Addiction: drugs, alcohol, social media, cell phones, dangerous relationship...Do you have an addiction?

Food. I am starting to realize that it is an addiction and I need to get it under control. I was at my doctor yesterday and I mentioned to him that I am ready to get a hold of this and get healthier and drop some weight. He was very excited that I made the decision on my own. So i have my appointment set up with him to discuss a plan. I feel good and hopeful for what the future holds!

Fluther and food.

@Ponderer983 it’s always better when you come to the conclusion on your own and decide-it’s sets a precedence for further your goals and maintaing a positive outlook even if you fail a few times before succeeding. Good for you on making the right steps for you life.

An uncontrollable urge to edit, and an inability to withhold anything from Milo that he wants.

(I want very badly to say that you cannot bestow judgement, but I won’t.)

I think we all are addicted to sharing our two sense with the world-but given advice/knowledge/experience/opinions to help someone is lot different than doing it to just feel good about yourself.

Drawn and animated pornography.

@AuroraSolei : Welcome to Fluther.

I am a recovered alcoholic with over 12 years of sobriety. The story is too long for me to tell here. Let me simply say that the pain of having my next drink became greater than the pain of what I was losing by having that next drink, so I sought help.

I am enormously grateful for my sobriety and the life it has given me.

Gin

and good beer.

@Hawaii_Jake Thank you for your openess and seriously contributing to this question. What is the one thing you would say to yourself when you first noticed it was a problem, if you had the chance?

No offense meant @Hawaii_Jake. I am not making light of you. The question was about addictions and I answered truthfully.

@rojo : No offense taken at all. I loved gin. :-)

@AuroraSolei : What would I say to myself when I first noticed the problem? “That’s a good reason for another martini.” Seriously, it took many years to convince myself the pain of continuing was worse than the pain of quitting.

I suffered from substance abuse for most of my tween and teenage years. I started “huffing” chemical fumes on our farm when I was about 11. No one knew. I started, and got hooked on, many street drugs when I was 15 years old. Again, no one in my family/friends knew about it. I have a very odd drug addiction story. The hard drugs were forced on me in that time frame (long story). I had also started smoking cigarettes at about 16 years old.

By the time I was almost 18 I was highly addicted to marijuana, hash, PCP, cocaine, and heroin. I was forced by local authorities to go into a detox program (I was underage and was given the “choice” to go voluntarily or be escorted by the police). I was in adult detox for 11 days (the usual was 6 days). Those were among the most horrible days of my life – the physical and emotional agony was indescribable. After that, I was sent to a short term (3 week) program. I then took off and had a massive relapse. A major concern was my home life – everyone around me was using drugs/alcohol (even right in front of me the day I came home from the 3 week program). My mother was an alcoholic. Her boyfriend was an alcoholic, cocaine and marijuana addict (he grew the stuff in the basement). My sister was well into her “partying teen” phase. My brother was in and out of the scene. Counsellers/therapists did not want me to go back into that situation. So, I was sent to a live-in drug rehabilitation facility. I lived there for 1.5 years (much longer than most, who averaged about 6 months). It was an adult facility but I was nearly 18 so they agreed to take me in. I was the “baby” of the centre – for the first time in my life, people I lived with were actually there for me emotionally. I had a couple short relapses during and after the treatment. But I have been clean since I was about 21. I’m now 34 (35 in a few weeks).

During my addiction I did not steal, or commit other crimes of the like, to support my habit ..I did not need to pay for my drugs. I didn’t quite lie ..it was more of a “not telling” thing. I know I would have died from overdose if I was not forced into rehabilitation.

How I did it? Well, being forced really helped. But I have always been extremely determined. At one point, I finally realized that I did not want to live that way anymore – I did not want to take the path my family had…and that I wanted to simply live. I wanted to be “normal” I guess.

These days, I rarely have the urge to do those drugs (probably twice a year I might get the urge). I know I will never get into that again though.

My last remaining negative addiction…smoking. I’m embarassed to say it ..as I’m so eco-friendly, humanitarian, etc. But, yeah, I’m a smoker. It amazes me that I was able to quit hard drugs but not something as simple and legal as cigarettes. I know I will quit at some point. I am really trying to do that in the next year here. I do not smoke around my partner or in my home. It’s just this dirtly little thing I do all by myself outside, lol. And, yes, she knows I smoke. It will be hard but I know when I am ready that I will be able to do it.

I hope I didn’t ramble on too much ..my brain is a bit fuzzy tonight :)
Thank you for reading.

No addictions other than ice cream. Sometimes it feels like an addiction if I have it around. If I just don’t buy it I’m fine without it.

Really I think I am addicted to Fluther and perhaps buying books. A slight shopping habit too.

All of the above. I have an addictive personality and alcohol was playing way too big a role in my life. I have known about this addiction and how it was a “problem” for over 5 years and 6 weeks ago I finally I walked through the doors of AA to tackle this part of my life.

Forums and Q&A sites.

Quite honestly sleep. It has prevented me from doing so many things in life, the comfort and good feeling of sleep is addictive. I sleep in more often than I go out, all those days wasted. It’s impossible to pull me out of bed.

I don’t have any addictions per se, but I’m working on my relationship with food. I tend to starve/binge depending on my emotions.

Alcohol, mostly beer. It’s crazy how three years of drinking can change your life so much. I hear people who have had drinking problems for up to thirty years. But I’m fighting it, somehow. It’s pretty tough, cuz I don’t really want to stop, but I know I have to, if only for my physical being. And before I get into these really big problems that I hear from long time alcoholics/former alcoholics.

Buying shoes and sewing/making dress/clothes.

Cheese. I’ve quit alcohol and smoking and sex several times in my life and survived just fine but I’ve never been able to go without cheese.

I’ve been lucky, as far as alcohol, when I was young my uncle was an alcoholic (even took rubbing alcohol at one point nearly killing him).. I witnessed his pain and the way others around treated him and said to myself that I’d never do such a thing.. I may had been fooling myself but one day while I was out playing, I became very thirsty and came in to get some water (I could barely reach the counter top and there was no one around) but there was a half a glass of water sitting on the counter and I grabbed it and began drinking.. Somewhere during this time my mouth exploded with fire and I realized it wasn’t water but rather my grandpa’s gin.. From that time till now I’ve never sipped straight liquor.. Occasional mixed drinks, a beer or two but nothing strong. Also I’ve done crank, lsd and such but always related it to money so when the prices would go up, I always baled out. I’m not a natural addictive personality so it’s easier for me to just walk away, however.. I have had a lengthy cigarette habit, I worked my way down to about a half pack a day but I seem to find ways where their not that expensive.. about 2.50 pack now (unheard of today) but once it runs out and I find myself paying what everybody else pays then it will go down significantly or all together. Cold turkey is my forte but there’s no way to explain how I do it.