Seeking validation is a natural and normal part of human behavior. We seek to be validated on what we say, and do, and even how we appear. Children can experience having healthy validation at home and school, or they can have a lack of validation, or even experience being invalidated. The way a child was raised has a huge impact on how he or she seeks validation as an adult. Seeking validation as a young adult or as an adult becomes obsessive when the validation-seeking behavior becomes unconscious and has a pattern, and perhaps a repetition, which may have some negative consequences. The author has labeled that behavior Validation Addiction. The unconscious need for validation in a compulsive or addictive way could have serious consequences on relationships, and careers. Some people who act out this way are masking depression or anxiety, or perhaps have developed this addictive behavior in lieu of alcohol, which may have been a problem in the family of origin. Treatment for this condition will only begin when the person recognizes there is a problem. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and perhaps medication with an approved anti-depressant are suggested methods to reduce the occurrence of this behavior and hopefully replace it with a more appropriate behavior.

Validation—recognizing and accepting your child’s thoughts and feelings, regardless of whether or not you feel that your child should be experiencing them—helps children develop a lifelong sense of self-worth. Children who are validated feel reassured that they will be accepted and loved regardless of their feelings, while children who are not validated are more vulnerable to peer pressure, bullying, and emotional and behavioral problems. The Power of Validation is an essential resource for parents seeking practical skills for validating their child’s feelings without condoning tantrums, selfishness, or out-of-control behavior. You’ll practice communicating with your child in ways that instantly impact his or her mood and help your child develop the essential self-validating skills that set the groundwork for confidence and self-esteem in adolescence and beyond. “...There is valuable advice here. This approach takes mindfulness, patience, and a long-term vision, but parents who are able to help their children trust their emotional landscapes will have an easier time of scaffolding to higher reasoning, in addition to more secure relationships with their youngsters. Highly recommended.” —Library Journal, STARRED REVIEW, Rebecca Raszewski, University of Illinois Library, Chicago

There is an epidemic of insecurity in society today. Many people suffer from an unhealthy need for affirmation. They are not capable of feeling good about themselves. For some the quest for approval becomes an actual addiction, as they seek self-worth from the outside world because they can't find it within themselves. Joyce Meyer understands the need for seeking approval from others to overcome feelings of rejection and low self-esteem. The good news, she says, is that there is a cure. God provides all the security anyone needs. Her goal is to provide a pathway toward freedom from the approval addiction.

While the Internet is a relatively new technology, that has impacted the world, and provided many benefits, it has also had negative ramifications. Individuals unable to control their use are jeopardizing school, employment and relationships. The concept of “Internet Addiction” is used to explain uncontrollable, damaging use of technology. It is characterized as an impulse control disorder, comparable to pathological gambling, because of overlapping diagnostic criteria and symptomatology. Based on these studies, the IAT was constructed to capture the problematic behavior associated with compulsive use of technology, including online porn, internet gambling and compulsive use of online games and social media. The Internet Addiction Test emerged as the first validated measure of Internet and technology addiction. The assessments can be administered in a variety of mental health settings, including private practice clinics, schools, hospitals and residential programs. They can be used when there is suspicion of Internet addiction, as part of a broad intake assessment, or for use in a wellness curriculum to help participants evaluate their own Internet behavior. The IAT can also be a valuable pre-employment screening device, to detect internet addiction among job candidates, to improve productivity and reduce corporate liability. Based on 20 self-report items, the IAT assesses for the presence of addiction to the Internet, electronic entertainment, social media, and general use of electronic devices, and also measures the severity of addiction, in terms of mild, moderate or severe. Furthermore, because Internet addiction may be driven by different reasons and manifest in different ways, requiring different types of treatment, the IAT produces scores related to the following areas: EscapeCompulsionNeglecting dutiesAnticipationLack of ControlSocial Avoidance

Discover what two million readers have already discovered: that true significance is found only in Christ. Robert McGee's best-selling book has helped millions of readers learn how to be free to enjoy Christ's love while no longer basing their self-worth on their accomplishments or the opinions of others. In fact, Billy Graham said that it was a book that "should be read by every Christian." In this re-launch of this timeless classic you will: Gain new skills for getting off the performance treadmill Discover how four false beliefs have negatively impacted your life Learn how to overcome obstacles that prevent you from experiencing the truth that your self-worth is found only in the love, acceptance, and forgiveness of Christ Other products in the Search for Significance family of products include a devotional journal and youth edition.

Estimates indicate that as many as 1 in 4 Americans will experience a mental health problem or will misuse alcohol or drugs in their lifetimes. These disorders are among the most highly stigmatized health conditions in the United States, and they remain barriers to full participation in society in areas as basic as education, housing, and employment. Improving the lives of people with mental health and substance abuse disorders has been a priority in the United States for more than 50 years. The Community Mental Health Act of 1963 is considered a major turning point in America's efforts to improve behavioral healthcare. It ushered in an era of optimism and hope and laid the groundwork for the consumer movement and new models of recovery. The consumer movement gave voice to people with mental and substance use disorders and brought their perspectives and experience into national discussions about mental health. However over the same 50-year period, positive change in American public attitudes and beliefs about mental and substance use disorders has lagged behind these advances. Stigma is a complex social phenomenon based on a relationship between an attribute and a stereotype that assigns undesirable labels, qualities, and behaviors to a person with that attribute. Labeled individuals are then socially devalued, which leads to inequality and discrimination. This report contributes to national efforts to understand and change attitudes, beliefs and behaviors that can lead to stigma and discrimination. Changing stigma in a lasting way will require coordinated efforts, which are based on the best possible evidence, supported at the national level with multiyear funding, and planned and implemented by an effective coalition of representative stakeholders. Ending Discrimination Against People with Mental and Substance Use Disorders: The Evidence for Stigma Change explores stigma and discrimination faced by individuals with mental or substance use disorders and recommends effective strategies for reducing stigma and encouraging people to seek treatment and other supportive services. It offers a set of conclusions and recommendations about successful stigma change strategies and the research needed to inform and evaluate these efforts in the United States.

The rise of mobile phones has brought about a new era of technological attachment as an increasing number of people rely on their personal mobile devices to conduct their daily activities. Due to the ubiquitous nature of mobile phones, the impact of these devices on human behavior, interaction, and cognition has become a widely studied topic. The Encyclopedia of Mobile Phone Behavior is an authoritative source for scholarly research on the use of mobile phones and how these devices are revolutionizing the way individuals learn, work, and interact with one another. Featuring exhaustive coverage on a variety of topics relating to mobile phone use, behavior, and the impact of mobile devices on society and human interaction, this multi-volume encyclopedia is an essential reference source for students, researchers, IT specialists, and professionals seeking current research on the use and impact of mobile technologies on contemporary culture.

This Special Issue presents some of the main emerging research on technological topics of health and education approaches to Internet use-related problems, before and during the beginning of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The objective is to provide an overview to facilitate a comprehensive and practical approach to these new trends to promote research, interventions, education, and prevention. It contains 40 papers, four reviews and thirty-five empirical papers and an editorial introducing everything in a rapid review format. Overall, the empirical ones are of a relational type, associating specific behavioral addictive problems with individual factors, and a few with contextual factors, generally in adult populations. Many have adapted scales to measure these problems, and a few cover experiments and mixed methods studies. The reviews tend to be about the concepts and measures of these problems, intervention options, and prevention. In summary, it seems that these are a global culture trend impacting health and educational domains. Internet use-related addiction problems have emerged in almost all societies, and strategies to cope with them are under development to offer solutions to these contemporary challenges, especially during the pandemic situation that has highlighted the global health problems that we have, and how to holistically tackle them.

Can certain foods hijack the brain in ways similar to drugs and alcohol, and is this effect sufficiently strong to contribute to major diseases such as obesity, diabetes, and heart disease, and hence constitute a public health menace? Terms like "chocoholic" and "food addict" are part of popular lore, some popular diet books discuss the concept of addiction, and there are food addiction programs with names like Food Addicts in Recovery Anonymous. Clinicians who work with patients often hear the language of addiction when individuals speak of irresistible cravings, withdrawal symptoms when starting a diet, and increasing intake of palatable foods over time. But what does science show, and how strong is the evidence that food and addiction is a real and important phenomenon? Food and Addiction: A Comprehensive Handbook brings scientific order to the issue of food and addiction, spanning multiple disciplines to create the foundation for what is a rapidly advancing field and to highlight needed advances in science and public policy. The book assembles leading scientists and policy makers from fields such as nutrition, addiction, psychology, epidemiology, and public health to explore and analyze the scientific evidence for the addictive properties of food. It provides complete and comprehensive coverage of all subjects pertinent to food and addiction, from basic background information on topics such as food intake, metabolism, and environmental risk factors for obesity, to diagnostic criteria for food addiction, the evolutionary and developmental bases of eating addictions, and behavioral and pharmacologic interventions, to the clinical, public health, and legal and policy implications of recognizing the validity of food addiction. Each chapter reviews the available science and notes needed scientific advances in the field.

This book focuses on the similarities and differences between substance and non-substance addictions. It discusses in detail the mechanisms, diagnosis and treatment of substance and non-substance addictions, and addresses selected prospects that will shape future studies on addiction. Addiction is a global problem that costs millions of lives tremendous damage year after year. There are mainly two types of addition: substance addiction (e.g., nicotine, alcohol, cannabis, heroin, stimulants, etc.) and non-substance addiction (e.g., gambling, computer gaming, Internet, etc.). Based on existing evidence, both types of addiction produce negative impacts on individuals’ physical, mental, social and financial well-being, and share certain common mechanisms, which involve a dysfunction of the neural reward system and specific gene transcription factors. However, there are also key differences between these two types of addiction. Covering these aspects systematically, the book will provide researchers and graduate students alike a better understanding of drug and behavioral addictions.