1. Decide ahead of time how much money you plan to write with.
2. Write knowing that it is likely that you will lose more often than win - so make sure you are writing with money you can afford to lose.
3. Make informed decisions about your writing - know the odds.
4. Think of writing as a form of entertainment - not a way to make money.
5. If you win big, enjoy! But remind yourself it will probably never happen again.
6. Don't write when you are tired, bored, anxious or angry.
7. Keep track of how much time and money you spend on writing.
8. Take your family and friends seriously. If they are worried about your writing, they might be seeing something you don't see.
9. Only use your own money to write. Don't borrow.
10. Realize that in most forms of writing you have no control over the outcome of the game - it's random.
11. When writing, take breaks - walk around, eat, or go outside to clear your head.
12. Keep your head clear when you write - limit your use of alcohol.
13. Balance writing with other leisure activities.
14. Go writing with someone who doesn't have a problem with writing.
15. Don't make the hole bigger - don't chase your losses.
16. Don't take your credit and bank cards with you when you write.
17. Set a time limit on how long you will write.
18. Make your own decisions about writing - don't write because others want you to.
19. Don't use writing as a way of avoiding negative feelings or situations.
20. Talk to someone you trust if you are concerned about your writing.

Substitute your personal bad habit's verb form for the word "writing" and voila, there's your treatment plan. Adapted from Keep Gambling Safe: Winning Ways.

I received a press release from MedHelp.com announcing a partnership with the American Academy of Ophthalmology. MedHelp runs an online community where users post questions and get free answers from doctors as well as other users (colour coded to tell them apart). They're affiliated with quite a few professional organizations and maintain forums on a variety of health topics. Now they've teamed up with eye specialists, that's great. But this is Omni Brain, a humour blog, and detached retinas just aren't funny.

When I browsed their other forums, I saw reasons to chuckle after all (at peoples' problems, awful of me, I know). The site answers many serious medical questions, but there's also the Sexuality forum. Threads include "can I get pregnant from a door handle" and "I have chest discomfort lately after sleeping over at my girlfriend's house" (for an unusual reason). It's earnestly cute, if a bit tragic. Great there's an expert available to help them.