Addictions ?

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honestly, i think a lot of us have the complete opposite problem. since many of us lack interests or have anhedonia, we might not particularly enjoy doing anything and will just find some random activity to amuse ourselves.

i go on the internet every night when i get home until i go to bed, but it's just to amuse myself. i'm fine without it, it doesn't interfere with my eating, sleeping, or work habits, and i'm totally bored while doing it half the time. XD it might even be kind of a nice change to be addicted to something, i think. at least it would be really engaging and interesting.

but i'm not sure, maybe there are lots of other people on here who have addictions. O.o

Sure, it is normal behavior.

When I do something, I usually do only that and put a lot of energy in it, if I have it as a passion. It happens, and it works for awhile, and then I do something else. And yes, the material stuff is usually in the way, so I don't really care about that. Not sure if I would actually call it passion. It is just that I have something in mind, and that is what I do. The problem is that after the initial surge, I dry up. And then I wait until something else comes up.
I had more of those in the past. Now, they are more rare.

I'm pretty sure I'm a functional alcoholic.

I can relate quite a bit to MrKi's patterns. I go through phases where I constantly think about a certain thing, usually a topic in science or philosophy or something. The phases last between a month and a year or so. During these times I try to absorb all the information I can about the given area. Then I move on for no special reason. Maybe I get bored with it, or I discover something even better, etc.

This has become a huge concern for me, a first year university student, whose interests are always changing and yet has to decide on a major or "career-path" (such bull $#%^....). A few months ago I was on the verge of hysteria when I realized that I may never be able to be captivated by any single occupation for more than a few months or years at a time, and that whatever "career decisions" I make now may feel like shackles in a few years time.

I was also distressed to realize that my intellectual evolution has not been based on rational development, but mostly irrational, emotional, subconscious reasons, largely related to SPD...although I really expect this to be true of most people to some degree. In a way, accepting this is the only way of being true and honest with yourself.

Tungsten wrote:When I do something, I usually do only that and put a lot of energy in it, if I have it as a passion. It happens, and it works for awhile, and then I do something else. And yes, the material stuff is usually in the way, so I don't really care about that. Not sure if I would actually call it passion. It is just that I have something in mind, and that is what I do. The problem is that after the initial surge, I dry up. And then I wait until something else comes up.
I had more of those in the past. Now, they are more rare.

That sounds like me too. I'm a bit of an 'all or nothing' person. When I'm interested in something, it's about all I do. But these days it seems harder to find things to get interested/obsessed in, so I would say lack of interest is more of a problem for me.

I enjoy the feeling of being completely preoccupied with a topic/task, so sometimes I feel a bit frustrated or disappointed when my interest wanes. Then I feel a bit lost or hollow. It's like losing the reason to get up in the morning. And I can feel a bit jaded or bitter too...to realise that I got caught-up yet again in something that I couldn't sustain...something that didn't last and was ultimately meaningless.

I might devote all my waking time to specific things sometimes (usually it's been a computer game), but I would not say that I easily become addicted. Rather the opposite; I can't hang on to things and often tire within days (or minutes these days). Sometimes when I find something new (or go back to something old) I devote an inordinate amount of time to it, but that's normally because I have nothing else to do. Nowadays I'm having a very hard time finding anything worthwhile at all and spend a lot of time just staring at the computer or sleeping.

I do procrastinate in regards to shopping and eating, showering, cleaning... all those things... but I do that no matter whether I currently have something to do or not.

Platypus wrote:I enjoy the feeling of being completely preoccupied with a topic/task, so sometimes I feel a bit frustrated or disappointed when my interest wanes. Then I feel a bit lost or hollow. It's like losing the reason to get up in the morning. And I can feel a bit jaded or bitter too...to realise that I got caught-up yet again in something that I couldn't sustain...something that didn't last and was ultimately meaningless.

Yeah, right now I am interested in psychology, so I spend all my time on that. Being here is just easier than reading papers. I think I learn more from people and interaction than anything. It is more real than the view of some writer. I also meet psychologist and stuff, which is funny. I am still learning the belief system, but it seems that in practice, it is very similar to Catholicism, where you are not supposed to understand and follow whatever the priest tells you to do or think. I am curious to see if they will excommunicate me on that. Probably. Methinks he knows too much.

If I have an activity with obligations, I don't have any problems switching from one thing to another. There is always something to do. It is those socially demanding things that always end up in conflicts that just drive me down. Those ones, like jobs and so on take a lot of time to get back some motivation. At this point, I don't have this motivation, aside from my new religion. Still, they want me to commit to regular attendance, and that will most likely become bothering. Right now, it is all about love and acceptance, but I am sure they will ask me to sacrifice something at some point.

Any passion I may have for something seems to be temporary. It's a shame, because I rather like liking things.

I suppose the closest I have to an addiction would be my use of the internet, and even that I can go without.

j93 wrote:This has become a huge concern for me, a first year university student, whose interests are always changing and yet has to decide on a major or "career-path" (such bull $#%^....). A few months ago I was on the verge of hysteria when I realized that I may never be able to be captivated by any single occupation for more than a few months or years at a time, and that whatever "career decisions" I make now may feel like shackles in a few years time.

I was also distressed to realize that my intellectual evolution has not been based on rational development, but mostly irrational, emotional, subconscious reasons, largely related to SPD...

I wish we didn't have to specialize in some field. I'm studying economics at the uni, and I find this subject very interesting, but I've just discovered I love reading French novels and German poetry... if only I could switch subject every 3 months.

It seems I can't focus on what teachers ask me to do, my brain refuse to comply with what's expected of me. I should really be reading the 30-pages text for my class tomorrow, but I'd rather read Goethe.

Procrastinating puts me under stress, but if I focus on my studies then I'm stressed because I feel like my time would be better spent doing things I really enjoy rather than submitting myself to teachers...


I guess I've got some feeling of hopelessness... and that there is not enough time in a day to live.