Good News Tucson - A Family Values Publication

Cover Story

Jeff has an addiction.
It is one he has battled since the late ‘90’s. He knows it’s a problem – it’s no laughing matter, especially to his wife. His addiction…email. “I will sit at the computer and browse meaningless websites waiting for my Outlook to chime. I live for that sound. I know it sounds silly, but I love responding to my mail, and forwards – they’re the best!”

One definition of addiction is: the persistent compulsive use of a substance known by the user to be harmful. Do you know someone with an addiction? You might know and love – or be – someone who struggles with or has overcome a drug or alcohol problem. But what about other types of addictions? Could you be burdened by an addiction and not even realize it?

E-ddiction
If you think being addicted to email or the Internet sounds silly, think again. According to Marsha Egan, founder and CEO of the Egan Group, Inc., 43 percent of survey respondents to AOL’s June 2007 email addiction survey bring their BlackBerrys or handhelds to bed with them. Ms. Egan is a workplace and email productivity expert who has authored a 12-Step program for overcoming email dependence.

Another study reveals that one-third of the nation pays more than $200 a month for technology – including high speed internet, cable television, mp3 players, and cell phones. If you were asked to give up your Internet or cell phone, would you start to feel anxious or irritated? Would you come up with a laundry list of reasons as to why you “need” those things? For many of us, emails and phone calls help us do our jobs and stay connected to family, friends and coworkers. But emails, text messages, and that embarrassing buzz of a cell phone on “silent” during a meeting or worship service can be distracting, to say the least.

“They add more work to our already overflowing plates, cause us to stay later and later in the office, and miss out on personal time,” says Egan, whose 12-step program is titled “Email E-ddiction Detox program.” This type of addiction isn’t harmless; it can cause you to neglect your work, household chores, and even relationships. Feel the need to cut down? Egan offers the following steps.

“Set up rules for email use,” she advises. “Let all of your clients and co-workers know how you prefer to use email, and then practice what you preach. Turn off automatic send and receive: It may seem hard, but learning to check your email only at designated intervals will immensely decrease productivity loss due to email distraction.”

She goes on to recommend: “Regain control of email by reconsidering its function. Email shouldn't trump the rest of your work; it should just be another task in your day. Lessen email e-ddiction by learning how to manage, sort, prioritize, and then delete all of your emails.”
And finally, she suggests using a two-minute limit. “Learn the value of setting time restraints on email use, and saving the lengthy emails for later.”

Feeding the Caffeine Need
Perhaps technology isn’t an issue for you; you can take it or leave it. But can you say the same for that morning cup o’ joe? 85% of Americans use caffeine on a daily basis. “I can’t function in the morning without two cups of coffee before I leave the house,” says Julia, an office manager for a property management company. “Then when I get to the office I have at least one more cup. And then I’ll have a couple diet sodas throughout the day. It helps me stay focused.”

That might seem harmless, but consider this: caffeine’s effect on your brain is similar to the effects of cocaine, heroine and methamphetamines; they all release dopamine, a hormone that provides motivation, alertness, and emotional highs in the brain. Because too much caffeine can over- stimulate and delete those dopamine-producing cells, you end up feeling wiped out. This often leads to further caffeine consumption, and the cycle of addiction has begun.

“The jolt we get from caffeine is actually a stress hormone rush,” reports Marina Kushner, founder of the non-profit Caffeine Awareness Alliance. “the same blood rush we experience in stressful situations. But constant artificial adrenalin pumping through the use of caffeine exhausts the glands and leads to its depletion.”

If you think your morning coffee habit is harmless to your health, according to Kushner, you’d better think again. “Over-production of stress hormones, which are toxic in excess, changes the blood composition, which reflects in proper function of the immune, endocrine, and nervous systems,” she states. “It can lead to chronic fatigue, sleeping disorders, irritability, anxiety, depression, infections, frequent virus outbreaks, high blood sugar and insulin levels, weight gain, benign fibrocystic disease, thyroid problems and others.”

So what should you do if you want to kick the caffeine habit? “Whether you quit on the weekend or during the week, you may wish to consider tapering off your consumption, rather than undertaking the abrupt and total withdrawal of coffee suggested by the term ‘cold turkey’,” advises Kushner. This will help you lessen withdrawal symptoms.

A Dose of Reality
42-year-old Angela*, a single mom of three, moved in with her mother to cut back on expenses. Soon after, Angela’s mother began to notice that she was missing some of her prescription pills. Angela thought perhaps her mom was just forgetful, but became concerned when she found a small blue pill with the imprint “AD” in her 15-year-old daughter’s pants pocket. After a quick call to her doctor’s office she learned the pill was Adderall, a common prescription for ADHD.

Angela immediately confronted Caleigh*, who told her a friend had given her the pill to help her lose weight but that she had been too scared to try it. Angela dropped the issue. That is until she began to notice some changes in Caleigh: she became withdrawn and irritable; lost a significant amount of weight; and her usually meticulous grooming habits became extremely lax. Angela’s suspicions of drug abuse were confirmed when she received a phone call from his school, informing her that Caleigh was to be expelled for possessing prescription drugs at school.

Angela contacted Teen Challenge of Arizona's Springboard Home for Youth in Crisis. She learned that so-called “pharm parties” are becoming increasingly common; teens collect prescription pills from their family’s medicine cabinet or friends at school and bring them to the party. (Bags or bowls of random pills are referred to as "trail mix,") While Caleigh fought Angela tooth and nail and swore she’d hate her mother forever, Angela enrolled her daughter in the four-month residential program at Home of Hope. Caleigh is now 17, sober, and about to graduate from high school.

Break Free!
Addiction takes on many forms. Addictions can be a chemical dependency: as in Caleigh’s prescription drug addiction; Julie’s daily caffeine fix; nicotine; or even food. Addictions can be to an action or experience: Jeff’s email addiction; gambling; shopping and spending; sex and pornography; and even work. If you believe that you or someone you know has an addiction, don’t be afraid to ask for help. A solution is out there, and you are not alone.