Addiction, The Silent Killer

The word “addiction” is derived from a Latin term for “enslaved by” or “bound to.” Anyone who has struggled to overcome an addiction or has tried to help someone else to do so understands why.Addiction exerts a long and powerful influence on the brain that manifests in three distinct ways: craving for the object of addiction, loss of control over its use, and continuing involvement with it despite adverse consequences.Addiction is a condition that results when a person ingests a substance (e.g., alcohol, cocaine, nicotine) or engages in an activity (e.g., gambling, sex, shopping) that can be pleasurable, but the continued use/act of which becomes compulsive and interferes with ordinary life responsibilities, such as work, relationships, or health. Users may not be aware that their behavior is out of control and causing problems for themselves and others.The word addiction is used in several different ways. One definition describes physical addiction. This is a biological state in which the body adapts to the presence of a drug so that drug no longer has the same effect, otherwise known as a tolerance. Another form of physical addiction is the phenomenon of overreaction by the brain to drugs (or to cues associated with the drugs). An alcoholic walking into a bar, for instance, will feel an extra pull to have a drink because of these cues.People with an addiction do not have control over what they are doing, taking or using. Their addiction may reach a point at which it is harmful.Addictions do not only include physical things we consume, such as drugs or alcohol, but may include virtually anything, such abstract things as gambling to seemingly harmless products, such as chocolate – in other words, addiction may refer to a substance dependence (e.g. drug addiction) or behavioral addiction (e.g. gambling addiction).However, most addictive behavior is not related to either physical tolerance or exposure to cues. People compulsively use drugs, gamble, or shop nearly always in reaction to being emotionally stressed, whether or not they have a physical addiction. Since these psychologically based addictions are not based on drug or brain effects, they can account for why people frequently switch addictive actions from one drug to a completely different kind of drug, or even to a non-drug behavior.Addiction, often referred to as dependency often leads to tolerance – the addicted person needs larger and more regular amounts of whatever they are addicted to in order to receive the same effect. Often, the initial reward is no longer felt, and the addiction continues because withdrawal is so unpleasant.When referring to any kind of addiction, it is important to recognize that its cause is not simply a search for pleasure and that addiction has nothing to do with one’s morality or strength of character.Experts debate whether addiction is a “disease” or a true mental illness, whether drug dependence and addiction mean the same thing, and many other aspects of addiction. Such debates are not likely to be resolved soon.

Free Web Hosting Sites For Your Business

For a first-time user, paid web hosting may seem unnecessary when a simple internet search pulls up free hosting alternatives running into the 1000s. Of course if you look deeper into the offers, then obvious differences appear: free web hosting comes at a price (pun intended) in that disk space, bandwidth and services will be less than paid for sites, and often advertising (which is how the service can be offered free) may seem out of place, or worse still, over the top.For the professional or business website, paying a nominal monthly or annual charge through hosting companies (a lot of whom offer free trial periods, or upgrades from free service start-ups) will be the way to go. In the following list of hosts, many offer a “try before you buy” business plan, and this is a good reason to use a free hosting service in the short-term.But for individuals, or small businesses or groups that do not have a problem with advertising and only need a limited number of website options, then free (and limited) web hosting is a suitable choice.Please Note:Do always read the Terms and FAQs: offers and services can alter at the stroke of a keyboard button!Bandwidth is used each time a visitor views your site’s content: a 1 MB file uses 1 MB of bandwidth each time the file is viewed.Web Storage/Web Space/Online Disk Space is just like your own computer’s hard drive: there’s only so much space. More space means more room for site content like pictures, videos, and documents.

10 Web Hosts with Free ServicesYolaOffering website hosting and design with a WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) tool, as well as controlled advertising, Yola makes website creation simple. Small business and solo users will be able to build on their original sites with paid-for add-ons when the situation arises, and new web users have a library of free designs to choose from, as well as paid-for premium themes. A good starter choice for new starters, especially with the options for growth.WebsYes, that’s their name (perhaps “Internets” was taken?). With a point-and-click (WYSIWIG again!) site builder, this web host and design site offers plenty to the most un-technical among us. They offer a Mobile Website App to give people visiting your site from a Smartphone a mobile-friendly experience. Services include domain name – and the option to transfer, email, 40 MB Web Space and 100 MB Bandwidth on their free option.www.gbbo.co.uk (Getting British Business Online)Getting British Business Online is a joint initiative from Google, Enterprise UK, BT, e-skills UK and many other partners to help small businesses create their first website and understand the opportunities offered by the Internet. Their website proudly proclaims that users can create a website for their business in 20 minutes. A WYSIWYG tool means, like many other free hosting sites, technical knowledge of the web is not needed. As well as the customisable website, users will receive a.co.uk address, regular updates, and a business email.FreeServersWith over 4 million websites under their belt, this web hosting provider has the age and experience that means a lot of the kinks of web hosting services have been ironed out. With similarities to 50megs (see below), this established service offers 50MB Web Space and 1 GB Monthly bandwidth, and is supported by (some may say heavy) advertising.FreeHostiaFrom their busy (and pretty) website, this web hosting company offers a free service with 250 MB Web Space, 6 GB Monthly Bandwidth and 3 emails. Offering both Joomla and WordPress templates for the blogging side of your site, this service has one-click set-up, 24/7 Customer Support, and is bannerless – good news if you don’t like advertisements.FortuneCityLike many other hosts on the list, FortuneCity has a free service that will be enough for some users, and an affordable option that would do for most. The free service has 1 GB Web Space and Unlimited Monthly bandwidth, as well as their own blogging tool. Having been around since 1997, they are well-used, well-tested, and well-known, and upgrading to their Affordable package means users may cut out advertising.BravenetAd-supported free hosting, and plenty of scope with premium paid-for packages, this Web Host offers multi-domain hosting, 5 MB Web Space and 1.5 GB Monthly Bandwidth. Bravenet has a number of options available if the free service satisfies but you still want more, and is a well-known name in the industry.AwardSpaceOffering a free service with 250 MB Web Space and 5 GB Monthly bandwidth, this free web host has some impressive numbers. They are also upfront about the limitations of their free service, which includes a limit on outgoing emails, file sizes, and no site builder. However, for the smaller website this host is an excellent option.Agility HosterA free web hosting service, with the option to upgrade to paid personal or business plans, which is another good example of a suitable candidate for polished personal websites and small businesses. Their service includes two domains, 200 MB Web Space and 5 GB Monthly bandwidth, numbers that are not uncommon on paid hosting sites.50megsThere may be a lot of ad placement at 50megs, but that hasn’t stopped the web hosting company offering its services since 1995, and they have had plenty of satisfied customers! As well as their own website templates, users can copy pre-existing sites over to the service. Anyone doing a web search (and others have commented, too) will notice that 50megs and FreeServers both have websites and services that are (ahem!) alike… with 50MB Web Space and 1 GB Monthly bandwidth.

Saving Money on Auto Loans

Like many people around the world, you are living your life on a tight budget. If that is the case, you may have found yourself looking around for the proverbial “best deals” on auto loans. Indeed, there are steps that you can take that will allow you the ability to save money on auto loans. Through this article, you are presented with some useful, tried and true strategies that you can utilized in order to save money on auto loans.Not All Lenders are Created EquallyWhen you are in the market for auto loans, you must take the time to “shop around.” You need to come to a firm and complete understanding that there can be some fairly significant differences in the fees that are charged from one lender to the next. While there might not be a huge difference in interest rates on car loans charged by one lender to the next, the fees that are assessed by the lenders can, at times, be significant.By taking the time to really analyze the market and shop around, you will be able to identify those lenders that charge the lowest in fees and charges. In some instances, these fees can mount up and you need to make sure that you are getting the best deal in this regard.As mentioned a moment ago, the interest rates on different car loans normally do not vary that significantly. However, even a small difference in interest rates on different auto loans can add up over the lifetime of these loans. Therefore, you do want to compare and contrast interest rates as well with an eye to the savings that you can realize over the lifetime of particular auto loans.Visit with Lenders with Whom You Have a Prior RelationshipWhen looking for auto loans, many consumers overlook the obvious: contacting a lender with whom they have had a prior (successful) experience. For example, if you have a home mortgage loan with a particular lender, and if you are current on that loan and have had a satisfactory relationship with that lender, you will want to ascertain if that lender is involved in making car loans.The reality is that many lenders will give you a “better deal” if you have a pre-existing relationship with them. In other words, these lenders offer a lower interest rate on auto loans if you already have another type of loan with that company.Apply Direct for Auto Loans OnlineAnother step that you can take in this day and age when it comes to working to save at least some money on car loans is to apply for loans over the Internet and World Wide Web. An ever increasing number of reputable lenders that specialize in car loans (including auto loans for people with less than perfect credit) have established online venues through which people can make application for financing.Not only is the “apply direct, apply online” process an avenue through which you can save money on auto loans, it also is a very convenient way for your to obtain the financing that you require. Indeed, you can make application for auto loans from the comfort of your very own home in no time at all.