• Proposes that personality is based on the interaction of two basic systems in the brain:

1. Behavioral Activation System (BAS): The accelerator (“hit the gas”)

– Impulsivity, novelty seeking, sensitivity to rewards and motivation to seek rewards.

–Attraction to a person or a cookie and a desire to approach the person or cookie, especially a “new” one?

• High BAS = Lots of positive affect (PA); Low BAS = Less PA
• High BAS = Impulsive; Low BAS = Reserved and Careful
• High BAS = Extraversion; Low BAS = Introversion

BAS = Left Frontal Lobe:

• Active while experiencing positive emotion (happiness).

2. Behavioral Inhibition System (BIS): “Hitting the brakes”. Sensitivity to potential punishment and motivation to avoid punishment.

–Fear of rejection by someone you fancy or fear of a snake and the motivation to avoid these things comes from this system.

-Avoidance of people, places, and situations that have the perception of…

Exciting news! We’ve just launched a brand new blog especially for the wives of those struggling with pornography, affairs and other sexual compulsions!

HAVE YOU FELT ALONE?

If you’re the wife or girlfriend of someone who struggles with sexual sin, it’s so hard to know who to talk to or how much you should say. It’s hard to separate the truth from the lies. It’s hard to have hope for the future when everything you thought you could count on is crumbling before your eyes. It doesn’t matter whether you only recently found out about your partner’s struggle, or if you’ve been dealing with his behaviors for decades, loving someone battling with sexual compulsions is definitely a rough and lonely road.

COME JOIN US

This new blog, The Sisterhood of the Lonely Road, is a safe place for you to come, to read, to learn and to connect with…

“Addiction is a primary, chronic disease of brain reward, motivation, memory and related circuitry. Dysfunction in these circuits leads to characteristic biological, psychological, social and spiritual manifestations. This is reflected in an individual pathologically pursuing reward and/or relief by substance use and other behaviors.

Addiction is characterized by inability to consistently abstain, impairment in behavioral control, craving, diminished recognition of significant problems with one’s behaviors and interpersonal relationships, and a dysfunctional emotional response. Like other chronic diseases, addiction often involves cycles of relapse and remission. Without treatment or engagement in recovery activities, addiction is progressive and can result in disability or premature death.”

Latest Definition of Addiction by the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM)

Cognitive biases directly affect the way we perceive and process sensory and memory data. Several types of cognitive biases effect how we perceive, think, and feel (Mathews & Mackintosh, 2000).

The specific types of cognitive biases are:

• Attention Bias explaining how things are seen, heard, and felt, that individuals subconsciously choose to perceive based on their current paradigm and ignore what conflicts with beliefs (Salemink, Hout, & Kindt, 2007). Individuals delete, distort, and generalize data so it aligns with their biases (Salemink et al., 2007).
• Interpretation Bias is when the sensory data perceived and accepted is interpreted in a way that fits into or supports one’s biases.
• Memory Bias occurs when individuals recall prior experiences, thoughts, and imagery that supports their current biases (Hertel & Mathews, 2011)).

More emotional individuals may have vulnerabilities to cognitive biases that contribute to more negative processing of the sensory data available and this contributes…

“If you want to treat an illness that has no easy cure, first of all, treat them with hope.”—George Vaillant

“Life ain’t always beautiful, but is a beautiful ride” (Lyrics: Live Ain’t Always Beautiful). Those are powerful lyrics about life and the pursuit of inspiration / happiness.

“It’s not going to be easy, but it is worth it“ allows you to think about giving up vs. making a change in your life. Giving up is initially the easier road, but by flying away (Fight vs. Flight) from your problems will not solve the adversity in life.

You are given a beautiful ‘ride’ on this earth and it is important to make the best of it, because tomorrow is not guaranteed (cliche, but true). I believe running from problems / adversity causes more anxiety then facing the challenges / struggles at that moment (if you have a clear mind away from substances).

Do you attempt to solve problems with the ‘fight vs. flight’ approach? What solutions to your problems are derived…