Abstinence is a voluntary restraint from indulging in bodily activities that are widely experienced as giving pleasure. Most frequently, the term refers to sexual abstinence, or abstention from alcohol or food. The practice can arise from religious prohibitions or practical considerations. Abstinence may also refer to drugs. For example you can abstain from smoking. Abstinence has diverse forms. Commonly it refers to a temporary or partial abstinence from food, as in fasting. In the twelve-step program of Overeaters Anonymous abstinence is the term for refraining from compulsive eating, akin in meaning to sobriety for alcoholics. Because the regimen is intended to be a conscious act, freely chosen to enhance life, abstinence is sometimes distinguished from the psychological mechanism of repression. The latter is an unconscious state, having unhealthy consequences. Freud termed the channeling of sexual energies into other more culturally or socially acceptable activities, "sublimation".
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Abstinence in religion [link]
Abstinence may arise from an ascetic element, present in most faiths, or from a subjective need for spiritual discipline. In its religious context, abstinence is meant to elevate the believer beyond the normal life of desire, to a chosen ideal, by following a path of renunciation.
For Jews, the principal day of fast is Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement.
For Muslims, the period of fasting lasts during the whole month of Ramadan, from dawn to dusk.
Both Jews and Muslims abstain from pork in their regular diet.
In both Christianity and Islam, pre-marital sex is prohibited. Some other religions prohibit pre-marital sex as well.
Also, Catholics abstain from food and drink for an hour prior to taking Holy Communion, and abstain from meat on Ash Wednesday and on Fridays during Lent. Many Traditionalist Catholics abstain all Fridays in the year.
Orthodox Christians abstain from food and drink from midnight on the day they receive Holy Communion, and abstain from meat and dairy on Wednesdays and Fridays throughout the year, as well as during Great Lent.
Catholics distinguish between fasting and abstinence; the former referring to the discipline of taking one full meal a day, and the latter signifying the discipline of eating no meat (fish is allowed).
Some Protestants have preferred to abstain from drinking alcohol and the use of tobacco.
Mormons abstain from certain foods and drinks by combining spiritual discipline with health concerns. Mormons also fast one day a month, for both spiritual and charitable reasons (the money saved by skipping meals is donated to the needy).
The Seventh-day Adventist Church encourages the consumption of only clean meats as specified in Leviticus and strongly discourages the consumption of alcohol, smoking, and the use of narcotics.[1]
In India, Buddhists, Jains, Sikhs, and Hindus abstain from eating meat and fish (basically, all living animals) on the grounds both of health and of reverence for all sentient forms of life. Total abstinence from feeding on the flesh of cows is a hallmark of Hinduism. In addition, lay and monastic Buddhists refrain from killing any living creature and from consuming intoxicants, and bhikkhus keep vows of chastity. In Theravada Buddhism, bhikkhus also refrain from eating in the afternoon, and cannot accept money.
In medicine [link]
In medicine, abstinence is the discontinuation of a drug, often an addictive one. This might, in addition to craving after the drug, be expressed as withdrawal syndromes. Abstinence from smoking is also recommended for those who undertake or have recently undertaken cosmetic surgery. The American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) said about this issue, in a paper about smoking and its effects on cosmetic surgery,
Total absistence from smoking during the peri-operative period still remains the best course of management in order to reduce the negative effects of smoking on wound healing and propensity towards skin necrosis.[2]
Types of abstinence [link]
Food [link]
Fasting is primarily the act of willingly abstaining from some or all food, drink, or both, for a period of time. A fast may be total or partial concerning that from which one fasts, and may be prolonged or intermittent as to the period of fasting. Fasting practices may preclude sexual activity as well as food, in addition to refraining from eating certain types or groups of foods; for example, one might refrain from eating meat. A complete fast in its traditional definition is abstinence of all food and liquids except for water.
Vegetarianism is the practice of a diet that excludes meat (including game and slaughter by-products; fish, shellfish and other sea animals; and poultry).[3][4] There are several variants of the diet, some of which also exclude eggs and/or some products produced from animal labour such as dairy products and honey.
Sexual [link]
Sexual abstinence is the practice of voluntarily refraining from some or all aspects of sexual activity. Common reasons for practicing sexual abstinence include:
- religious or philosophical reasons
- material reasons (to prevent undesired pregnancy or STD transmission)
- psycho-sociological reasons (e.g., clinical depression, social anxiety disorder, increasing testosterone in males, or negative past experiences)
- legal injunctions requiring conformity
Tobacco smoking [link]
Smoking cessation is the action leading towards the discontinuation of the consumption of a smoked substance, mainly tobacco, but it may encompass cannabis and other substances as well.
Alcohol [link]
Teetotalism is the practice and promotion of complete abstinence from alcoholic beverages.
Some common reasons for choosing teetotalism are religious, health, family, philosophical and/or social reasons, and, sometimes, as simply a matter of taste preference. When at drinking establishments, they either abstain from drinking or consume non-alcoholic beverages such as tea, coffee, water, juice, and soft drinks.
Contemporary and colloquial usage has somewhat expanded teetotalism to include strict abstinence from most "recreational" intoxicants (legal and illegal, see controlled substances). Most teetotaller organizations also demand from their members that they do not promote or produce alcoholic intoxicants.
Pleasure [link]
A general abstinence from pleasures or leisures, either partial or full, may be motivated by ambition, career or general self-respect (excluding the point of view that even the latter examples may be regarded as sources of pleasure).
It is widely accepted that abstinence from addictive drugs gives successful outcome[citation needed] . However, it is not certain whether a general abstinence from pleasures of leisure yields higher productivity. Too much work generates stress and its potential adverse effects. Furthermore, the effort itself to achieve abstinence may consume willpower from its ultimate purpose. Total abstinence from pleasure or leisure is practically impossible and instead an individual work-life balance is necessary.
See also [link]
References [link]
- ^ "Fundamental Beliefs". 2005. Archived from the original on 10 March 2006. https://www.adventist.org/beliefs/fundamental/index.html. Retrieved 2006-03-07.
- ^ Jewell, M.D., Mark L. (February 2007). "Smoking and Plastic Surgery". ASPS Patient Consultation Resource Book (ASPS). https://www.khouryplasticsurgery.com/download/Smoking_and_Plastic_Surgery.pdf. Retrieved 2008-07-13.
- ^ "The Vegetarian Society - Definitions Information Sheet". The Vegetarian Society. https://www.vegsoc.org/info/definitions.html. Retrieved 2008-09-03.
- ^ "Vegetaria". Compact Oxford English Dictionary. https://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/vegetarian?. Retrieved 2008-06-15. "a person who does not eat meat for moral, religious, or health reasons. ['meat' is defined as 'the flesh of an animal as food']"
Organizations [link]
- Alcoholics Anonymous
- Pagans In Recovery
- Narcotics Anonymous
- Rehabilitation for Addicted Prisoners Trust (RAPT)
Other related topics [link]
External links [link]
"Abstinence". Collier's New Encyclopedia. 1921.- "Abstinence". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). 1911.
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Abstinence (band)
Abstinence is an experimental industrial music project founded in 1985 in Belmar, New Jersey, USA, now based in Brooklyn. Its sound ranges from bombastic to noise, ambient soundtrack to industrial music and uses video/audio dialog and sound samples.
Since 1982, Abstinence has created experimental industrial music that follows in the traditions of the Beats, the Dada movement, the Futurism movement, punk rock, the origins of industrial music, the freedom of the experimental art movement and the human rights art movement.
Abstinence utilizes tunnels, decommissioned military bases, warehouses, bathrooms, abandoned buildings, basements, freeway underpasses and various indoor/outdoor environments as sound laboratories to create unique soundscapes that coalesce with power tools, a variety of traditional analog / digital instrumentation and percussion.
Discography
Full length albums and EPs
Abstinence (psychoanalysis)
Abstinence or the rule of abstinence is the principle of analytic reticence and/or frustration within a clinical situation. It is a central feature of psychoanalytic theory - relating especially to the handling of the transference in analysis.
As Freud wrote in 1914,
Later formulations
The validity of the abstinence principle has been rediscovered and re-affirmed in a variety of subsequent analytic traditions.
Ice pop
An ice pop is a water-based frozen snack. It is also referred to as a popsicle (Canada, U.S.), freeze pop (Ireland, U.S.), ice lolly (United Kingdom, Ireland), ice block, icy pole (parts of Australia and New Zealand), or chihiro (Cayman Islands). It is made by freezing flavored liquid (such as fruit juice) around a stick, generally resembling a tongue depressor. Often, the juice is colored artificially. Once the liquid freezes solid, the stick can be used as a handle to hold the ice pop. When an ice pop does not have a stick, it is called, among other names, a freezie.
History
Frank Epperson of Oakland, California, popularized ice pops after patenting the concept of "frozen ice on a stick" in 1923. He initially called it the Epsicle. A couple of years later, Epperson sold the rights to the invention and the Popsicle brand to the Joe Lowe Company in New York City.
Epperson claimed to have first created an ice pop in 1905 at the age of 11 when he accidentally left a glass of powdered soda and water with a mixing stick in it on his porch during a cold night, a story printed on the back panel of Popscicle brand treat boxes in the 80's and 90's. However, the evidence for this is scant.
Popsicle (brand)
Popsicle is a North American brand of ice pop by Unilever, and a genericized trademark for any type of ice pop, due to its popularity.
History
In 1905 in Oakland, California, 11-year-old Frances William "Frank" Epperson (1894-1983) was mixing a white powdered flavoring for soda and water out on the porch. He left it there, with a stirring stick still in it. That night, temperatures reached a record low, and the next morning, the boy discovered the drink had frozen to the stick, inspiring the idea of a fruit-flavored 'Popsicle'. In 1922, he introduced the frozen treat at a fireman's ball. It was a sensation. In 1923, Epperson sold the frozen pop on a stick to the public at Neptune Beach, an amusement park in Alameda, California. Seeing that it was a success, in 1924 Epperson applied for a patent for his "frozen confectionery" which he called "the Epsicle ice pop". He renamed it to Popsicle, allegedly at the insistence of his children.
It was originally available in seven flavors and marketed as a "frozen drink on a stick." The form is unique, with a wooden stick going through the ice to create a handle. The stick, similar in shape and size to a disposable tongue depressor, with round ends used as a handle became as well known as the treat, commonly used as a craft-stick for craft projects by children and adults.
Popsicle (song)
"Popsicle" is a song written by Buzz Cason, and Bobby Russell for the American rock band Jan & Dean. The song was originally released on their 1963 album, Drag City. After Jan Berry's near fatal car accident near Dead Man's Curve, Dean Torrence had one last effort to save Jan & Dean's name and released the song on a new album with the title track of Popsicle with all previously released songs. Popsicle was then released as a single with the B side being a remake of the The Beatle's, "Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)". "Popsicle" hit as high as 21 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the later half of 1966 when it was rereleased as a single.
