Addiction Counselling London
Central London, Camden, Kings Cross, London NW1
Glen Gibson - Dip. Counselling, MA Psychotherapy, Dip. Psychotherapy
UKCP & mBACP Accredited Male Addiction Counsellor & Psychotherapist

Online Chat Addiction, Text Chat Room Addiction & Internet Dating Addiction Counselling London

Internet Chat Addiction, Internet Romance, Internet Affairs When using chatrooms this allows us to be, explore our different "me's", alter egos. Text chat, online chatting provides fresh and different ways to contact others, communicate and be heard. Our chat room activities offer us the ability to chat and connect with anyone around the world, however we want to, even anonymously. Internet forums, chatrooms and specialist websites can be useful way to find others whose interests are similar. Bored or curious, simply wanting to contact others, or wanting connection, excitement, escape or fantasy, we may turn to online chat rooms with our secret and are able to temporarily live an alternative lifestyle, where we can hide our identity, be different. We may enjoy text chatting, flirting or have developed a limerent, emotional affair with someone. Believing we are anonymous we may behave in less inhibitive ways. Forums or (virtual) chatting online can provide us with an escape from reality and be a place when we can lower inhibitions, or increase a sense of intimacy. Online social networking sites and the brevity of messages may feed our chat room addiction. The internet can be a valuable and healthy way to meet men and women, and use internet dating. In cyber relationships the element of risk, (e.g. rejection) is reduced and we may feel safer. However, some of us may struggle with our offline interactions. Constantly online chatting may point to our need for approval, affirmation, reassurance, recognition, validation, appreciation, praise, permission and confirmation. Looking after our own needs may be a challenge.

Text Chat Addiction, Online Chat Addiction We may experience internet chatting as our "treat", an enjoyable, safe and harmless way of relating with others through words, images, emojis ☺, etc. - and many times it is. Yet, some of us may become unable to stop turning to online chat rooms as if it consumes us, and after a while can become addictive, affecting our moods especially if people don't reply or respond quickly enough. We may also worry about our text chat addiction, mobile use. We can get a heightened adrenaline "rush" through the flurries of exchanges. Things can get whipped up into a frenzy, and we may struggle to restrain things. We may hide the extension of what we do from others. Seeking connection, ironically we may feel disconnected inside. Maybe socially awkward, our chatroom addiction may have begun to replace real life friendships and family. Things may have got out of balance. We may be worried about the amount of time we are spending with online chat, internet chat, cyber chat or internet dating - whatever label we give to it: online chat addiction, online chatting addiction, chatline addiction, internet chat addiction. When overused, the time we are spending chatting online may be interfering with our relationship or marriage, other social relationships, work, health and other aspects. Preoccupied by our cyber chat activities, we may have tried unsuccessfully to cut down our internet chatting usage, yet we remain online longer than we really want to (maybe even kidding us or others about the amount of time we spend online). When obsessively online chatting, we may have a rigid relating state or have become lost at times, as if we were in trance. Some may call our problem internet chat room addiction, even though we are relating with others online. Others may simply view it as a compulsive behaviour, not a chat addiction. Either way we may be seeking text chat addiction help.

Questioning What We've Got Into Some of us may be living a kind of parallel life. Hooked, we can't now stop internet chats, as if our online chat behaviour has an addictive edge. Things could have become more serious than we had intended. It can be exciting when the online relationship becomes like an emotional affair. If we don't get a response, we can miss the "rush", and it can seem as if getting the "rush" can be more important than seeing the person themselves. Drawn in, we can build up an attachment to someone we may, or may not, have met, as the relationship becomes intense. Sexual chatting, images, exchanges may be frequent (see Sexualised Text Chat Conversations, Images). We may become caught up with a particular person, as the internet chat develops into an amorous, flirtatious or sexual encounter. At times we may forget that they (or even we) are real and become disinhibited in what we say, show. For some this is not a problem, yet others may have become lost, questioning whether their online chat room experience is fantasy, real or both. We may try to hold on to a fantasy of our own making and want to believe it - maybe seeing what we want to see. We can share things we wouldn't dream of sharing elsewhere. Messages sent or received can be misconstrued and we may analyse every word. We can read into the meaning, yet intention, tone of the written words, moods and nuances can be misinterpreted. If we don't get a quick enough response, then we may perceive them as not listening or uncaring. We may wonder if they, and indeed us, have taken on an online persona. They are there, yet not there. A part of us may want to keep the fantasy a fantasy, yet another part of us may want to make it more real. Conjecture can play a big part. "Who are they really?", "What is real?" and "What am I really doing?" we may consider. Wondering what our online friend is thinking whether they are genuine or checking up online social network sites may consume us, especially if this person in our life has a patterns of disappearing, vanishing, ghosting. Shutting other things out, we may have difficulty concentrating. Embroiled, we (and others) can behave online so differently. We may be in emotional turmoil and project onto others our own thoughts, hopes, desires, imagination with someone we don't actually know. Our chat addiction may creep up on us and, like Pandora's box, affect us and others, as we struggle to take a pause, reflect on our emotions.

Meeting Someone Online Through Text Chat, Internet Chat, Internet Dating, Dating Apps Despite all our online activity we may be lonely inside, wanting to escape the world we experience as alienating or pressurised, fill a gap, so we enter into our own world of chat, dating. Caught in our "internet chatroom addiction" we may have begun to question what we've got into, using online chat as a distraction. "What to do?", "What if?" may be questions we have. Continuously texting, phoning, emailing, we may become worried when we don't hear from our online friend, getting anxious if the gap seems too long, not knowing what to do. Pretending to be someone online, with a fake identity, catfishing can occur, or disinhibiting behaviours, where there is little or no online restraint. We may have concerns that if we meet, we become more real. Creating scenarios in our head, we may fall in love with people we have only met online, whose personalities are a mystery (see also Love Addiction, Romance Addiction & Obsessive Love). Our "internet chat rooms addiction" may have developed to text chatting, talking on the phone, or be building up to meeting. The experience of online chats can have an intensity and quality very different to that of our relationships off line. This is especially so if we are also in a flesh and blood relationship, which we may be neglecting, sabotaging and it can be as if we are living parallel lives, a different person online (see also Improving Our Self-Image, Exploring Our Alternative Selves - Our Alter Egos). Letting down our guard, the level of intimacy we are sharing in our online chats may compete with the intimate relationship with our partner and may have become obsessive. We may question how else we can respond to our drives, urges, impulses, passion, need for connection. By now we may wonder if we are addicted to text chat, have a text chatroom addiction. A little out of control or disinhibited, we may experience guilt, dilemmas, and want to discuss these in counselling and psychotherapy.

Sexualised Text Chat Conversations, Images Lacking or needing sexual relating and interactions in our off-line life or primary relationship, we may turn to sexualised chat, because we feel a gap inside. Flirting, sexual chatting, images, phone sex, web-camming may become a regular part of what we do, and it can feel like we are going around in a spiral, caught up in something as if we are unaware of the impact of what we say (see also Over-Talking, Floodlighting, Oversharing - Balance Between Withholding Or Sharing All Our Thoughts, Over-Talking, Oversharing, Floodlighting - Whether Or Not To Share Our Feelings). A part of us may enjoy this exploration, yet another part may feel uncomfortable, ashamed or guilty. We may question what is appropriate. The online relationship may become sexual (cybersex), turning into a cyberaffair, online affair (see also Seeing Someone Else, Affairs, Infidelity, Cheating In Our Relationship).

Online Dating Addiction, Internet Dating Addiction We may enjoy the immediacy of quick fix social apps, dating apps, flicking from one image to the next in order to connect. Some may be content with fantasy and flirtation, hanging around with no intention of taking the relationship further - breadcrumbing or ghosting. Others may be dissatisfied with keyboard communication (where we get anxious because we don't receive a quick reply and words get misconstrued as all sorts of scenarios develop in our head), and may turn to the fantasy or reality of meeting in the flesh. Some may turn to chatlines, internet dating for casual sex and now be questioning if we are addicted to internet dating, have an addiction to online dating For some people "internet dating", having casual sex is a rewarding experience, offering a chance to explore and experiment with our sexuality. For others it presents problems, concerns or a sense of alienation, especially if we are in an existing relationship or marriage or are searching for a meaningful relationship. And these concerns can be brought to counselling. Some of us may struggle to integrate our sexuality with other parts of our lives, so it is less compartmentalised. Others when dating online may find love elusive. By now we may have what is termed an online dating addiction or internet dating addiction (see also Love Addiction, Romance Addiction & Obsessive Love).

Questions About Counselling For Online Chatting Addiction, Chat Site Addiction

• Am I an online chatting addict?
• How does counselling for chat sites addiction help?
• How else can I respond to my online chatroom addiction?
• Have I got a text chat addiction?
• Can counselling help with my text chat addiction?

Range Of Unhelpful Habits, Distractions, Addictions Counselling London

Alcohol Problem

• Binge drinking, alcohol problem, alcoholism, alcohol addiction, being an alcoholic

Internet, Computer, Technology & Communication "Addiction"

• Sex Addiction - Pornography Problem, Porn Addiction, Online Sex, Internet Sex & Cybersex Addiction, Masturbation Addiction
• Online Chat Addiction, Text Chat Room Addiction & Internet Dating Addiction Counselling London
• Technology Addiction & Gadget Addiction Counselling London
• Internet Overuse, Internet Addiction & Computer Addiction
• Mobile Addiction Counselling In London, Email, Text, Telephone Addiction, Nomophobia
• Social Media Addiction Counselling London
• Addicted To Games - Computer Games Addiction, Online Games Addiction, Video Game Addiction & Computer Gaming Addiction Help

Other Obsessions, Compulsions Or "Addictions"

• Stress Eating, Emotional Eating, Comfort Eating, Binge Eating Help, Compulsive Eating Counselling, Food Addiction Therapy
• Fitness, Gym & Exercise Addiction
• Compulsive Shopping, Compulsive Spending, Shopping Addiction & Shopaholism - Shopaholics, Shopping Addicts, Addicted To Buying, Online Auction Addiction, Credit Card Addiction
• Gambling Problems, Compulsive Gambling, Online Gambling Addiction
• Money Obsessed - Addicted To Money, Money Addiction, Money Obsession, Trading Addiction, Counselling London
• Work-Life Balance, Workaholism, Addicted To Work & Work Addiction
• Busyness addiction, addiction to activities
• Worry addiction
• Perfectionism Counselling London
• Addicted to beauty, glamour
• Approval addiction
• Addicted to self criticism, self-blame
• Addiction to fixing others, addicted to pleasing others
• Romance addiction, love addiction, serial yet uncommitted relationships, addiction to conflict, bad relationships
• Addictive Element To Certain Attachment Styles
• Caretaking, codependency
• Emotional affairs, limerence
• Emotional addiction
• Addiction to talking
• Addicted to gossip
• Addicted to dramas
• Addicted to anger
• Addiction to shame, self-blame
• Addiction to pain, suffering
• Addicted to sleep
• Procrastination
• Clutter, messiness
• Addiction to spirituality
• Addicted to meditation
• Religious Activities - Obsession With Religion, Religious Addiction

... back to Unwanted Habits & Addictions Counselling London