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Psychological counseling vs. chemistry.
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TOPIC: Psychological counseling vs. chemistry. 710 Views

Psychological counseling vs. chemistry. 02 Jan 2014 06:49 #225976

  • R76
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Counseling and self -- discipline can be useful for someone whose urge is not very strong. If the urge is very very strong a person usually fails. If it is weak he usually succeeds.

I try to weaken my sexual urge by Licorice capsules (4/day) and Valerian combination. I could not obtain Henna, Conium D6 and Ignatia D6, let alone Celexa. Does anyone else have any advice.

For depression in general counseling was quite useless, while Effexor is very useful. Words can not soothe physical pain while Novocain decreases it to zero.

Maybe G-d has given strong chemical medicine to this sinful generation to enable us to pass the tests.

Re: Psychological counseling vs. chemistry. 02 Jan 2014 22:30 #225994

  • skeptical
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Escaping the pain by using medication isn't a solution. That's called drug abuse/addiction.

Re: Psychological counseling vs. chemistry. 03 Jan 2014 07:41 #226009

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One of the most horrible things in world history is medicine before the invention of anesthetic. Now mental pain can also be decreased with medicine. Thank G-d I did not have any major medical issues when I was in USSR.

I love medicine and especially antidepressants. I also like cold medicine -- even though I never use medicine as narcotics.

A major obstacle for a single man who wants to stop m. is that such urge may be very strong. And inappropriate thoughts can come anytime. And inappropriate images appear on mainstream news sites such as CNN and ABC news. It is hard to beat a strong urge based on discipline/willpower/12 Step alone. As long as the urge is strong, many men constantly fall.

The best solution is to reduce the urge. Modern medicines can be far far more effective then any psychological approaches.
Last Edit: 03 Jan 2014 07:45 by R76.

Re: Psychological counseling vs. chemistry. 05 Jan 2014 05:44 #226048

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many here have found that not looking at CNN and ABC has made it easier

Re: Psychological counseling vs. chemistry. 05 Jan 2014 07:56 #226051

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Yes the urge is hard to beat, but have you tried 12 steps to be able to say that it doesn't work?
Yankel | My Ladder | Talking to Hashem
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Re: Psychological counseling vs. chemistry. 05 Jan 2014 11:13 #226054

  • canuckjew
By no means do I have medical knowledge or am saying drugs should not be used (if your doctor found some sort of chemical or biology imbalance in your brain) but generally drugs are only a coping mechanism and generally do not solve the problem. I am not religious but heard that the Rambam (great Jewish sage and doctor) said to only use medicine when absolutly necessary. I think this applicable to this day. All to often, lax doctors proscribe anti-depressants and other psychotic drugs to people who don't really need them or do not have any sort mental disorder. For instance, my sister told me her friends are being proscribed anti-depressants because they feel "lonely" at school. Now when I grew up I had very few friends, felt sad at school sometimes, and fell like the whole world was messed up (probably is ) but aren't these regular experiences and emotions we endure help us define who we are and how we interpret the world around us? If you lost in a sport you worked so hard for would you feel happy or sad. Of course you'll feel sad but are you now going to take steroids to get better or work on your skills? We all have a choice and that is what Hashem has granted us with. Unfortunately, in our case, we chose to view pornography instead of utilizing our feeling in a proper constructive way. It doesn't have to be used strictly for martial relations either. Maybe one constructive example would be to work on treating individuals in a better ways, etc.

Any psychological problem is caused but your conscious telling you have done something wrong and need to fix it. Until you have figured out how to fix that problem your conscious will never be satisfied. Take a thief for example. If he is decent man with some set of morals he will feel guilty for his crime and likely go to bed restlessly at night. He may become an alcoholic, smoke recreational drugs, sleep with lots of women, or even buy expensive gifts with the stolen money. In the end though, he will always feel guilty as he didn't do anything to change his ways. Now I am not saying you shouldn't be using your meds (if your doctor says you ABSOLUTELY need them then use them) but ask yourself ..has these medications every really made a difference in my life? I would feel good for the first 8 hours after I took this pill but I would still end up feeling bad myself. What should I do? Going back to the thief example the easy solution for him would just return the money anonymously and vow never to commit the crime again. Now with viewing pornography it is different because it is something you can't simply get rid of by a "one day act of righteous". Although I haven't beat my porn addiction yet I can say every action taking to avoid the porn greatly increases chances of breaking free. It would be like the thief, slowly recovering the stolen money he squandered on things and slowly repaying back what he had stole. The best part of being able to beat the addiction is that you can say "wow, I look at what I accomplished and when I encounter this problem again (lets say a trigger from racy billboard on the highway) I'll know how to handle it".

I myself suffer from anxiety and OCD which both my campus and family doctor said I have. However, they did not proscribe me medication and have referred me to various counselors and psychologists for help. I can honestly say they really helped a lot than before I saw them. To this day, I have not taken psychotic medication to elevate my anxiety or OCD (unrelated to my porn addiction but an example nonetheless) and have successfully reduced many of my past fears and rituals. But that is just my story and I am not hear to brag. Best of luck!

Re: Psychological counseling vs. chemistry. 06 Jan 2014 00:20 #226108

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R76 - Its hard. If I recall, you are juggling a lot.

The question is how do we define weak or strong urges? If we truly let go and connect our self to spirituality, and make that our goal, will we have the same level urge?

I don't have any specific knowledge of medication.

Re: Psychological counseling vs. chemistry. 06 Jan 2014 08:16 #226149

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kilochalu wrote:
many here have found that not looking at CNN and ABC has made it easier


Definitely. Technically, these are not bad sites, but still.

Re: Psychological counseling vs. chemistry. 06 Jan 2014 08:17 #226150

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Pidaini wrote:
Yes the urge is hard to beat, but have you tried 12 steps to be able to say that it doesn't work?


Maybe I should try 12 steps along with herbal medicine. I am not sure if I am really addicted.

Re: Psychological counseling vs. chemistry. 06 Jan 2014 08:21 #226151

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canuckjew wrote:
I myself suffer from anxiety and OCD which both my campus and family doctor said I have. However, they did not proscribe me medication and have referred me to various counselors and psychologists for help. I can honestly say they really helped a lot than before I saw them. To this day, I have not taken psychotic medication to elevate my anxiety or OCD (unrelated to my porn addiction but an example nonetheless) and have successfully reduced many of my past fears and rituals. But that is just my story and I am not hear to brag. Best of luck!


Thanks for sharing. I have Aspergers syndrome combined with moderate depression and EXTREME loneliness. I have almost no contact outside my family(parents+grandmother) and Internet.

I like medicine very much.

Re: Psychological counseling vs. chemistry. 06 Jan 2014 08:25 #226152

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Ezra wrote:
The question is how do we define weak or strong urges?


I do not know. I do not think my urge is stronger then that of an average man. At 20 my urge to m. was stronger then now. Licorice further lowers that urge. Thus, self -- control is much easier.
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