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Your goal as a parent is to teach your teenagers everything you can about life to prepare them to be respectable and successful adults. This includes talking about relationships with the opposite sex. If you want your child to stay pure before marriage, here are some strategies for talking about abstinence. From there, you have to... more »
When a teen becomes pregnant, it often creates a massive disruption of her school and social life. Barely old enough to take care of herself, she is faced with the dilemma of taking care of another. Due to the consequences of teen pregnancy, parents and teens are urged to educate themselves about teen pregnancy and ways of preventing it. more »
It is really hard for mothers to talk to their daughters about sex. It is very important to express your opinions and feelings about sex with them. more »
Talking to your teenager about sex and drugs isn't always easy. Reading this article will teach you how to talk to your teenager about sex. more »
Birds do it. Bees do it. But how do they know how to make love? Instinct. Humans have it too. It's an inborn instinct to procreate with the ones we love. And that instinct has led to over six billion people on this earth, so it can’t be all that difficult. But if you need a guide on how two people “connect," then here are a few steps... more »
The ninth lunar cycle of Islam's calendar marks Ramadan, a holy month of personal reflection,...
Teens are under enormous peer pressure to try everything from experimenting with drugs to drinking alcohol to having sex before they're mature and... more »
Of all the issues that parents encounter as their teens grow up, teenage relationships can be some of the most difficult to deal with. Raging... more »
Choosing abstinence in undeniably smart these days. Not only do you avoid unwanted pregnancy and the daunting decisions that may bring, but you... more »
If you are in a marriage where your spouse is abusing alcohol you might be feeling angry and frustrated. These feelings can be directed at your... more »
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, reports that nearly... more »
Abstinence is a voluntary restraint from indulging a desire or appetite for certain bodily activities that are widely experienced as giving pleasure. Most frequently, the term refers to abstention from sexual intercourse, alcohol or food. The practice can arise from religious prohibitions or practical considerations.
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".
Abstinence in religion
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 Islam, pre-marital sex is prohibited. Many Christians (as well as other religions) prohibit pre-marital sex as well. Also, Catholics and Orthodox Christians 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. Catholics distinguish between fasting and abstinence; the former referring to the discipline of taking one full meal a day, and read more at » http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abstinence
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