It's hard to know when you're addicted to something.
You might sense there's an addictive quality to the activity or outing, maybe in the back of your mind, like an itch saying, "Hey, you've done this before already."
What really helps reveal the addiction is someone else pointing it out. Once that happens, there's no putting back the pieces of what you think about yourself.
Surprisingly, we're okay with a fair amount of addictions, even when they might be actively harming us as a society.
Reddit user, mjkn01, wanted to know what fixation is perhaps not as healthy as we think it is when they asked:
"What is an addiction that the world is just ok with?"
Maybe it gives you a sense of pride?
Or perhaps it's about seeking out a good feeling for yourself when you've had a rough day.
Whatever the reason, you can't stop.
But I NEED To Know What's Going On?
"24 hour news cycles"
Frosty_Fig3423
"It's bad because it gives the veneer of being informed without actually being informed. You know the broad strokes and the players and who said/did what, but it's all presented in an entertaining way so you keep on watching and you're not actually informed. There are studies done that people that consume their news that way (passively mind you) are less informed on the whole. A lot of buzzwords or phrases that mean something to the audience, but don't actually represent the story. It's caused a lot of problems."
" Politics isn't sports or meaningless. Being informed, and thinking about nuance, or being able to listen to the other side rather than some caricature of it is important in a democracy. And yet we're raising people to hate the otherside, to become further polarized, to treat politics as a game and all the while making sure our voters are less informed on the whole. It's dangerous."
BBQ_HaX0r
*puts down phone* What Did You Say, Dear?
"Phone addictions when it’s parents instead of kids."
toothlessgrins
"Trueee. I’m a new parent and currently trying to fight my addiction to my phone. I never realized how bad it had gotten till recently"
mrsteacher420
"Yeah, this is one none of us want to talk about it. You can kick smoking, booze, sugar, social media, caffeine, but I’ll be damned if any of us will get rid of our phone. It’s the first thing I look at every day and I can’t leave home without it. And really, I don’t need it, but I have to have it."
blisterson
Hard To Let Go Of The Rush You Get When You Swipe
"Shopping"
macaronsforeveryone
"Dealt* with this a few years back, probably because I started getting some fine lines and I thought expensive makeup and new clothes would make me feel better. Yeah it didn't, just added some stress to my life and relationship because of money stuff. Dont fall for this easy trap ladies and gents, I know the pressure is big but it's really okay and quite normal to age.."
Altruistic-Order-661
You don't think too much about the food and drink you consume.
So long as you're happy while eating or having a drink, then it shouldn't be that bad, right?
Unfortunately, there might need to be real discussions had about how much we're all drinking.
If Only You Could See What It Does To Your Brain
"Sugar"
Sad-Illustrator1610
"Dude, I work at a certain large coffee chain and most people who think they are addicted to caffeine are actually addicted to sugar. Unless you are ordering an iced/hot coffee, cold brew or espresso, the amount of coffee in the drinks you are ordering is minuscule."
"Sure, it will offer you a little caffeine but if you are consistently getting a white chocolate mocha everyday and thinking you need your “coffee” fix, it’s not the coffee you’re needing."
MissHannahJ
Something We Should Talk About, But Can Never Talk About
"I think a lot more people are addicted to alcohol than we care to admit"
Babylil22
"I'm an alcoholic and I'm struggling with it because it's so normalized. All of my work buddies just want to go out and drink after work around the weekends. I go visit my girlfriend at work it's at a bar and everybody's drinking. They sell alcohol in like every corner store. It's passed off as a sophisticated hobby. I go 2 months without having a single drink and then I have a pop and can't stop kind of drinking habit so it can get dark pretty fast."
"I'll be fine for the first couple days doing it and then after like day 4 I'm pretty much having an emotional outburst, normally at my girlfriend who comes home to find me f***** up. It is a sad degenerative disease and I wish I didn't have it and I wish I would have learned better communication and coping skills earlier in life."
Velghast
Need Papa's Fix To Keep Going
"Caffiene"
severflux
"My favorite drug before cannabis. I wouldn't be able to function! Went through a serious withdrawal years ago just to cut down my consumption (was drinking an entire espresso pot a day); physical pain was crazy. Tried cutting out my daily latte recently and could not get my work done. It's serious!"
Alternative_Belt_389
"Offered in generally-unlimited quantities at most workplaces. It's somewhat dystopian to realize it's basically 'Hey, in case you get tired working 8+ hours, here's as much free, addictive stimulant as you can handle to perk back up and keep working'."
Fluffy_Munchkin
And then there's these, the worst of the worst in terms of addictive quality, which we might never kick as a society.
Doesn't matter if we know about it.
We need these things in our lives, regardless of how bad they are.
Something About An Epidemic...?
"Ambien, I work as a pharmacist and it blows my mind that SO many prescribers write for it too often. It's got to be one of the most incorrectly prescribed medications out there. To stop taking it is a rough process ☹ Weeks of little to no sleep until your body figures out how to sleep again."
Tyretitan
A Lot More Complicated Than We Care To Admit
"Consumerism. It's good to keep on buying for the economy so they actually promote it."
Light_Shifty_Z
"This is why I think we will never make any real attempts to fix climate change. We essentially need to overhaul our entire economy, the world as we know it, to reduce consumption of energy/oil/plastics."
"Overconsumption has been made commonplace and convenient. We are f-cked"
ECONOMIC_DEMOCRAGUY
Yeah. Yep. Yeah.
"Social media"
mywifiisbadtho
"This might be too recent to have cause real waves but I am pretty sure that in a couple of years you’ll have to accept the consequences every time you log in. A few years later social media sites will all have to have standard khaki packs sites and big bold horrifying message everywhere."
Meanwhile-in-Paris
"I really believe that in a few years, social media log in pages will have warnings like cigarette packs in Canada."
"Warning: the use of these sites has been linked to depression, anxiety, insomnia. Please enter at your risk." Or something to that effect."
thatswhatshesaidxx
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