Perpetual Fear of Exposure Ruins Relationship

May 21, 2015

Perpetual Fear of Exposure Ruins Relationship with Partners

Relationship Any form of addiction works on the addict as some form of self-soothing emotional escapade from all sorts of pressures and anxieties that addicts face in life as a result of the drug use or as a result of life complexities.

Addicts attempt to meet their primary emotional and mental needs with a substance or behavior which supersedes reason. No matter how much sex or pornography a person consumes, the core emotion with which they are struggling is unmoved, and the feelings of emptiness are exacerbated by the very “remedy” intended to bring relief. People free of addiction tend to meet those primary needs with healthy physical and relational behaviors that serve as a priority over other forms of connection.

When one partner in a marriage or relationship is a sexual addict, both partners will have to suffer. The extent to which each partner is impacted by the sexual compulsivity will vary depending on the type of addiction, the length of time he has been a victim, the pace of progress of the menace, the presence/absence of children in the family, presence of other co-occurring addictions among other factors. In every marriage, if a partner has sex addiction, the impact is enough to cause gross damage to the relationship or the family. There is therefore need for treatment so that the condition of the addict may not worsen. However, the partner who is not yet addicted also needs help.

A sexual addict will leave the partner feeling guilty and shameful and sometimes even bitter and these calls for counseling to help them eradicate these thoughts from their minds as they may escalate into more serious effects. These feelings will have a negative bearing on the relationship and the un-addicted partner may begin viewing him/herself as an object of desire that is abused and misused, with these thoughts he/she is bound to be distant and this creates discord in the relationship.

How can fear of exposure in a female sex addict ruin a relationship?

Fear of exposure causes a female sex addict to act in certain ways that jeopardize her relationships. The shame from her sexual acts and the fear of being exposed and rejected are powerful motivators that keep the sex addict trapped in isolation. She closes himself off, not realizing she’s creating a “vacuum of emptiness” inside. This “vacuum of emptiness” is unbearable and so she “fixes it” by acting out sexually. But her acting out only produces more shame and emptiness, and a vicious cycle sets in.

To try to run from the mess she is on the inside, she fakes it on the outside. Some will spend more of their time din their jobs and neglect the time they have for their partners; they mostly do this in hope that their success in their careers may fill their vacuums in love.

Some will turn to food, drugs, relationships and alcohol in pursuit of a fix for the vacuum they ail from, all these will only beckon more sexual acts that only make the relationship between her and her husband sour. However even after engaging in sexual activities with different people the hunger for more will be insatiable hence they will remain trapped in the behavior.

She becomes increasingly self-centered.

In her isolated state the sex addict becomes the center of her world. She becomes obsessed with acting out (or not doing so) her wants, problems, feelings and she also becomes very worried about what people think and say about her.

She obsesses about acting out, (or not acting out), her wants, her problems, how she is feeling at the moment, looking successful and what others think about her. She also becomes egocentric and judgmental making it hard for her to be understood and pleased by the rest of her family members; her children and husband as well as those in the extended family circle.

Her values will also change and she may become a person whose character is wanting and no one really would like to spend time with.

Her perceptions, values and decision making processes are distorted.

She doesn’t see how her decisions affect herself and others and she can’t see the devastating long term consequences of her choices. Her distorted ambitions and her insecure and narrow perspective leave her prone to making big mistakes when crucial decisions need to be made both in her personal and professional life.

She’s blind to the fact that the course she’s on is destructive to herself, her family, her employer and the church.

Fear causes fatigue and anxiety that affect general health.

relationship The stress sex addiction puts on her immune system and lowers it making the addict more susceptible to diseases like colds and other infections of the respiratory system.

Sexual addiction alters the shape of the brain and drains natural levels of serotonin. It also interferes with the nervous system and may also affect your sleep and energy levels will be drained. Depression and anxiety will find their way in and cause the mayhem they are known to cause; emotional instability. With depression they will be bound to use antidepressants to ease the tension and this may be a leeway to some ailments.

Fear of exposure by female sex addicts has far reaching effects on their social lives. At AWAREmed Health and Wellness resource center, help and support is available. Call Dr. Dalal Akoury (MD) for expert advice.

Perpetual Fear of Exposure Ruins Relationship with Partners

Alcohol Abuse Linked To Head and Neck Cancer

January 21, 2015

Alcohol Abuse Increases The Risk of Head and Neck Cancer

There are several types of cancers that are not known to many but are just as serious as the other common cancers like the breast cancer, prostate cancer and even the cervical cancer. Head and neck cancers may be new to you but they have been in existence for just as long as the other common types of cancer it’s only that most people refer to this group by the identity of the individual cancers in the group. Today, head and neck cancers account for approximately 3 percent of all cancers in the United States alone. These cancers are nearly twice as common among men as they are among women. Head and neck cancers are also diagnosed more often among people over age 50 than they are among younger people but indulgence in behaviors that might increase your risk of getting head and neck cancers begin earlier.

Causes of the head and neck cancers

There are many causes of head and neck cancer but alcohol and smoking are the biggest culprits. This doesn’t come as a surprise as alcohol and smoking have been known to be carcinogenic. Researchers of the past have long been able to make it known that about 75 percent of head and neck cancers are caused by a combination of alcohol and tobacco use. Not long ago, two large studies have reviewed patterns of alcohol and tobacco use in people with cancer of the mouth, throat, and larynx, the head and neck cancers most likely to be caused by smoking and drinking.

Of these studies, one study was published in the American Journal of Epidemiology, and another was published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. Both studies assembled data from previous case-controlled studies and included myriads of cases of laryngeal, pharyngeal, and oral cancers matched against normal controls. The reported findings from these studies shed some light on just how alcohol and tobacco alone or in combination can influence the development of the head and neck cancers. Cancer and smoking to most seem synonymous but lately researchers have been able to establish links between cancers and alcohol drinking too. Here are some of the findings from these two studies findings.

Smoking lightly for many years increases the risk of head and neck cancer more than smoking heavily for only a few years.
Drinking heavily for a few years increases the risk of head and neck cancer more than drinking moderately for many years.
Smoking is most strongly associated with laryngeal cancer.
Just smoking increases the risk of head and neck cancer substantially and the risk goes up with the frequency and duration of smoking.
Just drinking only increases the risk of head and neck cancer if you have three or more drinks a day.

“These studies are interesting but the most important thing for people to know is that smoking and drinking each increase your risk of head and neck cancer and smoking and drinking together multiply your risk. That means that the cumulative effect is worse than just adding the two risk factors together,” warns Tamer Ghanem, MD, PhD, an ear, nose, and throat specialist at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit.

How alcohol Drinking and tobacco smoking causes cancer

As stated earlier, both alcohol and tobacco are known to be carcinogenic. The most known cause of cancer is DNA alteration which leads to gene mutation. Alcohol is full of these carcinogens that once inside the body triggers changes in the DNA make up. Equally tobacco is made up of a cocktail of many toxins that when consumed causes a series of DNA alterations.

Alcohol alone has been shown to cause changes in the cells of the oral mucosa and may damage head and neck cell DNA. This finding now points out to the reality that alcohol abuse alone even without the combination with cigarette smoking is enough to cause the head and neck cancers.

These reports also showed that in a tobacco smoke there are more than 60 are carcinogenic chemicals that does more harm than good when inhaled.

Alcohol may act as a solvent, making it easier for carcinogens in tobacco to enter head and neck cells. This may explain that in combination the effects of smoking and drinking of alcohol can be adverse and escalate the risk of head and neck cancers catching up with the smoker.

Head and Neck Cancer From these study findings we can say that people who use both tobacco and alcohol are at greater risk of developing these cancers than people who use either tobacco or alcohol alone. However it is safe to quit using alcohol even if you are not a smoker as these two studies plus other earlier ones have been able to establish and cement the fact that alcohol drinking alone is enough to cause DNA alterations which eventually leads to cancers of the Head and neck.

Some common symptoms of Head and neck cancers

Some of these symptoms may include swollen Pharynx, breathing problems, a lump or a sore that does not heal, a sore throat that does not go away, difficulty in swallowing, and a change or hoarseness in the voice. When you find yourself suffering from these symptoms that may also be same as those people suffer when sick of colds and fever it is good to check with a doctor before it’s too late.

Finally, Drug abuse, addiction and independence are problems that people grapple with every day. These problems need to be treated effectively through integrative medicine. Dr. Dalal Akoury (MD) is an expert at this. Call her on (843) 213-1480 for help.