achieve interdependence, however, one does have to go through a stage of independence... Hence teenagers need to rebel and establish their identities before entering the world at large...

Dependence is a potentially toxic situation, even for children of loving parents (who among us, as parents, hasn't unfairly scolded a child because somebody mistreated us?). So yes, it is something that needs to be outgrown...

Unfortunately, cults like LDS, Inc., do foster this dependence, which is why this site exists... It's a recognition of one's need to initially replace one dependency with another; when I sobered up, yes, I replaced drinking with 12-Step membership and attendance (and I only attended one meeting in the last two months, BTW... Now about hanging around here, well...), but I also went back to a university and pursued another passion as well... The latter became a bit of a demanding obsession (and a lousy way to make a living) so I replaced it with fly fishing for a time...

We all operate on a continuum on this one; often "extreme independence" is a reaction to a childhood where being dependent is unsafe... That may propel someone to achievement and greatness in one area, but it may also extract a high price in one's personal life...

As Kurt Vonnegut used to say, "So it goes."

as being automatically addicted. That is one, of many, things that infuriate me about the culture of mormonism. I think my Grandfather, who was labeled as an alcoholic by all of his Mormon family, was incorrectly and unjustly labelled. He preformed exceptionally in his career, was a great father, (admittedly so, by the very children that labelled him as an alcoholic), my mother even admitted, privately, of course, that he seemed happier when he was still using alcohol on occasion. I understand there are alcoholics, but, I do not believe my grandfather was one.

I am addicted to RfM. Is that a bad thing?

Unless there are slow players in front of me, then I'm addicted to complaining about golfers with bad golf etiquette, lol.

Thou sayeth.

shared trauma, etc. Not much different than the support group for Afghanistan-Iraq Veterans (AIVA?). Their motto is "We've got your back."

Rfm and exmo social activities allows you to share a laugh and get support from people who understand you on a level no one else does. After all, most people would just say? That cult messed with you, man. Just leave it behind and move on...nothing to see here.

Well, there is lots more to see--like what screwed up nonsense the wards are doing now, not to mention the PR-strangled emanations coming from the politically deceitful and manipulative profit pretenders. It's entertainment, folks, and meanwhile, during the intermission, if you need some, you can get solid advice.


Anagrammy

I was told by two separate counselors that one sign of addicition is doing something even though your religion forbids it.

My immediate reply: so I'm addicted to sleeping through church?

I am addicted to Mrs Truthseeker nude. I can't get enough. The bishop said he wanted to help me. I told him I didn't want to share.

Her husband works long hours at work and then the church has him in his free time. He comes home stressed and grumpy and goes to bed and falls asleep.

This poor woman needs stimulation and after reading about Joseph Smith's exploits, I just view me having sex with her as a charitable gift from God.