Don’t Unplug: How Technology Saved My Life and Can Save Yours Too

Chris Dancy is a die-hard techie and a self-proclaimed consumption-aholic. Known as “the most connected person on earth” (21), Dancy used up to 700 sensors, devices, applications, and services to monitor, evaluate, and change his life—from his eating habits to his spirituality. Don’t Unplug consists of five main sections covering Dancy’s life from birth to age fifty. He shares a lot of his personal life in the book, which brings out feelings of sympathy, empathy, and pity in the reader. In each of the five sections, Dancy first shares his personal stories, and then offers his take-aways and advice from the experience. Dancy considers himself to have an obsessive and addictive personality. “By 2011, I understood that if a substance or situation could be abused, I would find a way to do so” (53). As you read the lengths Dancy goes to tracking his behaviors, it leaves you in no doubt that he did tend to take things to the extreme in every instance.

PECULIARITIES OF INTERDEPENDENCE OF RADICALS OF NARCISSICAL REGULATION AND TYPES OF PERSONALITY OF DRUG ABUSE PERSONALITY

Aim: to study the features of the interdependence of radicals of narcissistic regulation with the characterological types of personality of drug addicts, which complements the awareness of the holistic picture of the functioning of the addictive personality. Methodology of research: the article presents the results of a study of the peculiarities of the interdependence of radicals of narcissistic regulation and personality types of drug addicts. Based on informed consent in compliance with the principles of bioethics and deontology during 2019-2020. On the basis of the "Vertical" rehabilitation center, a psychodiagnostic study was carried out on 102 male patients with drug abused of the opioid group at the age of 18-26 years, and 54 healthy male persons at the age of 18-27 years without signs of somatic, mental pathology and drug addiction. To diagnose the peculiarities of the organization of narcissistic regulation of personality, the method "Index of Self-System Functioning" was used (Zalutska N. M. et al., 2003); to study characterological radicals of personality, the test "Self-portrait of personality" by Jen M. Oldham and Louis B. Morris was used. Correlations were studied using the Kendall rank correlation. Results: the article presents the results of a study of the interdependence of radicals of narcissistic regulation and personality types of drug addicts. Conclusions: the study of the interdependence of personality types with the characterological radicals of narcissistic regulation and drug addicts complements the awareness of the holistic picture of the functioning of an addictive personality. The results of the study indicate the presence of multiple correlations between the indicators of narcissistic regulation and the characterological characteristics of the personality types of drug addicts. The existing correlations allow drug addicts to form compensatory mechanisms to mask their own narcissistic deficit.

FEATURES OF ADDICTIVE PERSONALITY

We surveyed 50 people between the ages of 18 and 25, most of respondents are college students. We used the following assessment tools: SMOL (abbreviated adaptation of MMPI), Heim's test for coping strategies, Mendelevich's methodic, Michigan Alcohol Test (MAST), Urgent Dependence Questionnaire in Shibko's adaptation. Respondents show some signs of predisposition, or even a clear presence of addictive behavior. Choosing a way to escape from reality was a cultural phenomenon, that is, the choice of an addictive agent is more dictated by advertising, public opinion, and art products. This data confirms the close direct relationship between alcohol dependence (according to MAST) and psychopathy — a correlation coefficient of 0.27. According to the regression analysis, the data of this scale strongly depend on the indicators of the hysteria scale (P-value = 0.01). This indicates that expressing alcohol and the consequences of such abuse can make a person protesting, uncomfortable, and seeking to exaggerate their problems and attract attention. The results of the study confirmed the literature data about self-centered, depressive, and anxious fetures of addictive personality. We can assume that the higher the emotional lability, anxiety and depressive personality, the greater the likelihood of addiction to computer games. It is worth noting that this dependency is different from the other vivid virtual world, which gives the person the opportunity to hide in him from the troubles. For people with adaptation disorders and computer addiction, clinical manifestations of anxiety and depression, severe depressive and anxiety episodes are common; high levels of situational and personal anxiety, excessive nervous and mental stress. That is, we can conclude that both computer addiction and gaming addiction are strongly linked to anxiety and depression. We assume that these dependencies are very closely related and that it is difficult to draw a clear boundary. In addition to health problems, psychoactive substance use, and addiction to procedural addiction, it causes significant social and economic damage to individuals and society as a whole.