I stopped blogging a week ago.

But blogging and writing is like drug addiction; more addictive than crack cocaine. So here I am, writing again, and ashamed of what I'm doing.

Blog addiction is an issue with many consequences, one of them being withdrawal symptoms experienced when the blog is discontinued. These symptoms of blog withdrawal at times may be severe, if not life threatening. This is a new medical disorder, not yet fully studied, but certain to destroy many homes and relationships.

Blog withdrawal can be extremely uncomfortable without professional help - and blog withdrawal has many variables. Everything from the type of blog, quantity of regular use, to the length of time the blog was used, factors into how intense or mild an individual's blog withdrawal experience will be.

As mentioned, the type of blog used plays an important part in determining the length and severity of blog withdrawal.

An example would be my personal withdrawal symptoms from the Question Authority with Dr. Peter Rost blog.

I have experienced irritability, anxiety, and insomnia since I stopped writing. I’m told many of my readers have experienced similar symptoms.

It is likely that an individual who uses my blog over a period of several months to years and decides to discontinue use will experience a longer and more painful withdrawal than an individual who discontinues use after only a few weeks. And, of course, the blog writer is likely to have the worst withdrawal symptoms.

Another factor to be aware of during blog withdrawal is blog craving. Blog craving is the result of the blog's imprinting in the memory, a pleasant association of euphoria with the blog. The subconscious memory then motivates the individual to seek this blog because of the false imprint. The brain, in effect, has been trained that using the blog is the fastest way to feel good. Due to the extreme physiological or physical pain some individuals experience during blog withdrawal they can relapse before they complete the withdrawal process.

This is especially true for the blog writer himself.

Right now I'm experiencing a relapse.

Relapse is an important reason that blog withdrawal should take place at an inpatient blog rehabilitation center. There, the individual will be removed from the immediate access to blogs, the Internet, or computers. Blog withdrawal done at an inpatient blog rehab also provides the safety of medical supervision by trained professionals who are better able to monitor the blog withdrawal process.

Clearly I'm not at a blog rehabilitation center, and no one knows that I'm back on the computer adding yet another post to my blog.

I have fallen off the wagon. And I thought I'd be able to hold out a full week!

I feel really bad now; trapped, in my own words.

Yet, it also feels so good.

Peter Rost, M.D., is a former Vice President of Pfizer. He is the author of "The Whistleblower, Confessions of a Healthcare Hitman." He also writes the Dr. Peter Rost blog.

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