Porn is a huge problem for many poeple, but she should be a lot smarter with not introducing it into the household. Knowing that mommy watches porn might make him think it is a normal thing for grown ups but it's not. A fourteen year old cannot understand the fantasy world of pornography and I think that his mother should talk to him about the dangers of addiction.

Yeah that's so true, I've never heard a guy say that he likes it when girls are super skinny. The worst thing a girl could do is to lose weight for anyone but herself. Some of my friends are obsessed with watching those celebrity shows and all they do is worry about their bodies and talking about soso and how they gained weight or lost weight.

"The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart."

My boyfriend and I have been together for 2 and a half years. We are both recovered alcoholics and are very dependent on one another for support, so we make a very good couple. The only thing that gets me is that we have different religious views, do you think it's possible to be happy with someone and get along if you belong to different religions?

A few friends of mine actually do have shopping problems and if they can't afford it, they'll just wear it and return it the next day. They end up with a lot of shame and guilt for spending their rent money and gas money, but when they go back to return it, they're on another shopping spree, it's crazy!

1. Give your extra TVs to charity. Allow your home one TV in a
room dedicated to nothing but reading or TV watching. Donate the rest
to a school or charitable organization in your community. You'll not
only get the tax deduction and a feeling that you did good, but it will
be that much harder to veg out in front of the tube!



2. Only turn on the TV to watch a particular show. In other
words, don't just turn it on and go surfing for something worthwhile.
Hours are quickly wasted, switching from one show to the next, watching
all and none at the same time.



3. Then, when you sit down to watch a particular show, set a
timer or an alarm clock in another room for the length of the show.
When it beeps, you'll have to get out of your chair to turn it off, a
signal to also turn off the tube.



4. Throw out the remote control. It's amazing how much less
television you'll watch if you have to get up every time you want to
change channels or adjust the volume. Plus, it eliminates all those
hours you spend channel surfing.



5. Rearrange the furniture. Design your family room so that the
television becomes not the focal point of the room, but an afterthought
that requires twisting around or rearranging the furniture to view.



6. Hide the television. Put it behind an armoire, hang a blanket
over it, or stick it inside a cabinet. Do whatever you can to ensure it
fades into the background and can't be seen for what it is -- a
dangerous time sucker.



7. Eat meals, especially dinner, with the television OFF.



8. Set a rule that you can't watch TV if the sun is shining.
Instead, you have to go for a walk, ride a bike, or get some other kind
of healthy physical activity for at least an hour before you can turn
on the tube. This rule also works great for your kids or grandkids.


9. Make a TV-watching plan each week. Sit down with the viewing
guide and pick out the shows you want to watch that week. Watch only
those shows, and when they're over, turn the TV off.



10. Set a rule that you must read 30 pages of a book or magazine before you can turn on the TV. Depending on how fast you read, you may never watch TV again!
11. Create a list of one-hour evening projects. List everything
you can possibly dream of: cleaning a particularly messy cupboard,
organizing recipes, touching up the paint on your bedroom walls,
sharpening kitchen knives, sorting through your sewing materials. Then
create an old-fashioned job jar, and try to do one each evening.



12. Switch to games. With your spouse and/or children, relearn
the fun of Scrabble, backgammon, or even chess. Get out the playing
cards and have a hearts or gin rummy battle. Play Ping-Pong, pool, or
darts in the basement. Go outside and practice your golf swing with
practice balls. All of these are more fun, healthy, and life-affirming
than sitting in front of the television.



13. Develop a fast-moving news routine. Most news shows are
scheduled down to the minute. So investigate the handful of shows you
watch and figure out when they run the features you are most interested
in. For example, the local weather is on the Weather Network at eight
after the hour; the recap of the day's headlines on CNN at fifteen
after; the sports scores on ESPN SportsCenter shortly after. Add it all
together, and you have a total national news briefing in about 15
minutes. Sounds like the perfect evening television routine. Watch it
when you get home, and then turn off the television for the rest of the
night.



14. Say no to Jaws for the 15th time. Often we can be
strangely drawn into watching things we've seen many times before.
There's something comforting in the repetition. Well, resist it.
Watching the same James Bond movie or Trading Spaces episode again and again is unhealthy for your body and your brain.



15. Get outdoors every night. Make it a point to leave your home
or apartment at least once after dinner, if only for a short walk
around the block. Too many people consider their day pretty much done
once they've eaten dinner, when in fact, evening can be a wonderful
time for getting things done and having fun.



16. Change your TV-viewing chairs. Make them somewhat hard and
upright -- chairs you don't want to lounge in for hours. Move your most
comfy chairs to the living room, and use them
for listening to music and reading.



17. Say no to pundits and celebrity talkfests. One way to cut
down on television is to rule out certain types of shows. We suggest,
start with any show in which you are watching a person talk. It is rare
that a television interview or conversation is deeply insightful. Other
categories to consider boycotting:

• Entire ball games. Why spend three hours watching a baseball or football game when the critical action can be captured in five minutes?


• Any show with a laugh track. How good can it be if it requires canned laughter to tell you a scene is funny?


• Shows filled with guns and violence. Who needs the mental baggage of all that killing and mayhem?


• Reality shows built on a cruel premise. If it
  torments the participants, or causes them ridicule, or extols values
  contrary to yours (like all the shows glorifying plastic surgery), then
  don't watch.

Yeah it's completely up to you whether or not you want to stay with him. But if you are, or even if you're not, you should try to get him into a NA program or rehab center immediately. I decided to stay with my boyfriend after two years and he stopped eventually, but I have to admit it was a really hard thing to go through.

Its okay haha, well to answer your question I'm Baptist Christian and he's Catholic. Basically the we have the same fundamental beliefs, but there are some major things that are very different. He's gone to my church before, and he sort of feels uncomfortable and gets a little aggrivated because my pastor has said some things about Catholics that he openly feels is wrong. I really don't agree with pointing out other religions because it's a personal thing and if someone believes a certain thing it's up to them to change their beliefs... so there's been some fights about me wanting him to go to church with me, or me going to his church... ususally I just won't ever bring it up but I sort of think that religion should be an open topic in a relationship because it can make it stronger.

A codependent is addicted to helping someone. They basically always need to be needed. This addiction is so strong, the person will sometimes cause the other person to continue to be needy. This behavior is called enabling. When regardig drugs, this type of relationship can be disastrous at times, like calling in sick for someone who is addicted to drugs, making excuses for them, giving someone money for things they need when they are addicted to drugs, or measuring your self-esteem by how much they depend on you.

Researchers recommend two hours a day on the Internet is a healthy amount. The physical effects of too much Internet use don't compare to the problems with socializaton. What about people whose jobs require them to be on the computer for like 8 hours a day, is that bad too do you think? How many hours a day do you guys spend on the comp.?

Did anyone hear about the millions of pounds of beef that was recalled? I'm not eating beef for a while because of that, but did anyone catch the video that was featured of how the cows were treated? It was so sad, the sick cows were just plowed over, instead of being treated or having a company come out and get them. The slaughter houses where beef come from are nothing like we'd expect them to be it's kind of disgusting sorrry!

A few of my friends have gotten DUI's before they're even 18 years old. For a while, it was like one after the other, it sucks they can't drive for up to a whole year and they have to pay thousands of dollars. But you're right hardly anyone knows how to drink responsibly.

When I was a little kid, all I wanted to do was play arcade games, we had a nickle arcade right down the street from our house and I was always there every single weekend. And now that I'm older I feel like I can't get away from the slot macines, they're not as like fun as arcade games but it's just what I do, I think I may be addicted because of how much I played when I was little...

I'm sorry too, that sounds so tragic. I think other non smokers are starting to see how hard of a drug nicotine is to quit. It's just not fair, some poeple smoke for 80 years and have nothing wrong with their bodies. I'm also trying ot quit, when I'm not smoking, I don't touch them and I can't be around them, but if somone offers me one, I'm automatically smoking like a train.

Honestly, I'm sure this happends a lot, as disgusting as it sounds.  One prescription junkie walks in, tells her friends about it, and the supplier has a new business going on.  That's why there needs to be harsh sentences for it, or else it's too easy to get away with.

I decided to give up drinking a week ago and I ended up having 2 beers last night, which felt like 10!  But today I feel soo tired and depressed about my decision to drink. 

That's so true, who ever said "Sticks and stones can break my bones but words will never hurt me," obviously never had their feelings hurt by something someone said or was gossiped about!

Hi there!  I've been in your position more than once, and the only way I get through it is by limiting myself-- setting limits of only one hour or so, but I've learned to stick with it!  I would make plans at the specific time I was supposed to stop and eventually I just got used to pulling away from it.  But you need to find a schedule/time limit that works for you.  Good luck.  Anyone else have any advice..?

Sometimes I will simply call someone I'm close with to talk about everything going through my head.  Usually I'll get home from school/work and have so many thoughts bouncing around in my head that I just want to have a beer.  And my mind will start racing about whether or not I will have one and it's so depressing because I sometimes can't find the will power to tell myself "no."  But I've improved a whole lot by leaning on my friends/family for extra support.

I've sort of experimented  with patches before and also the chewing gum.  But I am also a very fragile person, so the effects may be magnified to some degree.  So a while ago, I started using the Nicoterm CQ patches, but they gave me cold sweats and headaches, I felt like the only thing that could relieve my new stress was a cigarette and they didn't do so much for my cravings.  But later I tried the smaller patches and they worked a lot better, I also used the chewing gum at the same time. 

    That's what I love most about it too.... I am a Libra and we are sensitive to the needs of others and have a gift, sometimes to an almost psychic extent, of understanding the emotional needs of companions, very social, and we hate cruelty, vulgarity, and detest conflict with others.  I love the fact that you always get along with others that share your same sign. I mean, that has to mean something!  If you were born at around the same time, then the stars were aligned at nearly the same position, so there is similar energy passed around. 
    Reading about your sign can teach you a lot about yourself that you never really understood before.  And can also warn you about your negative attributes.  Negative libras can be very lethal and are prone to lower back pain... eek!

    The most important ingredient for staying away from alcohol is positive peer pressure.  What helps, is to find a group of friends who have also made a decision not to drink.  To get more specific on fun: go on a shopping spree at a dollar store; memorize your favorite dances and perform them; participate in a scavenger hunt; go hiking; play capture the flag at night; make a cardboard house; play laser tag; go fishing, day or night.  There are things you did as a kid or something that you wouldn't just think of to do maybe with a group of friends. 
    It's hard to fight underage drinking where I live because of the local university, there are a lot of students who have their own housing.  For me, I do have a strong group of friends, and it's really not as bad as it seems.  I'd rather ponder the long-term consequences of drinking instead of thinking of it as a way to have fun on a whim.  I'd rather be a positive role model in someone's life. 

What are your mixed feelings of AA?  Bc I started with my boyfriend about 3 months ago and it's helped us so much.  Are you maybe going to a program that doesn't fit well with your recovery?  We sort of shopped around first before we settled on a Christian based program.  Some of the meetings are actually really fun and you can meet so many interesting people. 

Well, maybe it'd be better for you to keep your recovery and church seperate.  But nearly all of the twelve-step programs include a recognition of a higher power.  But I can't stress enough to you, that prayer and church is what got me sober and still does today.  I moved up to a leadership position at my church and I've learned to have fun/connect with sober people.  I've been to those programs where everyone just talks about how f***** up they got the night before and I just learned to never take them seriously. 

I understand where you're coming from.  Some people aren't as strong willed as others, but if there is a strong enough desire, then that can be just as powerful.  Once you have that, another hard thing to do is find a treatment that works for you.