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Please Note
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Online counseling is not appropriate for all kinds of problems.
If you have suicidal thoughts, it's important that you seek help
immediately. You are not alone.
If you are located in the US, call
1-800-784-2433 or
911 and ask for help. If you are outside the US,
look here
to find the support hotline in your country and area.
Learn more…
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Degrees
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Bachelors Degree in Psychology from San Diego State University (1980) Masters Degree in Psychology from San Diego State University (1983) Ph.D. Degree in Psychology from the University of Missouri at Columbia (1989) Advanced Training in Ericksonian Hypnosis (1998) Life Coaching Training from the Life Coach Training and Therapist University (2005)
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My Expert Service
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Greetings and welcome to my Internet Addiction Page. Internet addiction is any online activity which becomes compulsive and interferes with normal living in some way. The addict and addiction may cause stress and discord in the family and among friends, loved ones, and at work . As is the case for other addictions, the internet becomes the organizing principle of addicts' life. Addicts risk important relationships and other things they value highly in order to continue and expand their unhealthy internet activities.
There are several common patterns of behavior among internet addicts. The major groups are:
- Cybersex/Pornography Addiction -
- Online Affairs -
- Gambling -
- Gaming -
- Surfing -
- Ebay Addiction -
Whatever the flavor, internet addicts come to feel that their internet behavior has taken control of their lives and their lives have become unmanageable. That unmanageability may be expressed as compulsive internet use, obsessing about being online when not online, minimizing, hiding, or lying about online behavior, and an inability to control or manage online behavior.
If your Internet behavior interferes with your life you may have a problem. You may also notice that you have come to use the internet as a way of altering your mood. Be aware that addicts of all sorts may deny or distort their thinking in order not to look clearly at their behavior and its impact on their lives.
Like drug or alcohol addicts, internet addicts come to prefer the “relationship” they have with their internet behaviors to other aspects of their lives. Because various internet experiences have the effect of altering mood (excitement, sexual arousal, romantic feelings, etc.) people come to be dependent on the changes in brain chemistry that underlie those emotional experiences. Over time the internet activities becomes a substitute for “real life”. Quick and intense rewards replace the deeper and realer experiences of actual love, friendship, and family relationships. As with other addictions, internet addiction is progressive. As addicts struggle to contain their behaviors and fail, they slip deeper into feelings of despair, powerlessness, and pain. Often people withdraw further from others, feel lowered self-esteem, and dive further into their addictive behaviors. Breaking the cycle of use, withdrawal, and secrecy are important to recovery.
Compassionate, directed, supportive counseling can help people to overcome their internet addictions. For most addicts the goal is to learn to contain and moderate their use rather than complete abstinence.
I have successfully helped many people who have struggled with internet addiction. If you think you have a problem and are ready for help, please contact me and we can get started.
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Experience & Qualifications
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I am a professional coach and a licensed psychologist in Texas. I have worked in private practice for 20 years and have operated my own private practice since 1994. I added coaching to my practice a few years ago and find that the deep collaborations with people in the coaching work are hugely successful and satisfying. I also taught in colleges and universities for 20 years. The courses I taught included abnormal psychology, developmental psychology, clinical and counseling psychology, personality theories, the psychology of humor, and personal development.
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Available Modes Of Communication
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email/chat
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Contact
Dr. Michael Johnson
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Home » Professional Counseling » Addictions » Internet Addiction
» Dr. Michael Johnson
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