Addiction

[aoEAF2FBvC0MIo2Q 3,673]

If it isn't something that has afflicted ourselves then maybe it has afflicted people you know. It could also be simultaneous where you have friends who also have some kind of addiction. A place to tell your story about it.

 

It's important to know that this is way broader than drugs or substance abuse in general. It can also be a habit that one continues to do against one's better judgment. Like choosing to do something seemingly irrelevant while there is something much more important that needs to be worked on like exams. That said, you also have addiction to video games, the internet or even dangerous activities.

 

As for myself, I've been some kind of addict for just about as long as I can remember. Before I got hooked on the internet, it was video games. There were a lot of things I would brush off so I could play and continue playing. If left without interference, I could play for about 6 hours straight, neglecting my parents, family and even my own physical needs. Fortunately there were plenty of interference. I did do well in school though. In fact, for a long time I had been one of the best students in my classes. If I didn't play, I'd get bored, and I couldn't stand boredom.

 

Here's where I'd like you to stop and think for a moment. "Boredom". "I'm bored". In the English language, "to bore" is a verb meaning to create a hole in something. When you say "I'm bored", you're also kinda saying that a hole's been created in you. In essence, it is a feeling of emptiness or feeling hollow but most of us don't really recognize it as such, do we?

 

Continuing. Most of that addiction is the internet nowadays. Whether it's browsing forums, chatting over Skype, looking up articles or anything irrelevant, I've caught myself staying on against my better judgment.

 

Much about addiction is to hide away or to distract oneself from one's pain or emptiness. Could be one, the other or both. Maybe emptiness itself is painful... Whatever it is I am addicted to, it's hard to stop because that feeling or illusion of fulfillment is only temporary and wears off rather quickly...

 

So what's your story?

[Zygen 6,066]

I'm not sure if I'm addicted exactly to anything for sure, I guess I spend a whole ton of time on the Internet at times, and at times on video games(I can spend 8 hours play video games depending) but im not sure if say its totally because I dont have the ability to quit, it's just there's nothing better to do normally.

[Raiden21 804]

My family has a bad history of addiction but the chain broke as I have never been addicted to anything. When I was young I used to play videogames for hours with my cousins but who doesn't do that.

[Ruddboy Olaf 10,628]

Sorry nothing.

Edited July 23 by Ruddboy Olaf

[aoEAF2FBvC0MIo2Q 3,673]

I'm not sure if I'm addicted exactly to anything for sure, I guess I spend a whole ton of time on the Internet at times, and at times on video games(I can spend 8 hours play video games depending) but im not sure if say its totally because I dont have the ability to quit, it's just there's nothing better to do normally.

Th question is, when it becomes necessary to quit, can you? If you're able to follow your better judgment and quit when needed, then you are not really addicted. If you can't stop even when it means going against your better judgment, then you are.

[Twilight Circuits 603]

Addictions are really fascinating things. I should know, I smoke cigarettes. One might say alot of things are wrong with smoking. But i love to smoke, and the key word is love. In those few minutes I love to think and ponder (which i've always said is important btw) It's like I enjoy and revel in how various forms of energy keep transforming into something else and effecting my energy on various levels all at the same time. It just feels kinda magical to me sometimes. Well, i'd probably also add that if Satan were real, then i'd just smile and say, "thanks buddy! How'd you know i'd need em?" hehehehehe

[HunterTSN 1,444]

I'm addicted to Steam Powered Giraffe

 

Actually in all serious I can't say I'm truly addicted to anything, occasionally I'll get hooked on a book and I can't think about anything else until I finish it. But honestly There isn't really anything I could live without (excluding Steam Powered Giraffe and regular checkups from my technician.)

[Malao 27]

I personally think that the word "Addiction" has been so overused that it's become little more than a buzzword. You can really, really like a game, but that doesn't mean you're addicted to it. Don't get me wrong, addiction isn't a totally non-applicable term. Heroin, Crack and other such drugs are extremely addictive to the point where the person feels they absolutely need it. Let me clarify through a dictionary definition like a true nerd.

 

ad·dict·ed

/əˈdiktid/

1. Physically and mentally dependent on a particular substance, and unable to stop taking it without incurring adverse effects.
2. Enthusiastically devoted to a particular thing or activity.

 

This is ripped straight from Google, just so you know.

 

While number two is applicable in the game sense, number one is what most people think when they hear about addiction. Would you really say that you're "Physically and mentally dependent" on a game? Would you say that you are "unable to stop taking it without incurring adverse effects"?
 

"No, of course not!" I hear probably 98% of you say. When it comes to games and music, waaaaay more people would say that they are "Enthusiastically devoted" to it. Using this definition, you could be addicted to anything you like, from a hobby like YouTube to a show like MLP to a job you really like.

 

TL;DR, most people think of definition 1 (listed above) when the writer or speaker really means definition 2. Definition 2 is SIGNIFICANTLY less dangerous and is nothing to be worried about.

 

This is also a fun way to tie together reasons why Video Game Addiction isn't an epidemic. Video Game Devotion is.

Edited May 23, 2013 by Malao

[Rainbow Sherbet 36]

I used to be really addicted to the internet.   Thankfully I've gotten over that addiction. 

 

Uhh.. I guess that you could call me addicted to Youtube now. I love so many Youtubers and I don't think that I could go a day without watching at least one Youtube video. And music. I definitely couldn't go a day without music. 

[Away 2,077]

Do ponies count? Lol. It all started with one video. I was watching a Call of Duty video on Youtube but ponies were being referenced in it a lot. However, I didn't really pay much attention to it and kept watching the video. Then, I look at the comments and a lot of them kept saying 'Applejack'. I figured this was a reference to something, so I typed 'Applejack' in the search bar. I clicked on the first video which I think was named Best of Applejack or something. Anyways, I started to watch the video and about a minute in, I realized I had been watching a video about cartoon ponies and asked myself why I was watching this. I closed the video and forgot about it.

 

Now I don't know why, but for some reason, a few days later I decided to go back to this video and watch it again. About halfway through the video, I suddenly came to the realization that I was actually enjoying it. I didn't want to admit it, in fact I wouldn't have even admitted it to myself, but I was actually enjoying it. I eventually found out about bronies and didn't feel as bad anymore. Soon enough, I decided that if I was gonna watch this show, I should start from the first episode and that's exactly what I did. I watched all of the episodes and am currently in the process of watching them again.

 

Sometimes, I actually wake up thinking about ponies. Like that is literally the first thing on my mind. I can't even control it, it's just automatically there in my thoughts. I think about them sometimes during the day and I even sometimes go to sleep thinking about them. The first thing I would do when I got home was watch ponies. Sometimes at school, I would even get excited about watching ponies when I did get home. And then of course, I found this website where I could talk to other bronies and now my addiction has been elevated to new heights.

[Tia Is Best Pony 310]

i have a story and it has in it ponies too

 

 

now sit back, and prepare to comment tldr;

 

 

 

anyhow when i was about 9 or 10, i went over to a friends house, we hung out and gamed and what not, somehow, we got on his laptop and he looked up.. how do i but this gently... "Adult" things, soon there after i spent a lot of my time on the internet looking that kind of stuff up. i got caught  a few times and got in trouble. this got so bad that i would be in the family room with my family, on my tablet looking it up, they could not see it obviously, 

 

So this is kinda the story of when i hit rock bottom, i had a library of pictures 4gb in size, i thought about it constantly. I hated myself i really really did, i wanted to die because of how terrible i thought i was, several times i tried to OD in insulin, Never worked. i started to pray.. i simply said. "lord please help cleanse my mind". for about six months or so, i continued down this path, trying to kill myself a few times.

 

Now here is the part with ponies

 

 One day im on the internet, and for some reason that day, i had seen pony avatars, brony references, ponies ponies ponies, All friggin day, well i said to myself "screw it if this many people watch it must be good" looked up watch mlp free, on the google, the first episode i watched was "at the galla" the song came on, i was like..."-___________-" but for some reason i was compelled to keep watching, i did, finished the episode, and thought, "well that sucked" for some reason i watched another, the cutie mark cronicles, and then i fell in love with ponies gradually each episode wanting to think " that sucked" when deep down i knew ponies are badass

 

 

now i'm sure your thinking, "what the blueberry does this have to do with an addiction"  well let me tell you, since i started watching ponies, I haven't watched anything adult since, truly amazing if you ask me, i dont even think about it anymore because i am thinking about ponies instead, 

 

If you are atheist don't even read this: i truly think that god wanted me to watch mlp because it was the answer to my prayer, of cleaning my mind

 

If anyone cares, my OC's cutie mark is symbolic of this, the crucifix is jesus the pyramid is the eye of god and the moon is luna, those are the things i use to push the darkness back

PEACE

[aoEAF2FBvC0MIo2Q 3,673]

While number two is applicable in the game sense, number one is what most people think when they hear about addiction. Would you really say that you're "Physically and mentally dependent" on a game? Would you say that you are "unable to stop taking it without incurring adverse effects"? 

 

Yes. And here's why.

In addiction, 4 types of brain circuitry are malfunctioning due to faulty brain development. The endorphins circuitry, dopamine circuitry, stress control and impulse control.

Endorphins themselves are chemicals affecting emotion and are released under certain conditions. They give you pain relief, a feeling of reward, joy, elation, love, connection and attachment. Reward is a very important aspect in gaming. A lack of endorphins basically makes you feel dejected and left feeling like you're in pain. Physical pain, emotional pain, it's the same distressing feeling at the end of the day. 

Dopamine is a chemical that gives a sense of curiosity, incentive, motivation, exploration and vitality. Sounds like a familiar experience when playing games that one rarely gets in real life, doesn't it?

With both of the above, the more hampered the above systems, the more prone one becomes to becoming dependent on video games as a example to stimulate these circuitries in order to feel all of the above because they aren't getting it from anywhere else which is as unfortunate as it sounds.

Stress control. Well, games can help people not be so stressed. I'm sure many would agree that video gaming can be a good stress reliever.

Impulse Control. Impairment to this particular brain function means less control over one's ability for self-control.

 

This is not genetic. Brain development happens under the influence of the environment just like how the growth of plants are affected by the surrounding environment. You can take two identical seeds but if you grow them in different climates, soil or ecology, it could have all sorts of effects on how they grow or end up becoming. Same thing happens with our brains. Difference is, brain development only stops when you die so it's possible to put a seemingly hopeless person on the right development path by putting that person under the right conditions for healthy brain development.

 

I am not making this up

 

In conclusion, yes, it is a physical dependence because of how it plays with the physical aspects of your brain as with any addiction be it a substance or a compulsive habit that will leave a big hole in you if you stop doing.

[Malao 27]

 

snip (I think that's how you use that...)

Well, I stand corrected. I was more focusing on the word itself, and I'm not that deep into psychological mishmash. However, I still don't think the entire "Addiction Epidemic" thing is overplayed.

[:WhiteLightning: 14]

Addictions are tough, so few people actually know what it is to be addicted. But when you become addicted to something, you know.
Smoking became my addiction. Sure its not something big like alcoholism or heavy drug use, but its the same when you crave it hard.

 

I never really put much stock into being addicted or not, smoking, drinking, pick your poison y'know? But then, I've always been very strong willed. I've smoked for years, but not much. Always just when I felt like it, never enough to cross over to craving it full time. Some people go through a pack a day, I would go through one in two weeks or more, heheh. So yeah, never was big and crazy into them. Any time I didn't feel like smoking, I didn't, any time I did, well... you know how the story goes.
 

Then just one day at the end of a pack I figured 'what the hell', and just went and bought another. Not for any reason like I just HAD TO HAVE it or anything, but I didn't really care whether or not I stopped or kept going so, I kept going. No big deal to me.

Once I was up to three packs a week in the course of a month or so, I figured it was time to back off, again, no big deal. I just knew that it'd be better in the long run to cut that out before things got out of hand. Of course, by then I had developed myself an issue. Definitely found myself addicted. You can tell when you crave something and even though your resolve is strong, and your will in tact, you still manage to break down anyway. So, for a few more months I'd do that "I need to really quit this... Maybe after one more" thing til I finally had to start exercising some real restraint. 

Never really cared about all the anti-smoking propaganda or how many people die a year from it, specially when you put it into a perspective of how many people don't die a year from it, how many people live into their 90's, how many more people are killed just drivng a car... I'm no advocate either way really, if you want to, do it, if you don't, then move along and stop trying to run everyone's life. Smokers got it bad enough being addicted, you don't have to treat them like second class citizens too.

 

Oops. I got ranty. My bad.

Aaaanyways, I cut it out cold turkey for a few months, then, every so often just like always, I'll buy a pack when I'm feeling like lighting up. But one thing's for sure, I got an eye on it. Addiction to anything is not a thing to be tested, and if you're an idiot like I am and you test it anyway, at least keep a sharp look out cause it'll sneak up on you. The only time you realize is after its too damn late.

 

 

 

 

... I love story time!

[aoEAF2FBvC0MIo2Q 3,673]

 

 

Smokers got it bad enough being addicted, you don't have to treat them like second class citizens too.

 

 

My Brohoof. Take it.

 

From what I understand about conventional rehab, a lot of it involves "disciplining"... If I understand this right, a lot of it has to do with the punishment of behavior. You know, punishment is that craft people have been refining for the last thousands of years on inflicting pain but its only in a recent blip that something called human rights kicked that in the shin. Well, at least for some parts of the world. Speaking of pain, part of the whole point about going back to whatever substance or habit one is addictive to is to numb out pain like what they're own endorphins are supposed to do.

Let me put this in perspective; since part of addiction is about numbing inner or outer pain--inner pain mostly--it makes perfect sense to inflict more pain on that person, am I right? Just like pouring kerosene in the fire, it doesn't really do much but by golly does it give people an adrenaline rush! What makes it even sexier for the sadist is that you can blame the victim because everyone's cool with that!

[Diamond* 531]

I am completely addicted to internet, and I like this. Internet has so much good sides and same amount of bad sides. But I am not addicted to anything else that the internet. Smoking and drugs is the worst, I will never want them.

[Dr. Frasier Crane 319]

I have Trichotillomania, which the obsessive pulling out of one's hair. I am ashamed by it, but since I'm addicted, I can't stop, even when I've convinced myself I'm ruining my hair, and even when my parents occasionally fork out for a nice haircut, I still get urges to pull.

I have had some mental help, but it didn't help me at all.

I also used to bite my nails but since I got braces it kinda broke the habit.

[MuniMoose 489]

addiction man have we heard that word a lot in or short life...

were to begin...

 

we can say though everything we have done in our life we have few addictions 

the only one we truly know without a doubt is the Internet seens it takes up almost all our time if nothing else is need to be done

but we do have the ability to walk away anytime without trying to make time for the Internet 

it's weird to say this though because and we're not ashamed to say this but we've smoked weed taken acid and drink very early seens we're only 19 but never did we feel we needed to go do or get any of it and never did we take more then we could hand

and really we've gone long periods after doing that stuff for maybe a week or so and never had any side effects or as our mother told us "the shakes" 

would we do stuff again now sher if we wanted to but we wouldn't make time in our day for it or "go searching the hills" to say to get some 

so like we said it just really wired to say the Internet is our addiction when we've done other stuff but never had a need or digging desire to go do it again but only when we found it convenient or if the opportunity was "there at the right time" to say we had free time and someone offered 

so well thats what we have to say for our self

hope no one attacks us for using drugs :/ 

[Unpredictable Ranger 696]

I don't know if mine is considered as an addiction or rather, a craving, I am addicted to passion, albeit there's lack of it for me.

 

It's not a bad thing, isn't it? Or, do I get the definition wrong?

[aoEAF2FBvC0MIo2Q 3,673]

I don't know if mine is considered as an addiction or rather, a craving, I am addicted to passion, albeit there's lack of it for me.

 

It's not a bad thing, isn't it? Or, do I get the definition wrong?

Addicted to passion? As in, the state of feeling strong emotions? To be moved strongly?

If so, how do you go about doing that? Plenty of ways to distract yourself from your own emptiness given that's even the case.

[Lostwanderer 367]

I find myself addicted to games, doesn't matter on the type of game, as long as i get to compete with someone mentaly. The only way i was motivated to pass school was to compete with my friends and make a game of it.

[Unpredictable Ranger 696]

@, well yeah, tried many things to distract myself from that addiction. While most of the time they work, there's some other times that distracting myself from wanting to get back to what I crave (addicted to?) don't work, makes me depressed.

[aoEAF2FBvC0MIo2Q 3,673]

@, well yeah, tried many things to distract myself from that addiction. While most of the time they work, there's some other times that distracting myself from wanting to get back to what I crave (addicted to?) don't work, makes me depressed.

I think I understand what you mean. Not going to pretend it's something easy or obvious to get around or overcome because it's none of the above. Who knows if some of it could be things that are out of your control, in fact. But maybe you have a story to tell. Maybe you can find what is it that causes the pain and emptiness that makes you want to escape from it.

 

It is a different story for each of us despite the recurring patterns. One I think I might find worth listening to. A chance I would personally give to you.

[Unpredictable Ranger 696]

@, I don't know where to start on discussing the issue. Anyway it might not be an addiction, since that an addiction is something that a person feels can't get enough of despite of having that addiction (of anything) way too much than the acceptable level, if I am not mistaken this time?

[Super Derpy 535]

I see I am just like a lot of you when I say I am completely addicted to the internet. Like just the other day I got home from school and I had this paper to finish. I was like "Ill just go check whats happening on THE INTERNET!" and then I might have been on the computer for like 8 hours and by then it was about 11 and I had not done my paper. So to sum it up I staid up till like 2 finishing the paper

Edited May 25, 2013 by Super Derpy