HE effect of the Internet on everyone’s life intensifies. With higher-speed connections and rendering capabilities that grip a vivid reality, more and more people get entangled in a world of fascination — a world more worthy than the mundane at times. As some recent studies indicate, Internet addiction can become very severe.

Up to 10 per cent of internet users in the United States have a dependency that could be as destructive as alcoholism and drug addiction, it has been claimed.

Internet addiction disorder is being treated by some therapists in the same way as a chemical addiction.

The Proctor Hospital in Illinois is admitting patients to recover from obsessive computer use, according to the New York Times.

Experts told the newspaper that they see similar signs of withdrawal to those found in alcoholics or drug addicts – including profuse sweating, severe anxiety and paranoia.

On other unhealthy effects of the Internet:

• Treating Online Addicts
• Blog Depression
• RPG Fantasy World

ARNING: this item is unhealthy to self-proclaimed and avid Windows users. To me, it sometimes seems as though Windows is much like smoking. It takes a lot of your money and as the addiction grows (dependency on software), it requires you to assign a decent proportion of your wage to it. Eventually, in return, it punishes you despite its high cost.

The fact that a majority people stick to Windows does not bother me. They insist on using it and I respect that decision. Being told what is good for you is probably the toughest challenge. I continue to see my colleagues spending a great deal of their time doing things which are by all means unnecessary, e.g. filesystem maintenance and virus checks. There is also a perpetual penalty due to, e.g. trial version of software with disabled features, O/S collapses and so forth.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the table, some people are able to get their work done without worrying at all about these man-made problems, which inherently are inexistent in computing. Finally, returning to my point above, Windows users often punish themselves, but no deliberately so. The least we can do is offer redemption from the habit and prove that better ways exist.

An academic study suggests that long-standing habits are difficult to break for a reason. It attributes this chronic and dangerous entity to physiology. This might, at least in part, explain why so many of us struggle to change recurring activities or rid ourselves from addictions.

Old habits don’t die. They hibernate.

Habitual activity–smoking, eating fatty foods, gambling–changes neural activity patterns in a specific region of the brain when habits are formed.

The following report was published yesterday:

DALLAS, Nov. 16 — Decaffeinated — not caffeinated — coffee may cause an increase in harmful LDL cholesterol by increasing a specific type of blood fat linked to the metabolic syndrome, hints a new study presented at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2005.

Other items about coffee:

• Coffee Leads to Stress
• Coffee Beer

man was found to have cured himself of HIV, perhaps owing to his immune system. There appears to be no official confirmation, but doctors and researchers want the man for further tests. Understandably, the man declined the offers. The photo embedded in the BBC article rules out anonymity as a factor in his decision.

Doctors say they want to investigate the case of a British man with HIV who apparently became clear of the virus.

Andrew Stimpson, 25, was diagnosed HIV-positive in 2002 but was found to be negative in October 2003 by Chelsea and Westminster Healthcare NHS Trust.

This came just a couple of days after I had watched Constant Gardener, which is a strong and emotional film involving AIDS in Africa. The film can be rather cold and depressing, so it is most-suited for the faint-hearted. My negative reaction is amplified by the fact that I watched drama/comedy types at the cinema one week beforehand, namely Thumbsucker and Broken Flowers .

The local gym – photo captured in July

ODAY I decided to re-prioritise a few hobbies and activities in my life. Thus far things have gone rather well, but I was at times susceptible to pressure and found it hard to cope with the amount of work that came my way.

I have maintained a stringent habit of working out consistently for nearly 10 years. At the start, when I was only 14, I stuck to short sessions that verged the high frequency of 7 times a week (i.e. a brief daily routine). This soon was reduced to just 6 and around 2001 was altered again and became just 5. A few years ago this was already downed to 4 and a half and this week I have finally settled at 4. This trend is somewhat worrying, at least to me. I am certainly not at the point in my life where I ought to head ‘downhill’ although I admittedly reached a plateau. I still work out approximately 8 hours a week, but I find myself more bound to the Palm handheld throughout. I simply must record my thoughts. I soon realise that I must stay connected more often. That is truly what I enjoy, inevitably.

Earlier today there was an unusually nice atmosphere at the gym so I even fell asleep there. It is not the very rare exception, I might point out. The nice music that is played on the TV set and perhaps the lack of pressure led to this, not to mention the erratic sleep patterns which I have recently adopted. The workouts themselves appear to be getting easier, psychologically in particular, over the years. This may have plenty to do with the fact that I prevent self-imposed pressure and time-constraints. I learned from past mistakes, I presume, as pressure becomes a deterrent strong enough to discourage exercise altogether.

A week or so ago I notices a small swelling at the back of my neck. Such things are rather common, even among the healthy population, but they tend to draw my attention more than they should. This was not as worrying, however, as a similar tiny swelling near my bottom, which had me see my GP several months ago (in vain of course).

I came to the conclusion that I am overly obsessed with my health, even if all that there is are puny swellings that quickly fade away. Recently I was more paranoid about that abnormality near my neck, which has just disappeared. After all, unlike the other occurrence, it resides next to my second most-valued organ! [pun]