Posts Tagged alcohol
The Psychology of Sports
I’m not much of an athlete but I have been described by others as being “a good sport”. That has more to do with my attitude than my ability. Over the past few decades the combination of Psychology and sports has become big business. Teams and individuals frequently seek out the services of a psychologist to help them improve their game and win in their chosen field. Imagine each of us as a triangle that is suspended from the ceiling in mobile fashion. The top angle is our thinking or cognition. The angle on the left side is our feeling or affect and the angle on the right side is our behaviour or choices. Each of us strives for and is most stable when the three are in balance. Unfortunately, our North American society tends to be heavy on the left or feeling side. Frequently I hear clients state “I don’t feel like doing that”. If we lead from our feelings, life becomes quite chaotic.
I am a Cognitive-Behavioural therapist in that I tend to focus on the top and right angles of the triangle. In fact, I encourage my clients to have the thinking (cognition) as the engine of the train and the feelings (affect) as the caboose. Sports psychologists also tend to work from the top of the triangle. They help the athlete to develop a mindset of success. Behaviour follows and the celebrations (feelings) result. Let’s put this in perspective. Imagine that Tiger Woods had ability but thought that he was a “loser”. We would likely have never heard of him! His thoughts opened up the possibilities that resulted in his achievement. There has been a great deal of research in the area of sports psychology.
Tags: alcohol, child, media, psychologist, psychologists, psychology, school, sport psychology, sports psychology, theory, therapistRelated posts
The Psychology of Addiction
On why addiction is largely a state of the mind so addicts are more addicted to their addiction, the temporary feeling of pleasure, rather than the drugs…
Addiction is primarily psychological although addiction is defined according to the physiological changes in the body, and addiction continues to be considered as a social, cultural, genetic and experiential process as well. Addictive behaviour could be explained as any behaviour that gives temporary or short term pleasure and also provides relief from discomfort although there may be long term adverse effects.
Addiction is generally described as dependence on any drug and results from substance abuse. Any drug or alcohol can produce addiction as can other things such as the internet, gaming, gadgets, chocolates etc. However the physical and psychological effects of drugs and alcohol are detrimental and actually result in loss of productivity, withdrawal and physical dependence and lack of attention and such other conditions. The primary feature of addiction is dependence as an individual shows increased psychological and physiological dependence on the substance he is addicted to and without the addictive substance the person is unable to return to normal life.
Tags: addiction, alcohol, anxiety, anxiety disorder, anxiety disorders, counselling, depression, mental illness, mood disorder, mood disorders, psychology, substance abuse, symptoms of addictionRelated posts