A group of psychologists are lobbying to get internet addiction added to the next edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.

 Like other addicts, users reportedly experience cravings (for better software, faster machines), withdrawal (logging off may cause irritability), a loss of sense of time (wee-hour fixes), and negative social repercussions (it’s so much easier to date an avatar). Sound familiar? Your friend the World Wide Web may be a monkey on your back. Or not. Just ask yourself this: If Google were a drug, would I smoke it? [Wired]

I may have a problem. Let’s see, I spend much of my day searching the web for blog ideas, blog photos, blog links, plus an additional few hours actually blogging, not to mention my multiple MySpace/Facebook/Gchat breaks…I wonder if I can go to virtual rehab? Ya know, join some sort of online internet addict group chat therapy program? I found the site netaddiction.com which in fact has an “internet addict” message board. Sooooo, what if one becomes obsessed with logging onto the message board? Ah irony.If you or someone you know does have any kind of addiction, takepart and visit Psychology Today for addiction help resources and information.

Tatum O’Neal was arrested on drug charges in her Manhattan apartment Sunday night. New York City Police said they had found bags of cocaine and crack cocaine in the 44 year old actress’s possession at the time of the arrest. Police Reports indicate O’Neal initiallly told NYPD Officers that she was doing research for an upcoming film part. Also arrested was 33 year old Allen Garcia who is believed possibly to be O’Neal’s dealer.

Tatum O’Neal was the youngest actress in the history of the Academy Awards to win an Oscar, having taken home the prize for Best Supporting Actress for “Paper Moon” in which she co-starred with her father Ryan O’Neal when she was 10 years old. Since then she has appeared in such films as “The Bad News Bears”, “International Velvet” and “Basquiat” along with numerous television appearances including “Sex and the City”, “Law & Order: Criminal Intent” and “Rescue Me”.

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The latest VH1 reality creation, Celebrity Rehab follows a group of celebs living together at an addiction counseling center and being treated by Dr. Drew Pinsky (best known from Love Line).

Is public addiction treatment a good idea? Dr. Drew Pinsky certainly believes so

Dr. Drew has also said

the media has a moral responsibility to start reporting on celebrity drug abuse in the wake of the shocking drug-related death of actor Heath Ledger and the drug-addled travails of pop star Britney Spears.We have a saying in the addiction field: `You’re as sick as your secrets’.Secrets keep addicts ill and cost lives. Families that have addicted members learn to operate with secrecy. And Hollywood is operating, and the media with them, like a sick family. If this secrecy hadn’t been maintained, Heath Ledger could be alive today.”

While keeping addiction secrets is indeed harmful, is exposing them in on-air group therapy the best way to curing these addicts?

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How would you like to be vaccinated from addiction to drugs, cigarettes, alcohol, and even foods that are bad for you? In labs around the globe, researchers are working on developing just that.

Dr. Fran Vocci of the National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA) says that they are close to a year away from creating a vaccine against cocaine that could help millions of abusers kick their addiction. Another similar vaccine named TA-CD, developed by husband and wife team Dr. Kosten and Dr. Kosten at the Baylor College of Medicine has seen early successful clinical trials against cocaine use. They’re currently seeking FDA approval to conduct a 300 person study in six cities.

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