Another View of Addictions

by Stephen B.Chadwick, MA Counselling Psychology.

www.cowichancounselling.ca

Dear Friends,

Ran across an interesting article on Huffington Post on addictions. Much of what is in the article can be debated and argued, but much of what is in the article also rings true, especially about concepts of propensity towards boredom and boredom thresholds in addicted persons.

Also if one examines the article in light of a posting I made a few months ago on Tove Lo, one can see how addictions, whether to food, drugs, sex, whatever are an emotional substitute for other needs in one's life. And again, they are habits and I have mentioned before, in the immortal paraphrasing of Mark Twain: habits whether good or bad need to be coaxed rather flung down the stairs.
The link to the article follows,

Taylor Swift's Latest Video: Feminism that ain't so swift!

by Stephen B.Chadwick, MA Counselling Psychology.

www.cowichancounselling.ca

So Dear Friends,

Taylor Swift

Many more updates to come, but I just thought I would put this out. I happened to chance upon Taylor Swift's latest video. As I have stated in my other post about cutting yourself some slack , and why it is sometimes useful to switch out the character in the story -- namely your own story. One can see why, perhaps this latest video is a tad on the disturbing side.

Have a Wee bit of inspiration for the New Year!

by Stephen B.Chadwick, MA Counselling Psychology.

www.cowichancounselling.ca

Dear Friends,

I have been quite busy (unexpectedly) during this Christmas -- Yes, I am saying the "C" word, just as if I would be saying Hannukah -- the "H" word or Ramadan -- the "R" word.

Quite possibly if more religious traditions were respected and understood, one could go back to saying such things, rather than saying: "Seasons Greetings", which regrettably means very little and doesn't convey much of a concept of good will towards your fellow human beings other the winter season greets you with an arctic kiss.

However, I shall be putting out another video very soon on a mental health topic and of course I will return with more information on mental health articles very soon. But for now, here are three "inspirational" videos from three very different women: Lizzie Velasquez, a Texan Woman with a rare disease that does not allow her to gain weight and also a devout (gasp!) Roman Catholic, Maysoon Zayid, an American-Palestinian Muslim woman with Cerebral Palsy and Stella Young, a disabled atheist Australian woman who died recently.

Video post on Hoarders and Hoarding -- Just in Time for the Holidays!

by Stephen B.Chadwick, MA Counselling Psychology.

www.cowichancounselling.ca

Hello Friends,
Just finished a new video post on Hoarding and Hoarders. Check it out on youtube.
If you have more questions related to this topic, again please check out the website: www.cowichancounselling.ca or the blog: www.cowichancounselling.blogspot.ca or leave a comment on the youtube channel.

Take Care,

Steve.
Video clip begins below:

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New Video post on Hoarders, soon

Friends,

Within the next few days I will be uploading another video to Youtube.

This time the topic will be hoarding and hoarders. Check out my video on youtube then.
Regards and Take Care,



Steve.

Objectification: Using people as objects. A lesson from the antics of Bill Cosby and Jian Ghomeshi

by Stephen B.Chadwick, MA Counselling Psychology.

www.cowichancounselling.ca

Bill Cosby

What with what has happened in the last few days and weeks in the media with first of all Jian Ghomeshi and then later with Bill Cosby, I thought I would talk a bit about objectification and abuses of power. Now, it must be stated that these things are not as simple as they seem from the outside observer. Anything that is risqué or scandalous sells in the general media. This we know.

But quite apart from wanting to follow the dirt on any particular celebrity, there are indeed a couple of interpersonal dynamics that are happening here with the Jian Ghomeshi incident (here in Canada) and then the Bill Cosby case in the United States.

And when it involves powerful people, especially in the media, sometimes it is more about the media scandal than it is about the people (both victim and perpetrator) in the scandal who were hurt.

Tove Lo tells it like it is: Addictions, Emotions and Substance Abuse

by Stephen B.Chadwick, MA Counselling Psychology.

www.cowichancounselling.ca

Tove Lo

I recently watched Tove Lo's new video "Habits" also called "High all the Time" and I was struck by how startingly honest both the lyrics to the song and its accompanying video were. I'll leave the video for the end of the post, but for those who might currently be in recovery, you may or may not want to watch the video as it may be triggering and may (or may not) cause the viewer to want to use, especially if the viewer is in their early stages of recovery and their recovery is still rather fragile.

But suffice it to say that substances, whether alcohol or drugs or food or sex or gambling are really a means to self-soothe. Addictions and addictive behaviours are a way to self-medicate and assist an individual to manage their emotional states.