There is a series on Netflix now called Love, that is a Judd Apatow romantic comedy about a socially awkward man in his 30s trying to date a smart, successful, and beautiful woman in her 30s. She also happens to be a recovering sex and alcohol addict. I’ll admit that some parts of this show are a bit offensive, crude, raunchy and do show explicit sexual and drug activity. So, I am not sure I would recommend this show to everyone. However, beneath the sex jokes and drug activity is a true love story about two incredibly flawed but decent human beings trying to stay open to the possibility of a loving and have a healthy relationship…even though one is a recovering sex and drug addict and her boyfriend has problems with codependency.

One of the reasons I like this show is that is highlights what codependency looks like in a romantic relationship. Essentially, codependency is when you are putting the needs of someone else above your own needs to the point where it is harming you physically, emotionally, or psychologically. One scene in Love that depicts this perfectly is when the woman, who is recently sober, is about to take some hallucinogenic mushrooms. Right as she is putting the mushrooms up to her mouth, her boyfriend grabs all of them from her and ingests them himself to prevent her from taking them. This is an extreme example of codependency because he is putting his girlfriend’s need to stay sober above his own need to stay sober and healthy by ingesting the drugs himself (and getting high) so she will not take the drugs. Throughout the show, we watch the struggle that ensues between the two of them as he tries to rescue her at his own expense, and how that causes strain, distance, and resentment between the two of them. If this sounds like a familiar pattern for you and you think you could benefit from relationship counseling, please visit https://www.regain.us for more information.

This show and above scene highlights just how complex and damaging codependent relationships can be. On the surface it may appear that one partner may be always trying to do something nice or helpful for the other partner. This has traditionally appeared in relationships with addicts where one partner who is sober will enable the other partner who is an addict by providing them money to support their drug addiction or a place to stay when they are using drugs or hung over. However, codependent relationships don’t have to involve a partner with a drug addiction.

Codependent relationships can occur in any relationship when one partner is constantly sacrificing their wants and needs to support some sort of unhealthy behavior in another partner and that is causing harm to the partner who is sacrificing their needs. This can begin with seemingly ‘nice’ gestures such as constantly staying up later than you want to watch TV or talk to your partner, only to wake up the next day feeling extra tired and not getting a good night’s sleep. Another example may be when a partner stops engaging in their own interests, self-care activities, career opportunities, or hanging out with their other friends, in order to spend excessive time with their romantic partner who demands unreasonable amounts of time from their partner. Thus, any time we are constantly and consistently giving more of ourself than we have to give for another person, we may be engaging in codependent behavior.

This can have potentially harmful physical, emotional, and psychological impacts on the person who is engaging in codependent behavior. What started out as ‘being nice’ can actually lead to increased resentment and a person neglecting their own needs, or not being willing to take a look at their own problems. This often may start off as denying smaller needs such as sleeping less, avoiding time doing activities that are enjoyable, or spending less time with friends and family for the sake of the romantic relationship. However, over time this can build up into more extreme codependent behaviors that have much greater harmful effects such as lending more money to a partner than you can not afford, giving up your own career ambitions for your partner, having clinical depression and anxiety because of the strain of the relationship, and also losing your sense of self or identity.

One of the most important preventative measures to avoid codependent relationships are to take the following measures…

1. When you are in a relationship identify your own needs (e.g., sleep, time alone, time with other friends and family, self-care) and determine whether you can meet your needs if you are in a relationship with that person.

2. Practice setting boundaries early on in a relationship and see if your partner will respect your boundaries. For example, tell your partner you need to go to sleep early and see if they understand and allow you to go to sleep early.

3. Know that you are worthy and deserve to be loved and accepted for exactly who you are without having to change yourself for your partner or for the sake of the relationship.

Love and Light,
Matthew Welsh
Founder of Spiritual Media Blog

A study from Business Insider found that 14% of us admit to streaming TV shows illegally – although the true figure is thought to be higher. Most illegal TV streaming sites can be easily found with a quick Google search. This convenience is what draws most people to illegal streaming. However, there are lots of negatives to using these sites that most of us don’t consider. Here are just a few…

It costs the TV show creators money

You could argue that TV show producers and actors aren’t exactly financially struggling. And on an individual basis, one person illegally streaming isn’t going to make a big difference. However, lots of people illegally streaming can have effects on profits that can affect people further down the chain.

You could get in legal trouble

The risk of getting caught may seem slim streaming illegally may seem slim – and indeed it is. You may even wonder who would bother taking action against an illegal streamer. Haven’t law authorities got better things to do?

Well, whilst the police are unlikely raid your home for illegal streaming, cases of production companies suing illegal viewers and file sharers are on the rise as this article https://torrentfreak.com/first-popcorn-time-pirates-settle-with-movie-studio-151018/ shows. Whilst these production companies know that they can’t sue everyone, they’re now taking steps to make examples of certain people. Settlements usually come to around $3000, with some even exceeding $14,000. Compare this to the meagre cost of a few dollars to rent out such a TV show or stream it on a legal platform.

You could be putting yourself at risk of viruses

Illegal streams and file shares can often put you at risk of viruses like malware. In fact, research covered by Wired discovered that almost half of illegal sports streams show malicious ads.

Whilst some of these viruses may only apply to computer owners and may do nothing but slow down your PC, many are more dangerous and could put you at risk of data theft. New viruses are constantly being developed to target smartphone users and smart TV owners. Opting to stream legally could save you from these security risks.

The quality is poorer

Quite often the quality of these streams is sub-par. It’s not uncommon for TV shows to be uploaded in grainy quality or for the end of the programme to be cut off. You may even come across illegal streams that are completely the wrong programme or have been uploaded in a different language.

When legally streaming a TV show, you know that you’re getting the best version available. You don’t have the hassle of searching for good quality. Neither do you have to put up with the frustration of watching a programme only or the end to be cut off.

What to do instead?

There are plenty of legal streaming platforms out there. One of the biggest platforms is Netflix, which you can sign up to here https://netflixupdate.com/netflix-customer-service-phone-number/. These platforms can not only give you a wide selection of shows to stream, but they can also recommend you other shows to watch.

Meanwhile, for those TV shows that aren’t available on streaming platforms, why not buy or rent them? DVD box sets still have many perks, including behind the scenes extras and other bonus features. Some can even be good investment, with many limited edition box sets from yesteryear now worth a lot more than their original sale value.

You can also buy these TV shows online. The likes of Amazon also offer the chance to rent many TV shows. Rentals are often much cheaper than buying TV shows and may allow you a taster so that you don’t end up buying a whole series that isn’t for you.

Then of course, there are lots of cable TV options. Whilst mainstream ones may be pricier, there could be other less known versions that are cheaper and worth trying.

“Game of Thrones With Epic Fireworks” (CC BY 2.0) by EpicFireworks

Game of Thrones is one of the biggest television shows in the world. The seventh season of the American fantasy drama series has just concluded, and the popularity of the show remains as big as ever. Based on George R. R. Martin’s series of fantasy novels, A Song of Ice and Fire, Game of Thrones has captured the imagination of the public all over the world. It is truly a global phenomenon, a show for all ages for all people wherever they are. What is enamouring about Game of Thrones is that despite having several plot lines and subplots, there are three primary story arcs which bind them all together.

Viewership for Game of Thrones has rocketed over the years. In the UK, almost 5 million viewers tuned in to watch the first episode of the seventh season within the first week. That is way more than the number of viewers of The Big Bang Theory – the biggest sitcom in the world – in the UK last year and around 3 million more than the number of people who watched The Walking Dead in 2016 on Fox in the United Kingdom.

In the USA, as many as 30 million watched the season premiere of Game of Thrones across all platforms. In Asia, too, Game of Thrones has increased in popularity over the years. The first episode of season seven saw an increase of 50% in Singapore and 47% in the Philippines. In India, one of the biggest markets in the world in terms of TV consumption, the first episode of the penultimate season of Game of Thrones was watched by just over 16 million people.

“Game of Thrones Dragon” (Public Domain) by OnTheWeb

One of the main reasons why Game of Thrones is so popular around the world is the superb acting of the cast members and the immersive scenery and locations. Despite being a show made by American giants HBO, shootings take place all over the planet and in countries including the United Kingdom, Iceland, Malta and Morocco. The complexity of the characters and the acting skills of the cast members have been instrumental in making the series so endearing to the critics and the fans alike. Another reason why Game of Thrones has been so well received by the public is the cameo roles played by global celebrities. English singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran made an appearance in season 7 and so did New York Mets star Noah Syndergaard, while well-known English film director, editor and screenwriter Neil Marshall made an appearance in season four.

The massive global popularity of Game of Thrones has led to merchandise being sold to fans. Just like for a sports team, GOT fans simply love to get hands on merchandise and memorabilia of the show. Fans of the show can now get T-shirts, drinkware and mugs among other merchandise items. They can also play video games based on the series. Mount & Blade: Warband and Crusader Kings II: A Game of Thrones are two of the more popular video games based on the series. There are also online slots offering that’s officially licensed by Game of Thrones, which makes use of the characters and music of the show. There’s no doubt that such games and merchandise has in turn made the series bigger, more popular, more fun and more relevant to people’s lives.

It has already been announced that season eight of Game of Thrones will be the final one of the series. The season will premiere in 2018 or 2019, and the fans of the show must be eagerly waiting in anticipation. Going strong for eight years is quite a feat for any television series in this day and age, with competition for viewership so fierce, especially with the ever increasing rise in popularity of online streaming services such as Netflix and Amazon Prime Video. One suspects that there will be spinoff series after Game of Thrones ends in 2018 or 2019, which is only going to keep the fans happy and keep them close to the action. There are talks of as many as four scripts in development, and this underlines just how far-sighted the makers of Game of Thrones are.