Definition of Addiction

Definition of Addiction

This is the clinical definition of addiction:

An activity that a person does in an obsessive manner, which means  that you feel driven to the activity a lot (most of the time).  It can be using a drug, sexual activity, shopping, gambling, repetitive relations with dangerous people (women who are attracted to dangerous abusive men---actually have a shorter life span than women addicted to alcohol).

You learn that the activity is damaging to your life which can be social, economic, health---any type of detrimental effect.

After learning that the behavior is damaging to you or your life in general, you continue to do the behavior, you are ADDICTED TO IT, and need to seek help, professional help from a mental health person or an organization like Alcoholics Anonymous.

Thus, with the massive amount of research that proves that television is detrimental health, and more specifically your values about what is important in life, your ability to think critically, and your inability to stop watching, television watching is definitely an addiction, and a very dangerous one to the society within one lives.  Choosing (by voting) individuals with nefarious intent like sociopaths, has already almost ruined the nation monetarily, and damaged our respect with other nations.  The Global Warming will be almost impossible to stop with these people with evil intent remaining in positions of power, so our survival as a species is at stake.  The federal census bureau last data shows that the hours per day per capita of television is still increasing, and that makes coping successfully with television addiction much more difficult, but IT MUST BE DONE.

An intensive national campaign by AA, medical societies, mental health organizations is what is needed.  This essay is a “call to arms” for all who desire that our nation and our species survive.

MORRIS CREEDON-MCVEAN, DO

A gentleman and a scholar,

Austin, Texas

July 29, 2015

An Open Letter to AA Concerning the Crisis in Television Addiction

AN OPEN LETTER TO AA

EPIDEMIC OF TELEVISION ADDICTION

This Country is having, by far, the greatest crisis in our history.

Our government is failing miserably to govern in the manner specified

By the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.

The Constitution is in tatters and only hanging by a few threads.

People in power have violated the Constitution, without receiving punishment.  We have lost our most precious freedom: Freedom of Speech.

This is due to Dick Cheney’s Patriot Act.

Fourteen years ago President Bush invaded Iraq.  The Constitution specifically states that only Congress can declare war.  Due to The Patriot Act, however no public official (including the Attorney General!) has stood up and accused Bush of this violation.

Our values and our critical thinking are grossly impaired as evidenced by the fact that we elected Bush and Cheney TWICE, and they almost brought the nation into bankruptcy and alienated every country in the world by breaking every treaty this country ever signed.  Obama, a political miracle, restored the country’s respect and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize before he was inducted into office because of his respectful attitude towards other nations and he wasn’t George Bush.

It will probably take a civil war to regain our constitutional rights.

Those who control the government as well as those who control almost all of the major corporations are sociopaths.  Sociopaths cannot change their behavior, which includes a profound desire to create misery for others.  Sociologists have done multiple studies and estimate that 99% of the misery men have perpetrated on other men have been executed by sociopaths.    Sociopaths comprise 0.9% of every population on the Planet, and cannot be changed by rational talk.  Obama did not understand, and neither did anyone else except child psychiatrists who had been diagnosing future sociopaths in infancy for over 3 decades, when he first took office and tried to negotiate in the manner of his hero, Abraham Lincoln. But fortunately Obama is a quick study and changed his tactics successfully and managed to trick the opposition into supporting enhanced benefits for veterans and other legislation.

Sociologists have done excellent studies which point to sociopaths as being the source of evil throughout history.  Hitler is the 20^th century’s model sociopath. Sociopaths respond to only two stimuli: money and bullets.  They have all the money, so our options are obviously limited in removing their power and emptying their pockets.

               

Another unexpected crisis has been the recent scientific research that indicates that burning Fossil Fuels is the sole cause of Global Warming, which threatens the survival of our species.  It is the super-rich sociopaths as well as the enormous international corporations that benefit from this near-frantic burning of Fossil Fuels which adds more wealth to their already obscene riches.  Hoarding money in a world in which 2 billion people are starving or are constantly on the verge of starvation has no moral or ethical basis.  In fact, it could be considered to be a form of manslaughter.  There is a historical precedent for taxing the rich at a rate that makes a “graduated income tax” a reality.  During WWII Roosevelt and Congress taxed the rich at 95% and they didn’t complain (at least in public).  Today’s Global Warming crisis is a much greater threat than the Axis powers were in WWII.

We have only 1-2 generations in which to stop using Fossil Fuels and develop sustainable economies.  This effort must be Worldwide !

To make both of these issues even more difficult, we have a Nation of television addicts (getting to my point) who have experienced a lose of a sense of what is valuable in life. There has been a loss of critical thinking.  These characteristics were first predicted by Marshall Mcluhan in his 1958 book “The Medium Is the Message”.  His theory has confirmed by cutting-edge scientific research in 2003. This arena of biological based behavior is so hot that the many top notch researchers engaged in furious paced studies do not even have time to publish professional studies for journals.  Besides they are reluctant to devote time to writing because whatever they write will be out of date by the time it is published. This is also the reason there are only a very few books written on the subject.  The best are by Peter Whybrow (and Oxford trained Psychiatrist who spent the last 30 years working with elite American neurophysiologists and geneticists in California) the highly acclaimed “American Mania: When More is Not Enough” in 2005 and the recently published “The Well Tuned Brain: Neuroscience & the Life Well Lived”, a certain winner for the Nobel Prize for 2015.

The amount of television viewing that is responsible for these various aspects of cognitive loss varies from person to person.  Preliminary data, however, indicates that 4-5 hours per day is enough to pull the viewer into the heroin-like addictive loop.  A rough estimate is that at least 50% of the adult population is addicted to television, though the denial of this fact is strong among the well-educated and well-paid portion of the population.

Denial has always been the biggest barrier in any addictive process.

It is imperative that AA rapidly develop a program for television addicts.  Such a program will accelerate the recovery of millions of gifted people. Then their full cognitive capacity will be available to join in the efforts to battle the two crises I described above.

It is imperative for AA to develop this program due to the emergent issues stated above.  In addition, the latest data from the Census Bureau indicates that the hours per day per capita is still increasing in the United States.  We have a big problem that is getting bigger.  Every effort must be employed to stop this monstrous source of addictive mental illness and reverse the trend. Ironically, television and other media are essential to raise the awareness of the television addiction.  The needed funds must be found because our survival as a nation and as a species are at stake.  Perhaps the philanthropy of stellar citizens like Warren Buffet, Bill Gates and Michael Dell could be enlisted. An all-out effort by AA is a must if we hope to defeat the sociopaths that are destroying our Country.  It is imperative that it is brought to the attention of all in our Country that the super-rich are made that much richer by burning Fossil Fuels in the industrial process that creates consumer goods (that are also distributed around the world that no one needs !)

I welcome communication with the decision-makers at AA in order to clarify any issues that may be unclear.  As I previously stated : this is the greatest challenge that we have ever faced as a species. AA can play a large contribution to the outcome of these challenges that are the greatest we as American and homo sapiens have ever faced.

Please do not hesitate to call me at 512-586-1626 (and you may also leave a voice-mail)

Email me at : mcreedonmcvean@gmail.com

                                  Or

Write to me at 12624 Timber Heights Drive  Austin  78754.

I thank you for your time and attention to this matter.

Sincerely,

Morris Creedon-McVean, D.O.

A gentleman and a scholar,

Austin, Texas

July 28, 2015

Moving Toward Civil War

Moving Toward Civil War

This brief commentary was inspired by the shocking number of incidents of police brutality, especially as viciously rendered to people of color.  Law enforcement in certain cities seems to have forgotten anything about the Civil Rights Act.

Bigotry of all forms is raising its ugly head as the division in this nation heads toward a civil war to restore our civil rights. The majority of Americans are not racists but a few rotten apples are making a nefarious stench.  It may be worth another Civil War, which the majority will win, to throw the stinking apples in the slammer in solitary confinement for the rest of their lives.  I speak of the super rich sociopaths, like the Koch Bros. in Kansas, Their obscene hoarding of preposterous wealth while a couple of billion people are starving or at the verge of starvation is moral and ethical crime of the greatest level imaginable.  How does hoarding of wealth that causes others to die differ from manslaughter????  During WWII Roosevelt and Congress taxed the rich at 95% and they didn't complain (at least in public).  Now the stakes are even higher as the super rich control 70% of the world’s industrial output fueled by Fossil Fuels. The resulting Global Warming threatens a mass extinction of 95% of the biological life, including us, by the end of this century.  The military will not protect the likes of the Koch Bros and George Bush because they have been the most abused groups in our society.

As the GOP has gained more and more power they have also moved at a rapid pace, especially in the last five years, to the right.  The RADICAL right as in the Tea Party.  Texas has been the leader in this radical right movement.  The Rumor mill has it that almost all members of the State Legislature are Tea Party members.  But put the rumor mill aside and their behavior confirms this shift.

Texas ranks 51^st in Medicaid dollars spent per capita, and then Gov. Perry turned down 9.5 billion dollars of essentially free money from the Obama administration to bolster the Medicaid program.  A physician who follows these issues predicted that 2000 Texans a year would die because of the lack of care if Medicaid program was not properly funded.  Perry’s excuse was he wanted to bolster his presidential candidacy status by showing he could “stand up to Obama”.  So, he essentially said to hell with the welfare of Texans in favor of his personal ambitions.  And a humorous and tragic detail: if nominated Perry would not be running against Obama as Obama was in his second term and ineligible to run again.

Texas ranks 49^th in dollars per student spent in the public schools

Texas has attempted a work around for the Roe vs Wade abortion ruling which     has been upheld by the Supreme Court several times when challenged.  This bogus legislation has the Legislature practicing medicine without a license, and the bill that denies women of the right to control their own bodies is still in the appeals process.

The mental health care system has been defunded to the point where it is ineffective in treating and caring for the mentally ill.  I know, I worked at the largest of the State mental hospitals and saw the budget cuts every year from 2002-2010.  The morale at the state’s once exemplary mental health system, is heartbreaking.

Texas has the highest incarceration rate in the world.  Prisons have become a big money maker for the State.

Texas has kept the population of the greater Austin area, 2.5 million people, in the dark about the danger of the 8 year drought.  Every climatology group in the world predicts with near mathematical certainty that Central Texas will run dry. The city is set up for a forced migration crisis just like the one that will take place in Southern California in seven months or so.  But unlike Gov. Brown in California, who has been honest about the severity of the situation and acquired an independent company using state of the art techniques which determined that there was only one years worth of water available (about three months ago), Governors Perry and now Abbott have made multiple bald faced lies about the situation.  This sets up the population of Travis County for a sudden and unexpected running out of water and with no water there will be no power, and plunge the population into total socioeconomic anarchy overnight.  The death toll will be in the 10’s of thousands, the Capitol will be destroyed and the State Government will have to be moved to another city.  There is no evidence that any level of government even has a plan to make a plan to deal with this catastrophe.

I could go on but every governmental service that serves people has been all but eliminated.  Texas is now a State for the rich.  When I show the above statistics to the average Texas, they are appalled.  Totally unaware of what was being done to them over the past 30 years.  These policies DO NOT REPRESENT THE WISHES OF THE PEOPLE OF TEXAS, but this is what can happen when the majority doesn’t vote.  Rick Perry’s last election was won as he carried 17% of the state’s registered voters.  A Democratic Republic does not work when the populous is uneducated, pays no attention to what their elected officials do, and do not vote.  So, the cause of this slamming the door on the unfortunate members of Texas is the people themselves.

The increasingly polarized American public is seeing the “trickle down effect” (a term Ronald Reagan used to describe how the economic system works, but its meaning fits here).  When sociopaths in power get away with nefarious deeds, the less gifted sociopaths feel empowered to do the same.  Law enforcement attracts sociopaths because it gives them power over others.  As state sociopath Governors and police chiefs have moved to the right, it isn’t a case of saying to the police “go out and beat up some niggers”, but when those who do act on their sociopathic impulses to cause misery to others carry out their brutality, and ARE NOT PUMISHED OR REPRIMANDED, this is seen as a carte blanche “OK” from their superiors.  This is the mechanism that has caused the increase in police brutality to accelerate so fast.

LA must recruit officers with sociopathic tendencies for these very reasons.  Law and order enforced by brutality is the way ISIS does business, so the people of LA who vote for Mayors and Police Chiefs with similar tendencies “of being tough on crime”, are to blame for the long history of racial violence. Jimmy Cochran got a guilty OJ Simpson a “not guilty” verdict by pointing out the sordid history of racially driven brutality by the LAPD.  People screamed at the verdict, but playing the “race card” was not only smart, but it revealed the gross negligence of the officials in LA who had allowed racial brutality to go unchecked for so long.  So from the broader social viewpoint, justice was served in a not-guilty verdict.  But other than bitch about the “legal system” it does not appear that the people of LA learned a damn thing from the Simpson trial.

So the nation is faced with the same issue.  Are we going to be a nation that allows the unfortunate sick to go without medical care, that allows our children to grow up illiterate; or are we going to return to our roots as stated in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution and restated by Obama’s hero Abraham Lincoln who said: “The purpose of government is do for the people what the people cannot do for themselves.”  The truth is Obama is true moderate Republican than those who have gone so far to the right that they have fallen off the political boundaries which have defined this nation from the beginning.

MORRIS CREEDON-MCVEAN,D.O.

A gentleman and a scholar,

Austin, Texas

July 27, 2015

After All, This Mess Is Our Fault

July 23, 2015

Many of the readers of this brief essay will howl at what I am about to write.  There is a hopeful trend in America.  The concept of the sociopath is starting to rise in the minds of the public.  MSN posted two articles: one “how to tell if you are a sociopath”; and more recently: “ten questions your doctor will ask to determine if you are a sociopath”.  The mass murderers in the schools have been identified as sociopaths.  Most had seen a mental health professional who knew that these individuals were dangerous; but, there was no child psychiatrist available to refer the adolescent to.  Adult psychiatrists will not see patients under 18.  Our shortage of child psychiatrists is acute; there have been many studies of our mental health system; and, some estimate that we have only 5% of the needed number of child psychiatrists.  The reasons are many; and, beyond the scope of this essay.

The point is that research of the highest order has determined that sociopaths, who make up 0.9% of every population on the planet, are born without the ability to tell right from wrong.  They obtain pleasure from dishing-out misery to the 99.1% of the non-sociopath population.  This biological set of behaviors are genetically predetermined, just as 2% of every population on the planet are born with a sexual attraction to those of the same gender.  But this 2% do no harm to others.

Many of societies’ biggest problems are caused by sociopaths who are exceptionally gifted and learn how to carry out nefarious acts without being caught.  They are brilliant liars, as they can figure out what people want to hear and telling them that.  Attracted to positions of power, money and the ability to effect peoples lives, they exploited the political system when television weakened the 99.1% of the population.  As proven by another group of brilliant researchers, by 2003 the exact mechanism by which television causes viewers to loose their sense of what is valuable in life, their ability to think critically, and their addiction to television (which is just as potent as heroin) are all connected.

However, mental illness is no excuse for our negligent behavior.  We, the people, voted sociopaths into office starting in the 80’s.  The sociopaths would promise the public whatever they wanted and after the election, do what they pleased, (cause misery). They knew that by the next election, no one would remember what those elected had promised, not following the politicians’ actions.  So, again there was a new set of promises, all broken after the election.  This cycle went on for decades and the sociopathic politician gained more and more power.

This vicious cycle culminated with the election of George Bush and Dick Cheney and their tactician Carl Rove.  In their 8 years in office they almost destroyed the country as defined by the Constitution.  They left with America being hated world-wide as every treaty we ever signed was broken.  They left Obama with a $3.5 trillion deficit (starting with a 0.5 trillion surplus courtesy of Bill Clinton); allowed the bankers (sociopaths all) to steal $1.5 trillion from the American people with no penalties or punishment of any kind ; and, our most precious asset, freedom of speech, was tossed in the trash bin by Dick Cheney by frightening the American people with the carefully planned 9/11 scenario (every detail was carefully planned with full cooperation of the Saudis), so that the American people would stomach the PATRIOT ACT.  This act assured that those in power would never be accused or punished.

Now, the punch line: all the above is the fault of the American people.  We did it all to ourselves.  By defaulting on the principle of the Democratic Republic by not voting responsibly, we inadvertently allowed the nation to be torn to shreds in every arena that holds a society together: our churches, schools, health care, women’s rights, and on and on.

Sociopaths have no free will.  Their genetics dictates that they do bad things.  But the 99.1% have free will.  We have failed.  Television is no excuse. We are still responsible for our actions.  We voted people who can do NO RIGHT into office, time and time again.  And what a mess we have to clean up.  A mess we made.  Not only is the Constitution hanging by a thread, but because of Global Warming, caused by the burning of Fossil Fuels (which makes the sociopathic super-rich even richer) , the survival of our species is at risk. 

We can do what is necessary to save the nation and save our species; but, it will require a global change in the way every one of our 6.5 billion people live.  America leads the way in consumerism, digging a deep hole with a life-style that is unsustainable. Now, we must lead the way to a less “comfortable” and more altruistic way of living.  We are all in this together.  We must all lead the way out of the deep hole we have dug for ourselves.

                        YES. YOU ARE ADDICTED TO TELEVISION

                                                July 24, 2015

Many readers of my recent post “It’s All Our Fault” will insist that they are not addicted to television.  This is especially true of smart, well-educated individuals.

I challenge you to a simple test used by Military Psychiatrists for at least a century to test for any type of addiction.  See if you can go 30 days without viewing television or any other electronic device like a computer which the viewer is passive.  No cheating like watching a basketball game on a friend’s television.  The honor code is in effect here. If you cheat, you must admit to yourself that you are an addict, taking action to break your addiction.  It is harmful to you, your family, and your work.  No hiding behind the content of the program either.

As Marshal McCluhan said in 1958, “The Medium IS the Message”, and cutting-edge science has proven as of 2003, whether you watch porn or the history channel, the negative effects on the brain are the same.

Your values about what is important in life as well as your ability to think critically are all compromised.  You may have a job that demands critical thinking and you are getting by.  Breaking the TV habit will improve your skillset by at least 50%.

As with everything else concerning the human brain, some people will be more damaged by this addiction than others.

Please strictly limit your children’s time on any form of passive electronic entertainment.  Computer games have some redeeming qualities if supervised properly; but, play it safe-- too little electronic media will do them no harm, but too much is a certainty in causing the plethora of brain abnormalities.

I suggest reading “American Mania: When More is not Enough” and “The Well Tuned Brain” , both by Peter Whybrow.

MORRIS CREEDON-MCVEAN,DO

A gentleman and a scholar

Austin, Texas