Addicted To The Internet? Brain Wave Entrainment Can Help
Addicted To The Internet - Internet Addiction Disorder
"We are an addicted civilization." Deepak Chopra
The Internet is an indispensable tool for education, work, and communication. Time spent on the Net can be very productive, but for some people, compulsive Internet use can interfere with daily life, work, and relationships.
Internett Addiction Disorder is a recently recognized condition marked by a compulsion to use the Internet--hence it's more of an impulse control disorder than an addiction per se. It is marked by excessive computer use and an unhealthy amount of time spent online which impairs normal life functioning. If you already have some troublesome behaviour issues like gambling, shopping, pornography etc, these could escalate into net compulsions.
Why You Get Addicted
As with any addiction, the usual instigator is emotion and the processing of that emotion. Addicts can't manage unpleasant feelings like stress, loneliness, depression, and anxiety very well so they look for ways to lose themselves--zone out. The Internet is a perfect place to get lost. It is another dimension where your real life may not apply.
Behavioural Issues Can Change The Brain Physically
Scientific research, using MRI scans on the brains of excessive young Internet users, shows damage to the white matter as well as nerve fibres that life under the grey matter in the brain that connects areas in the orbito-cortex. This is the area that involves emotions, decision making, and self-control. Damage of this sort is also seen in the MRIs of drug addicts, gambling addicts, and sex addicts indicating that behavioural issues can be just as damaging to the brain physically as addiction to chemical drugs.
Signs You May Be Addicted
* You stay on-line longer than you intend to losing track of time.
* Your chores and commitments are neglected.
* You check your e-mail before you do ANYTHING.
* You get excited, feel a sense of euphoria when you are on the Net...at least in the beginning.
* Your grades or work performance are suffering.
* You become secretive and defensive if you are challenged about your use.
* You isolate yourself from family and friends.
* You experience withdrawal symptoms when you can't surf the Net.
What The Brain Is Doing While You're On The Net
When surfing the Internet, the right brain, associated with creativity and emotion, is stimulated by the movement--flashes, colors, flickers--on the monitor. The left brain, associated with linear and analytical thought, gets tired waiting to be cued, and decreases its activity. Nothing gets analysed. At first, the stimulus excites the brain which releases pleasure chemicals, but as time goes on, the brain, on the right side, get overloaded and begins to feel tired and worn out. Very little psychological reward is generated.
When there is no psychological processing going on, confusion, dissociation, and obsession develop. The left brain just doesn't get a chance to process all of that movement and color. Your hooked in a vicious cycle. Pleasure, dissociation, pleasure.
Technology Made It Happen, Technology Can Take It Away
When a stimulus is repeated continuously, like the flicking on the computer screen which hypnotically induces you to keep searching, the brain begins to resonate with the stream of stimuli soon mimicing the same frequency of the stimuli decreasing all other frequencies. This is called Frequency Following Response or brain wave entrainment.
The key to recovery is to use brain wave entrainment.
"We are an addicted civilization." Deepak Chopra
The Internet is an indispensable tool for education, work, and communication. Time spent on the Net can be very productive, but for some people, compulsive Internet use can interfere with daily life, work, and relationships.
Internett Addiction Disorder is a recently recognized condition marked by a compulsion to use the Internet--hence it's more of an impulse control disorder than an addiction per se. It is marked by excessive computer use and an unhealthy amount of time spent online which impairs normal life functioning. If you already have some troublesome behaviour issues like gambling, shopping, pornography etc, these could escalate into net compulsions.
Why You Get Addicted
As with any addiction, the usual instigator is emotion and the processing of that emotion. Addicts can't manage unpleasant feelings like stress, loneliness, depression, and anxiety very well so they look for ways to lose themselves--zone out. The Internet is a perfect place to get lost. It is another dimension where your real life may not apply.
Behavioural Issues Can Change The Brain Physically
Scientific research, using MRI scans on the brains of excessive young Internet users, shows damage to the white matter as well as nerve fibres that life under the grey matter in the brain that connects areas in the orbito-cortex. This is the area that involves emotions, decision making, and self-control. Damage of this sort is also seen in the MRIs of drug addicts, gambling addicts, and sex addicts indicating that behavioural issues can be just as damaging to the brain physically as addiction to chemical drugs.
Signs You May Be Addicted
* You stay on-line longer than you intend to losing track of time.
* Your chores and commitments are neglected.
* You check your e-mail before you do ANYTHING.
* You get excited, feel a sense of euphoria when you are on the Net...at least in the beginning.
* Your grades or work performance are suffering.
* You become secretive and defensive if you are challenged about your use.
* You isolate yourself from family and friends.
* You experience withdrawal symptoms when you can't surf the Net.
What The Brain Is Doing While You're On The Net
When surfing the Internet, the right brain, associated with creativity and emotion, is stimulated by the movement--flashes, colors, flickers--on the monitor. The left brain, associated with linear and analytical thought, gets tired waiting to be cued, and decreases its activity. Nothing gets analysed. At first, the stimulus excites the brain which releases pleasure chemicals, but as time goes on, the brain, on the right side, get overloaded and begins to feel tired and worn out. Very little psychological reward is generated.
When there is no psychological processing going on, confusion, dissociation, and obsession develop. The left brain just doesn't get a chance to process all of that movement and color. Your hooked in a vicious cycle. Pleasure, dissociation, pleasure.
Technology Made It Happen, Technology Can Take It Away
When a stimulus is repeated continuously, like the flicking on the computer screen which hypnotically induces you to keep searching, the brain begins to resonate with the stream of stimuli soon mimicing the same frequency of the stimuli decreasing all other frequencies. This is called Frequency Following Response or brain wave entrainment.
The key to recovery is to use brain wave entrainment.
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