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Reference.org
Abstinence
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<p>Abstinence is the practice of self-enforced restraint from indulging in bodily activities that are widely experienced as giving <a href="/facts/Pleasure/rkU6McmK">pleasure</a>. Most frequently, the term refers to <a href="/facts/Sexual_abstinence/zsNGTYGo">sexual abstinence</a>, but it can also mean abstinence from <a href="/facts/Alcohol_(drug)/IeK2fVd5">alcohol</a>, <a href="/facts/Drug/FFFUI9n4">drugs</a>, <a href="/facts/Food/RgNq6NAK">food</a>, or other comforts. </p><p>Because the regimen is intended to be a <a href="/facts/Conscious_mind/IAxmgt6c">conscious act</a>, freely chosen to enhance life, abstinence is sometimes distinguished from the psychological mechanism of <a href="/facts/Repression_(psychological)/bB30whTK">repression</a>. The latter is an <a href="/facts/Unconscious_mind/BAIRTFMM">unconscious state</a>, having unhealthy consequences. </p>