Caught in the Net or Understanding and Treating Depression

Caught in the Net: How to Recognize the Signs of Internet Addiction - And a Winning Strategy for Recovery

Author: Kimberly S Young

"I don't even help [my children] with their homework in the evening because I'm in the chat rooms, and I don't help put them to bed because I don't realize how late it is. I also don't help them get ready for school in the morning like I used to do because I'm checking my e-mail. And I just can't stop myself."-Raymond, an Internet addict.

Internet addiction is real. Like alcoholism, drug addiction, or compulsive gambling, it has devastating effects on the lives of addicts and their families: divorce, job loss, falling productivity at work, failure in school, and, in extreme cases, criminal behavior. The problem has already reached epidemic proportions in the United States, and the number of "netaholics" continues to grow rapidly as more households and businesses go on-line. Yet, until now, no one from the mental health community has come forward with a specific description of Internet addiction and its effects or a strategy for treatment and recovery.

In Caught in the Net, Kimberly Young shares the results of her three-year study of Internet abuse. Often using the words of the Internet addicts themselves, she presents the stories of dozens of lives that were shattered by an overwhelming compulsion to surf the Net, play MUD games, or chat with distant and invisible neighbors in the timeless limbo of cyberspace.

Why is the Internet so seductive? What are the warning signs of Internet addiction? Is recovery possible? Dr. Young answers these questions and many more. She provides a questionnaire to help Net users determine whether they are addicts, and offers concrete steps to help problem users regulate Internet usage and devise a more balanced place for it intheir daily lives.

For Internet addicts as well as their parents, spouses, friends, and employers, Caught in the Net offers guidance on where and how to seek help from counselors, therapists, and other professionals who take this affliction seriously. For mental health professionals, this book provides insights into the nature and causes of Internet addiction and encourages counselors and therapists to expand their addiction recovery programs to address the specific problems of Internet addicts.

"Think that computer addiction is a joke? Think again. This groundbreaking book is the first to explore on-line addiction in a serious way and to consider the effects on individuals and their families. Caught in the Net is an important book for anyone who spends mornings and evenings connected to the Net."-Clifford Stoll, author of The Cuckoo's Egg and Silicon Snake Oil.

"An excellent account of the dangers of the burgeoning Internet industry. Dr. Young carefully outlines the traps into which people can fall and offers pragmatic self-help suggestions. Caught in the Net is valuable for both consumers and the professionals who deal with them."-Maressa Hecht Orzack, PhD, Founder and Coordinator, Computer Addiction Services, McLean Hospital Lecturer, Harvard University Medical School

"I don't mean to spend all my time this way, but I can't stop. It's the only place my opinion matters and I feel important."-bobage38.automechanic.internet.addict

"I feel guilty about it, but when I tried to break free, I simply didn't have the strength....I'm a long-time smoker, but I've found the craving to go on the Internet first thing every morning is stronger than my urge to light a cigarette."-marylouage40.motheroffour.internet.addict

"When you're talking about the Internet, you're talking about power. It's the most powerful information tool I have ever known. When I explore the on-line world, I feel like that robot in the movie Short Circuit. I need more input! More input!"-daveage28.militarytelecommunicationsexpert.internet.addict

"I feel the rush every time my mind gets connected to this intensely powerful information whirlpool. When I enter cyberspace, I become one with my mind. It's like Mr. Spock doing the Vulcan mind meld."-joshage29.computerprogrammer.internet.addict

itt.edu and view her website at: netaddiction.com.

Booknews

What you might have thought was only a joke is real: net addiction can destroy lives in the same way that compulsive gambling or alcoholism can. Young (psychology, U. of Pittsburgh) shares the results of her three-year study of internet addiction. She offers a questionnaire for net users to determine if they have a problem, points out several ways that internet friendships are superficial while seeming the opposite, and lists numerous strategies for recovery. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

Table of Contents:

	Introduction: A Controversial New Addiction	1
1	The Dark Side of Cyberspace	12
2	The Terminal Time Warp	35
3	Profiles of On-lineaholics	60
4	The Faceless Community	88
5	Cyberwidows: Victims of Terminal Love	121
6	Parents, Kids, and a Technological Time Bomb	145
7	Fraternities of Netheads	174
8	No Work Today - Everybody's Gone Surfin'	194
9	Staying on Track	215
	Epilogue	235
	Notes	237
	Bibliography	240
	Index	245

Book review: Administrative Law E E or In Our Hearts We Were Giants

Understanding and Treating Depression: Ways to Find Hope and Help

Author: Rudy Nydegger

In any given year, 10 percent of the population - or about 21 million people - suffer from a depressive disorder. Most do not seek professional help although the great majority could find relief with treatment. And that not only causes hundreds of thousands of dollars in economic costs annually from work slowdown and accidents to illnesses and suicides, the wider picture is that depression hurts not only the person at issue, but millions more who are family members or other loved ones. The problem has become so pervasive yet often ignored that a major pharmaceutical company has launched commercials focused on informing the public that "Depression hurts, everywhere," and can surface not only as psychological aches but also physical pains and illness. This book offers a one-stop source that explains the history, increasing incidence, diagnosis, costs, treatment, and many faces of depression across ages, gender, culture, ethnicity, socioeconomic group, and sexual identity. Every chapter includes vignettes and interviews to illustrate the topic and main points. Treatment approaches and success rates are discussed, as are the meanings and myths applied to this common disorder. Current and emerging research, and treatments on the horizon, are also spotlighted.