Do You Need Help?

Hello . . .

Yes, I'm talking to you!

Are you, an Internet addict? Have you looked in the mirror lately? Are you looking at your computer screen day and night, online, for no particular reason?  Are you bleary-eyed all the time? Do you know what day of the week it is? When you are away from your PC for more than 2 hours, do you experience anxiety attacks?

Your name was given to us by a spouse, family member, or friend who is concerned about your Internet addiction. Let Internet-aholics Anonymous help you. We're a non-profit organization, dedicated to helping current and recovering Internet addicts like yourself. We provide confidential counseling and support, through weekly meetings, designed to help you overcome and cope with Internet addiction issues.

We feature a twelve-step recovery program and for extreme Internet addiction cases, trained crisis interventions counselors are on call 24 hours a day. Although Internet-aholics are rarely totally "cured," in most cases you can recover enough to interact with other members of society; with only limited supervision and monitoring, when near computers.

For your convenience, we have developed a self assessment test to help you determine IF you are an Internet-aholic.

Do you . . .

1. Have a twitching sensation in your hands when you walk by your PC?
   
   
2. Check your e-mail more than five times a day?
   
   
3. Spend more time "chatting" online than eating or sleeping?
   
   
4. Surf aimlessly for hours, with no specific objective, just to be online?
   
   
5. Leave your name and information at countless web sites, in hopes that you'll receive an automated reply from a web site or company you're not really interested in anyway?
   
   
6. Log-on to the Internet before important personal habits, such as meal preparation, hygiene, or basic bodily functions?
   
   
7. Have red swollen eyes every day of the week, regardless of how many hours of sleep you get?
   
   
8. Spend hours online while enjoying a holiday from work, where you would usually be griping about your carpal tunnel syndrome, caused by "having" to use a computer a lot?
   
   
9. Turn-on your computer while going to, or coming from the bathroom, just to make sure your web site is online and running okay?
   
   
10. All of the above?

If you answered yes to four or more questions above, (or chose #10), you are definitely an Internet-aholic. The good news is that there is help available for even the most severe cases of Internet addiction.

So, call Internet-aholics Anonymous at: 1-800-GET-A-LIFE. Qualified mental health counselors, specializing in severe Internet addiction issues, are standing by to help you 24 hours a day.

Remember, the first step to recovery is an admission that you have an Internet addiction problem. Rest assured, Internet-aholics are treated with the same professionalism and confidentiality afforded any other CRAZY person.

Call us today! And don't be ashamed to ask a friend to help you power-off your PC, so you can use the telephone line to call for help.

[ Author Unknown -- from 'Scream Group' (scream_of_the_crop@yahoogroups.com) -- Ed:Anon. ]