Addiction & You

[Lykaia]

Recently, I've been forced to take a good hard look at my life and I've realized I'm not exactly happy with what I've found there. To be overly poetic there is a shadow hanging over my life of my own making and that shadow is known as addiction. As to the nature of the shadow I've found myself with it's internet and porn addiction which while fortunately not something as dire to one's health as alcohol or drug addiction still has insidious effect in how it affects one's life. By my own reckoning I spend an upward of 10+ hours on the internet a day and as for the amount of money I've invested into pornagraphy? At least a couple thousand which for me isn't exactly pocket change which I should have been saving up. The effect on my social life is equally as bad considering I don't have one at present though there are other factors at play for that one admittedly. Suffice to say this needs to stop now rather than later if I'm to keep my life on track and go where I need to go.

Now beyond the simply cathartic nature of this post which was in part a large reason of why I made it as a way to formalize my issues; I'm interested in knowing how my fellow board members have dealt with the addictions they've faced. After this thread dies out, I figure that my time on QQ will have come to an end till I can get a handle on vices once more.

P.S. Please excuse me for being overly verbose as I've always found it to be a good way to distance myself from what I'm writing.

Tl;dr: I have a bad case of Internet & Porn Addiction and want to know how you've handled any addictions that you might have faced or just advice in general.

 

[CptTagon]

Frankly, my advice would be to leave QQ, probably for good. I don't like saying it, but this isn't a good place for someone struggling with porn addiction, or recovering from the same. It sucks to lose you, for a variety of reasons, but your well-being is the most important thing here.

 

[Biigoh]

I would say that I have an addiction problem in that I can get addicted easily... witness my RPG gaming addiction where I wanna play games but end up running them (on-going), my internet addiction (on-going), my Wow addiction (ended via cold turkey and gifting away of my WoW account), Gaia Online addiction (it just faded away after internet drama not on GO, but involved people I knew on GO), my FGO Gacha addiction (current)....

 

[Seru]

I suffer from addictive personality disorder. It runs in my family along my dad's side, and my sister ended up becoming a drug addict in part because of it. I openly admit I am a Glutton, Masturbate far to frequently, and probably qualify as an internet addict. I also am 99% sure I suffer from hyper-sexuality disorder, further feeding into the masturbation and internet addictions via porn.

I handle these things by making sure that my addictions and my personal life do not harm one another, never spend money on porn, pay my internet bill and phone bill on time due to said addictions, and work full time (two jobs actually) due to them. In a twisted way, my addictions are the baseline of my lifestyle. I freely admit it is... quite, hard to save money when I am usually spending it on eating out, and eating well when I do, but I hold it as a balance with my very rarely being home *to* eat a home cooked meal.

It is also why I avoid alcohol unless I am in a social setting, as I know my own sense of propriety will not let me drink to excess in the presence of others, and why I avoid recreational drugs like the plague, barring one or two 'social' uses I have had with a mutual friend of Biigoh and myself, and even then, it is done when I am in the view of others keeping my own sense of propriety clamping down on it.

If you are ashamed of a thing, and do it in dark places, it has more power over you than if you confront it, own it, and can control it.

 

[Lykaia]

Frankly, my advice would be to leave QQ, probably for good. I don't like saying it, but this isn't a good place for someone struggling with porn addiction, or recovering from the same. It sucks to lose you, for a variety of reasons, but your well-being is the most important thing here.

Click to shrink...

It's unfortunate but I do plan on leaving QQ for at least a couple months though likely longer till I have things under control again.

I would say that I have an addiction problem in that I can get addicted easily... witness my RPG gaming addiction where I wanna play games but end up running them (on-going), my internet addiction (on-going), my Wow addiction (ended via cold turkey and gifting away of my WoW account), Gaia Online addiction (it just faded away after internet drama not on GO, but involved people I knew on GO), my FGO Gacha addiction (current)....

Click to shrink...

Ah, I too used to have a pretty severe video game addiction but it sort of burned itself out or if I think about it more was just replaced by the Internet & Porn addiction.

I suffer from addictive personality disorder. It runs in my family along my dad's side, and my sister ended up becoming a drug addict in part because of it.

Click to shrink...

From what I can tell I too have an addictive personality though in my case it runs along my mother's side of the family. My mom and her three sibling were all drug addicts though fortunately she's cleaned up her act and turned over a new leaf.

It is also why I avoid alcohol unless I am in a social setting, as I know my own sense of propriety will not let me drink to excess in the presence of others, and why I avoid recreational drugs like the plague, barring one or two 'social' uses I have had with a mutual friend of Biigoh and myself, and even then, it is done when I am in the view of others keeping my own sense of propriety clamping down on it.

Click to shrink...

Given the issues my mother's side of the family has with addiction I've been avoiding alcohol and drugs like the plague. I'm soon to be twenty-two and have never drank a beer nor even smoked weed though while curious I'd rather not risk it. As they say abstinence is the best protection one can make use of.

If you are ashamed of a thing, and do it in dark places, it has more power over you than if you confront it, own it, and can control it.

Click to shrink...

This is what I'm going to try and do.

 

[inkoalawetrust]

I have an addiction to Coca Cola and the internet.

I handle them by literally staying all day on the computer until the morning and waking up at like noon where the first thing i do after getting up is press the power button on the computer.

Meanwhile i handle my Coke addiction by constantly buy Coke bottles with any leftover money i have.

 

[CharioteerArcana]

I had an addiction to painkillers (thank god I didn't end up overdosing) when I was younger, used it to deal with undiagnosed (at the time, I've got the appropriate medical treatment now) medical problems so I could get through the day, before school take some paracetamol, lunchtime, take some with my food, dinner, take some before sleeping.
Finally kicked the habit with the help of a mental health specialist, but I still can't touch the stuff, sometimes I'm scared if I take one pill I'll get back into that routine.

 

[ATR]

I've been addicted to cigarettes for 7 years, and I'm really looking to quit. Some friends suggested I try smoking less or using vape to help ease the transition. Has anyone here had success with this approach?

 

[Stroth]

I've been addicted to cigarettes for 7 years, and I'm really looking to quit. Some friends suggested I try smoking less or using vape to help ease the transition. Has anyone here had success with this approach?

Click to shrink...

I quit two years ago now after more than twenty years and firstly: "Easing off" never did shit for me despite trying many times

What did work was firstly: Getting the nicotine patch. They're a little expensive yeah, but still dirt cheap compared to buying more smokes. Also they don't stick to your skin for shit so get some ace bandages to hold them in place. And secondly: once you get them but before you put them on you smoke one last cigarette and mark that occasion specifically in your head. Then whenever you get an urge to grab one you tell yourself "No, I already had my last one, I can't."

Remember: You're breaking an addiction and a deeply ingrained habit. The patches mostly handle the addiction for you, but the habit can be just as hard to break and that's what the second part is for.

 

[Guardian Box]

I've been addicted to cigarettes for 7 years, and I'm really looking to quit. Some friends suggested I try smoking less or using vape to help ease the transition. Has anyone here had success with this approach?

Click to shrink...

I was smoking 1-1.5 packs every day for a few years, what got me out buying some cytisine pills in the pharmacy designed for the specific purpose of quitting smoking. Took around a month of simply following directions attached to the pills. The most important thing is actually wanting to quit. If you have that, I think it shouldn't be that hard to quit for good with medication like that.

At this point I can't even smoke a cig without feeling really sick.

 

[xXLannisterCrusher64xX]

I smoked for 5 years and quitting was tough, but what worked for me was gradually cutting down each day. It might sound simple, but setting small goals (like taking one less cigarette each day) really helped me build momentum without feeling overwhelmed. Another tip that worked wonders was to change up my routines, like avoiding places or situations where I'd usually light up. Keeping my hands busy with something, like a stress ball or even chewing gum, also made a huge difference.

I also tried vaping during my transition, and it made it a lot easier to control cravings, especially in situations where I'd usually smoke. Now, I only vape occasionally, and it's really helped me stick with it. If you're thinking about trying a vape, something like the Crave Max 2500 could be a good option.