Do you suffer from syphilis and wonder why you got it? Have you heard about the recent rise in syphilis, and are concerned about what it reveals about our society? If you answered yes to either of these two questions, then I urge you to read on.
Read moreHow Meditation Can Help You With Addiction Triggers
Do you find yourself triggered to dive back into addictive behaviors, almost without a thought? Do you feel like you’re constantly slipping back into old behaviors despite your best intentions? Then read on, because this week's post is for you.
Read moreThe Vicious Cycle of Chemsex and How to Break It
Do you tend to use substance(s) while you are searching for or having sex? Do you find you need increasing amounts of a substance to get the same ‘bang’ from your sexual experiences? Do you feel remorse for the lengths you’ve gone to get not only a substance, but also for trying to get the sex to go with it? Read on to find out about the cycle you may be caught in, and for how to break it.
Read moreThe Connection Between ADHD and Compulsive Sexual Behavior
Do you ever turn to sexual behavior in situations where you feel bored or empty, just seeking some kind of positive stimulation? Have you ever engaged in sexual behavior and not even thought about if before doing it? Are you often looking for the next ‘big thrill’ in your sexual exploits because the usual stuff just doesn’t do it for you anymore? If you answered ‘yes’ to most or all of these questions, you may suffer from both ADHD and compulsive sexual behavior. They can tend to go together, and I’ll explain why below.
Read more4 Ways to Tell if You Are a Pathological Liar
Do you sometimes lie regardless of whether it is important to tell the truth or not? Do you tend to have a lot of unnecessary complications in your relationships? Is it hard for you to keep track of the lies you have told to others, and get caught in your lies? If ‘yes’ is your answer to most or all of these questions, you may have a problem with pathological lying.
Read moreWhat Harm Reduction with Compulsive Sexual Behavior Might Look Like
Are you someone who knows you suffer from compulsive sexual behavior, but struggles with the idea of having to significantly curtail the amount of sex in your life because of this? Do you feel like committing yourself to a program of recovery means you are doomed to live a life of celibacy? If so, read on because I have some good news for you.
Read moreAddiction Recovery Essentials: Pillar Five, Commitment to Recovery
This month I’m posting a summary of the last of my 5 installments from my most recent book: The 5 Pillars of Addiction Recovery. This month is on Commitment to Recovery. If you waffle about whether recovery is a long-term process, please be sure to read this before you decide for a quick fix.
Read moreAddiction Recovery Essentials: Pillar Four, Coping Skills
Being able to use effective coping skills to overcome addiction issues is perhaps the most important tool of long-term addiction recovery. In my latest blog post highlighting each of the 5 sections of my book The 5 Pillars of Addiction Recovery, I talk about how coping skills fit into the picture.
Read moreAddiction Recovery Essentials, Pillar Three: Structure for Safety
Have you ever found yourself reacting to the world around you like a pinball in a pinball machine? When someone acted a certain way to you, you just had some extreme reaction that totally threw you and your day off balance? Or have you found your whole day being thrown off by some unexpected event that rattled you to your core? These all point to the need for structure for safety from addictive behavior, which I covered in Chapter 3 of my book The Five Pillars of Addiction Recovery. Below is a synopsis of this important and indispensable pillar.
Read moreAddiction Recovery Essentials, Pillar Two: Community
If you are someone who struggles with addiction issues and find yourself mystified by how cunning and baffling your own situation is with your own ‘drug of choice,’ I am presenting my own condensed version of my latest book on the topic: The 5 Pillars of Addiction Recovery. This month’s pillar or installment is about the role of community in overcoming addiction.
Addiction Recovery Essentials: Pillar One
If you are someone who struggles with addiction issues and find yourself mystified by how cunning and baffling your own situation is with your own ‘drug of choice,’ I am presenting my own condensed version of my latest book on the topic: The 5 Pillars of Addiction Recovery. This month’s pillar or installment is understanding your addiction, in particular the recovery process.
Read moreThe Misinformation Around Sex Addiction
Have you ever wondered if you suffer from sex addiction or not, then been confused by what mental health professionals say about the topic? It’s not just you, it’s the therapeutic community as a whole that is confused by the topic. I will do my best to try and clear up the misinformation to give you a better idea about what you have and what to do about it.
Read moreHow to Counter Overspending and Problematic Sexual Behavior
Are you a person who normally has reasonable spending habits except when it comes to problematic sexual behavior? Have you amassed unwanted credit card or other debt because somehow you don’t have any discipline when it comes to this area? Is your spouse demanding to look at or have control over your credit and spending situation? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then read on.
Read moreWhat to Know if You Think Your Partner Has a Problem with Sex Addiction
There may be nothing more beguiling than feeling like your partner is cheating on you, but not knowing for sure what is going on. They may or may not be gaslighting you or pulling the wool over your eyes, but regardless of this they are probably a mystery to themselves as well. It can be helpful to understand more about them and what you are and are not capable of doing for them.
Read moreDoes Change Trigger Your Addiction Issues?
Do you tend to struggle with change? Do you hate that unsettled feeling of knowing something you’ve counted on staying the same is suddenly going away? Even knowing something as awful as the pandemic may be ebbing away can fill you with a sense of dread along with the excitement of being able to get out more? Does change tend to worsen your compulsive or addictive sexual behavior, too? If you answered ‘yes’ to any of these questions, read on.
Read moreThe Blessing and Curse of Ambivalence
Have you ever wanted to change something about yourself or your life, but been gripped by overwhelming fear or apprehension? Have you ever made some decision to give up a bad habit or addiction, but then wound up relapsing within a relatively short period of time? If you answered yes to either of these questions, you have experienced ambivalence. As bad as it may feel, it can be a blessing in disguise.
The Dilemma of Social Media Addiction
There is still much debate about whether social media is addictive or not. After watching the Netflix documentary entitled The Social Dilemma I have definitely refined my professional opinion about that. Read on for my review and thoughts on this serious situation.
Read moreListen to my interview with Noah Garcia, LPC-S on the Next Quest Podcast!
https://nextquest.podbean.com/e/scott-kampschaefer-lcsw-s-on-addiction/
When Transparency is Necessary in Relationships
We all hear the cry for the need for ‘greater transparency’ with respect to our elected leaders, government officials, and corporate executives. Do we feel like we deserve the same from our partners and spouses? Sometimes it can be necessary to have transparency in our relationships, especially if trust has been broken. It’s a two-edged sword that should be used very carefully, though.
Read moreThe Insidious Connection Between Shame and Addiction
Have you ever felt bad about yourself and wound up drinking too much or bingeing on something like food, porn, or something equally unhealthy? If that bad feeling is the often overlooked feeling of shame, then you’ve found something that lies at the heart of many people’s addictions.