Posts Tagged ‘SelfControl’

When Are You An Alcoholic in the News

Self-awareness, self-control critical to addicts' recovery, experts say
Filed under: when are you an alcoholic

By Greg Botelho, CNN (CNN) — For a recovering addict, reveling at a party or having pills in your room can be seen as a sign you are in control, having successfully defeated your demons — or just as likely, experts say, a sign of weakness that could …
Source

Couple turns fresh start into growing used furniture business
Filed under: when are you an alcoholic

The couple, who recently opened Stephanie's Discount Depot, a 15000 square-foot resale shop, 2512 N. Knoxville Ave., site of the old Leo's Flowers building, got engaged during an Alcoholics Anonymous Valentine's Day dance in 2009.
Source

More When Are You An Alcoholic Information…

The Science of Self-Control

This book proposes a new science of self-control based on the principles of behavioral psychology and economics. Claiming that insight and self-knowledge are insufficient for controlling one’s behavior, Howard Rachlin argues that the only way to achieve such control — and ultimately happiness — is through the development of harmonious patterns of behavior.Most personal problems with self-control arise because people have difficulty delaying immediate gratification for a better reward. The alcoholic prefers to drink now. If she is feeling good, a drink will make her feel better. If she is feeling bad, a drink will make her feel better. The problem is that drinking will eventually make her feel worse. This sequence — the consistent choice of a high-valued particular act (such as having a drink or a smoke) that leads to a low-valued pattern of acts — is called the primrose path .To avoid it, the author presents the strategy of soft commitment , consisting of the development of valuable patterns of behavior that bridge over individual temptation. He also proposes, from economics, the concept of the substitutability of positive addictions , such as social activity or exercise, for negative addictions , such as drug abuse or overeating.Self-control may be seen as an interaction with one’s future self. Rachlin shows that indeed the value of the whole — of one’s whole life — is far greater than the sum of the values of the individual parts.