Old habits and their slow painful deaths

[iBlue]

What things that presently contribute very little (if any) positive to your life do you find yourself consistently returning to? Do you think of it as an innocent habit or is it like picking at a scab?

If you've managed to rid yourself of some bad habits, what tipped you over the edge?





It's become apparent that one of my biggest old habits is forums; particularly this one. I've been here a long time and more and more I find I get more misery than enjoyment from it. Yet, here I am. I wonder how many other people find themselves in the same situation in one way, place or another.

 

[niuniu]

I was addicted to 'getting the last word in' on forums for a while. I think many people are. But after spending the best part of 10 years on multiple forums - you start to see that most arguments and personalities are very similar (often exactly the same). And you learn to let go and enjoy the occasional jibe or bit of banter.

I would say that forums were a bad habit of mine, but not any longer.

Gaming. Jesus - I need to stay away from games. I have a childish competitive side and need to rank well on a game or have the best gear or get top spot on a dps meter etc.

Even as I write I've got a new game (Diablo 3) downloading. Not something you should be doing in your 30's when you've got a pile of work to get on with. I'll stay up most nights to 2 or 3am, and wake up shattered just so I can squeeze in some game hours when my partner goes to bed.

I would also count gaming as a true addiction, like drugs or alcohol. The way my mind works had definitely changed. I can easily prioritise something trivial, like a task in a game over doing something genuinely important in real life.

 

[MorphingDragon]

Do one night stands count as habits?

Because the drama from them is starting to bite me in the rump.
https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=14860995#post14860995

 

[miles01110]

Caffeine

 

[acidfast7]

traveling ... €€€€
interior design ... €€€€
expensive jeans ... €€€€
hand-made italian boots/portuguese shoes ... €€€€
failure to wash the car ... paint comes off on the washcloth now
getting the last word in ... many professional enemies (even though i'm right)
salt (general cooking preferences) ... €€€€ on ingredients

 

[MorphingDragon]

I would also count gaming as a true addiction, like drugs or alcohol. The way my mind works had definitely changed. I can easily prioritise something trivial, like a task in a game over doing something genuinely important in real life.

Gaming is not an addiction, there is no fundamental altering of brain chemistry, what games are is compelling. This might be an odd distinction but it fundamentally changes the way you address an issue of game "addiction". What appears to be addiction is often just be a mental crutch. You sound like you have to need to dominaate and "have the biggest numbers". Can you think of any part in your life where you feel you might not be achieving the results that you should? Work maybe?

You may find this video interesting:
http://penny-arcade.com/patv/episode/game-addiction-pt.2

Caffeine

The Student Nectar:

 

[miles01110]

I just drink a lot of coffee and tea. I don't even drink it for the caffeine (I think?) but I can't stand the taste of decaf coffee/tea. Maybe I haven't found the right kinds.

 

[Abstract]

I enjoy answering the same questions at this forum over and over and over and over again.

 

[niuniu]

Gaming is not an addiction, there is no fundamental altering of brain chemistry, what games are is compelling.

Changes to brain chemistry have been found in both regular gamers and regular internet users, in a number of separate studies recently. There was a good one this year from Japan but a cursory look didn't bring it up. The psychological aspects of addiction, ie withdrawal etc are well documented with gaming.

Sample

Internet
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-16505521

Gaming
http://articles.latimes.com/2011/nov/15/news/la-heb-video-games-brain-addiction-20111115

 

[MorphingDragon]

Changes to brain chemistry have been found in both regular gamers and regular internet users, in a number of separate studies recently. There was a good one this year from Japan but a cursory look didn't bring it up. The psychological aspects of addiction, ie withdrawal etc are well documented with gaming.

Sample

Internet
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-16505521

Gaming
http://articles.latimes.com/2011/nov/15/news/la-heb-video-games-brain-addiction-20111115

Well whaddya know.

 

[MultiM]

I have tried to stop drinking soft drinks and keep going back. I love the sweet fizzy flavor! I should drink water, I know, but I love pop.

Also, when I go to a garden center for a specific item, I end up buying several more plants for the gardens or flower boxes. I can't seem to help it and it drives my wife nuts.

 

[-aggie-]

traveling ... €€€€
interior design ... €€€€
expensive jeans ... €€€€
hand-made italian boots/portuguese shoes ... €€€€
failure to wash the car ... paint comes off on the washcloth now
getting the last word in ... many professional enemies (even though i'm right)
salt (general cooking preferences) ... €€€€ on ingredients

You forgot to add:

Having all these adoring women at my feet
Making too much money
Using too much fuel in my private jet

 

[acidfast7]

You forgot to add:

Having all these adoring women at my feet
Making too much money
Using too much fuel in my private jet

1. I don't like jets, I prefer trains as they're more ecological. in fact, I have special train pass that I pay extra for to ensure that the energy consumed transporting me is replaced from renewable sources.

2. As an academic, I don't make that much ... probably more than I would in the US at this bracket (but nothing compared to anyone in finance.) Enough such that giving up US citizenship would save me taxes every year.

3. LOL ... at the woman comment, there's only one for me (that's more than enough to handle.)

4. Gig 'Em.

 

[acidfast7]

you forgot to add:


using too much fuel in my private jet

 

[Fazzy]

Anyone tried being the master of their domain?

I know, old habits do tend to die hard..

 

[rasmusonline]

My disability to park or to reverse into a parking space properly.

 

[Mord]

It's become apparent that one of my biggest old habits is forums; particularly this one. I've been here a long time and more and more I find I get more misery than enjoyment from it. Yet, here I am. I wonder how many other people find themselves in the same situation in one way, place or another.

This, I read over this thread a few days back and mulled over the point.

It's difficult to talk about about the subject without being overly dramatic, so, I think I'll just log out.

 

[Zombie Acorn]

Forums for sure, I used to juggle like three different ones and its really hard to find just the right fit. Now I just post on PRSI, although its not totally bad because I am up to date with most news stuff because of it.

 

[dontwalkhand]

Playing with my facial hair.


I never said I was a normal person.

 

[Queso]

It's become apparent that one of my biggest old habits is forums; particularly this one. I've been here a long time and more and more I find I get more misery than enjoyment from it. Yet, here I am. I wonder how many other people find themselves in the same situation in one way, place or another.

MR is only a shadow of what it once was, that's for sure, but it does get a lot more tolerable if you restrict yourself to only reading rather than feeling the need to post back. Ever so often, change your password to something completely random, log out and read the forums as a guest. It adds an extra step into the actions required before you reply, which means you're more likely to ignore all the irritations.

Oh, and hello BTW (and to Mord too)

 

[Mord]

MR is only a shadow of what it once was, that's for sure, but it does get a lot more tolerable if you restrict yourself to only reading rather than feeling the need to post back. Ever so often, change your password to something completely random, log out and read the forums as a guest. It adds an extra step into the actions required before you reply, which means you're more likely to ignore all the irritations.

Oh, and hello BTW (and to Mord too)

Hullo!

Good idea there.

 

[annk]

I definitely find forums addictive. I think they're like groups of friends and friendship in general. Over the long haul, friends can get on each other's nerves if they spend too much time together or discuss things they know they disagree about. Sometimes they just grow in different directions, or need some space from each other (or even just new friends). I think that a lot of the time, it's about knowing when not to say something.

Not all the groups on a forum get along with - or are even willing to tolerate - each other. Then it can be like the playground at elementary school. It's the same on every forum I've been on. But I do think that the larger forums can absorb problems more easily than the small ones.

My addiction is TV series. When I discover a series I like, I'll download all the seasons from iTunes and spend time watching one episode after another when I should be doing other stuff.

 

[bartelby]

MR is only a shadow of what it once was, that's for sure, but it does get a lot more tolerable if you restrict yourself to only reading rather than feeling the need to post back. Ever so often, change your password to something completely random, log out and read the forums as a guest. It adds an extra step into the actions required before you reply, which means you're more likely to ignore all the irritations.

Oh, and hello BTW (and to Mord too)

I often type a response, leave the window open for a few minutes then close the window without posting.

Sometimes you just need to type the words out to get it out of your system.

And Hello to the 2 of you!

 

[AnimaLeo]

traveling ... €€€€
interior design ... €€€€
expensive jeans ... €€€€
hand-made italian boots/portuguese shoes ... €€€€
failure to wash the car ... paint comes off on the washcloth now
getting the last word in ... many professional enemies (even though i'm right)
salt (general cooking preferences) ... €€€€ on ingredients

Hey, Patrick Batman.

 

[VulchR]

Gaming is not an addiction, there is no fundamental altering of brain chemistry, what games are is compelling.

OK - just to let you know I am a behavioural neuroscientist who was part of the first team to explore whether cocaine activated same circuits as natural rewards (it does). As was posted above, gaming does change brain chemistry and activity in brain reward circuits, and these circuits are also affected by addictive drugs. The problem is that those same circuits are also activated by healthy, natural rewards and we simply do not know enough yet to be able to determine whether such activation is likely to lead to addiction. What we do know is that there is a well-financed gaming industry that pours R&D money into formulating games that are irresistible - just like the gambling industry. We also know that some people engage in gaming to the point that it harms their social life and their health. I suspect in the end we'll find gaming is like drug addiction in that there will be some people who are vulnerable to forming a compulsive, maladaptive habit.

Certainly I have seen that in some of the young adult male members of my extended family, who because of gaming have problems forming and keeping long-term relationships, have low professional/academic success because they're up into the wee hours of the morning playing games and walk around sleep-deprived all day, have problems setting priorities with their finances because the spend so much money on games, and who actually seem to suffer psychological withdrawal symptoms if they're not online every few hours. Are they happy? Not really....

The APA are currently revising their diagnostic manual, which is pretty much the definitive source on psychiatric and psychological disorders. The have specifically excluded gaming addiction for the next revision, but that decision is being challenged.