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I'm an addict

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Re: I'm an addict

#141

Post by projektfu »

piva00 wrote: post #68
projektfu wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My issue with AA is that people can seek attention by relapsing. Going cold turkey and never drinking again is the simple solution and it doesn't require all the drama.

Simple isn't easy. Losing weight is simple, just eat less than what your caloric expenditure per day is. It's still hard as fuck and just telling someone who has issues with eating "just eat less, it's simple" is not helpful at all. Going cold turkey and never doing X is the simple solution for any addiction, now get addicted to anything and try that out...

I agree it is not easy, but for me it is better to approach it simply. It may be that the best way to eat less for an individual is to fast, or to eat five small meals, or whatever program they use. But advising people that it is next to impossible has never worked.

I have been addicted to cigarettes and alcohol. Going cold turkey is essential for getting over the addictions. Never doing them again makes relapse unlikely. These are simple facts. AA says you can't really achieve independence you have to replace it with meetings and prayer. I say you can get over it. And I have experience with people who go back and forth to AA relapsing, and so how will they ever get free?

Re: I'm an addict

#142

Post by [deleted] »

DocTomoe wrote: post #119
paskozdilar wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The problem I have with religion is the focus on "removing the doubt", which I strongly disagree with - doubting a god's existance is a major no-no in most popular religions. And as soon as you remove the doubt ban, you don't really have a religion anymore, but a philosophy. So I'd personally recommend philosophy to people, instead of religion. Bertrand Russell (also known for his mathematical work) is an excellent p…

That's why many of us opt for eastern traditions - which are generally pretty good at separating the philosophical aspects from the belief aspects.

[deleted]

Re: I'm an addict

#143

Post by lethologica »

Jaruzel wrote: post #123
SnowHill9902 wrote: post #23

Knowing that HN is generally against it, I say it anyway: I recommend religion and religious teachings which address this and many other daily worldly issues perfectly. Christianity and Judaism both have excellent resources. Religious scholars have actually been the best psychologists but are generally dismissed by non-believers. Edit: for those asking for specific recommendations. It’s always best to find your own p…

> I recommend religion and religious teachings which address this and many other daily worldly issues perfectly. This advice simply doesn't work if the recipient is an atheist. To me, Religious texts are made up fiction that hold no more meaning in my world view than Harry Potter or Game of Thrones. If you read enough fiction on a shared topic, you'll be able to pull the same number of 'enlightening' quotes from thos…

I’ve known plenty of people who get a ton of meaning out of fictional works too. Just because you view it as fictional doesn’t mean it can’t have meaning.

Re: I'm an addict

#144

Post by WHA8m »

4gotunameagain wrote: post #57
kanonieer wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Religious scholars have actually been the best psychologists Any sources that will back this claim? Oh wait, you don't need facts. Do you give this sort of unsolicited religious advice to everyone or do you specifically choose people who are troubled?

Weird approach to attack the substance of this sentence, since psychology is the most vague of sciences.

Depends on how you understand 'science'. I wouldn't describe empirical science as 'vague'. It doesn't aim for the core of a thing like other fields do. I mean, things are changing, but the goal for most psychologists is to help people.

Re: I'm an addict

#145

Post by bitexploder »

SnowHill9902 wrote: post #23

Knowing that HN is generally against it, I say it anyway: I recommend religion and religious teachings which address this and many other daily worldly issues perfectly. Christianity and Judaism both have excellent resources. Religious scholars have actually been the best psychologists but are generally dismissed by non-believers. Edit: for those asking for specific recommendations. It’s always best to find your own p…

Religion for a modern person with the easy access to the knowledge we now have is effectively just being intellectually lazy. Some people do need help right now, but I don’t think religions are any better than other addiction resources. AA gets a pass for me because I know atheists that used it and the religious component is easy to ignore. AA works because of the group and accountability, not faith in some higher power.

Anyway, not to be insulting, but it is all a bunch of made up nonsense for a time when we did not have actual explanatory knowledge for our existence and universe. We do now. Religion and its institutions are dying out in industrialized nations because they have lost their claim to having all the answers.

Re: I'm an addict

#146

Post by pixl97 »

SnowHill9902 wrote: post #109
kanonieer wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Religious scholars have actually been the best psychologists Any sources that will back this claim? Oh wait, you don't need facts. Do you give this sort of unsolicited religious advice to everyone or do you specifically choose people who are troubled?

If you read psychological works by ancient religious scholars you’ll understand. They delve extremely deeply and insightfully inside one’s soul. True: they didn’t use Chi-squared tests so you’ll not find that. But have you actually read anything of this?

You're making an assumption that 'they understood'. Humans have a lot of insight, but at the end of the day a deep understanding of everything is mathematically impossible.

How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Nihilism.

Re: I'm an addict

#147

Post by refurb »

paskozdilar wrote: post #56
SnowHill9902 wrote: post #23

Knowing that HN is generally against it, I say it anyway: I recommend religion and religious teachings which address this and many other daily worldly issues perfectly. Christianity and Judaism both have excellent resources. Religious scholars have actually been the best psychologists but are generally dismissed by non-believers. Edit: for those asking for specific recommendations. It’s always best to find your own p…

The problem I have with religion is the focus on "removing the doubt", which I strongly disagree with - doubting a god's existance is a major no-no in most popular religions. And as soon as you remove the doubt ban, you don't really have a religion anymore, but a philosophy. So I'd personally recommend philosophy to people, instead of religion. Bertrand Russell (also known for his mathematical work) is an excellent p…

I mean a big chunk of Christian teaching is about faith. It’s not like Christianity teaches “you believe in god? Good, let move on to other stuff now”.

Re: I'm an addict

#148

Post by mavili »

You're speaking for many people in your situation, but my question would be, do you really feel good doing what you're doing? Especially when the day is over and you get into bed, do you have moments of hating yourself for wasting the day? If that "regret" occurs to you, then that should be your motivation to not indulge (if you can call it that) in the activities that are not useful or beneficial for your future.

Re: I'm an addict

#150

Post by SnowHill9902 »

bitexploder wrote: post #145
SnowHill9902 wrote: post #23

Knowing that HN is generally against it, I say it anyway: I recommend religion and religious teachings which address this and many other daily worldly issues perfectly. Christianity and Judaism both have excellent resources. Religious scholars have actually been the best psychologists but are generally dismissed by non-believers. Edit: for those asking for specific recommendations. It’s always best to find your own p…

Religion for a modern person with the easy access to the knowledge we now have is effectively just being intellectually lazy. Some people do need help right now, but I don’t think religions are any better than other addiction resources. AA gets a pass for me because I know atheists that used it and the religious component is easy to ignore. AA works because of the group and accountability, not faith in some higher po…

Are you saying that we (collectively) or at least you know why we exist and the meaning of life?
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