Ecdysis
Sponsor
I need to deal with 2 things in my life where I can see addiction patterns at work - one is a substance, the other is a process. I don't actually want to get into discussions about them, so I'm going to call them Substance-E and Process-L
Both are things that are a common part of life and actually can't be avoided entirely. That makes trying to break out of addictive patterns more difficult for me, than if it was somthing that I could literally "just" avoid. So, I'm actually just going to have to try and cut down both of them to healthy/ normal levels.
I've got a plan on how to deal with Substance-E. I have no plan on how to deal with Process-L, that one's truly daunting for me.
Both of them are causing relatively major damage to my health tho, so turning these patterns around would be quite a big deal.
I'm struggling a lot at the moment, so I feel like my ability to deal with withdrawal symptoms etc, is close zero right now, which is not a very helpful place from which to start. But eh, when is it ever "the right time"? Maybe if I can cut down the addiction patterns in these two areas, I'll actually feel a bit better and struggle a bit less?
I've never had to deal with addiction issues head-on before. I'm not prone to substance addictions, thankfully. Never been addicted to alcohol, drugs, nicotine, meds, coffee, etc. But that also means having no practice/ experience in this area. I find process addictions are a bit sneakier... Never been addicted to the classic things like gambling, computer games, shopping, etc. Probably had a sort of TV addiction back in the day and I know I use my phone too much these days, and I've had phases where I think I've spent too much money on stuff I didn't need. But they've never been outright addictions... And I think process addictions are so much easier to "rationalise" and "explain away" anyway... So no experience there in actively dealing with process addictions either...
So yeah... My whole plan on how to break through these addictive patterns is... "Um... just stop...?!" Which sounds like it's going to be a naive failure... So I'm hoping an accountability thread might make it a bit less likely I'll fail...?
Anyone else trying to break any addictive habits right now?
Anyone got experience and good tips re do's and don'ts re trying to break out of addictive cycles?
ETA: I've set myself some (hopefully vaguely) realistic goals re Substance-E. I've got nothing re Process-L, tho. I should set myself some kind of goal, right? Kay... I guess I'll set myself a goal of 25% x 10. Bit cryptic, but I know what it means, which is what matters...
ETA-2: Doing my first lot of refraining-from-Process-L. I've set myself a time limit, to make it achievable at first. I feel resentment, straight away. My brain wants to fight it. Is coming up with a ton of reasons why this is a bad idea. Feels like my brain and body are like "Noooooo". Ugh. Great. I assume it will sort of get easier over time, with practice? Except for on "bad days" and when I "mess up", obviously. Not expecting this to be a neat, linear thing... Even tho not-doing-Process-L is objectively not a horrible thing (many people actually truly enjoy this activity) my brain and body hate it. They're both all about Process-L and wanting more of it... They'd be happy to do this 24/7, each and every day. Can't get enough of it. Ugh. It seems weird to me, that my brain and body are that polarised... That focussed on one end of a spectrum... I know that hating the other end of that spectrum has to do with childhood trauma... Never having learned anything positive to connect with the-opposite-of-Process-L.... Sigh... I guess that's going to be something I need to do... I don't think breaking this process addiction is going to work if I continue to view its opposite as "horrible" and "to be avoided at all costs". I have to get it to be something that's not entirely negative in my head.
Both are things that are a common part of life and actually can't be avoided entirely. That makes trying to break out of addictive patterns more difficult for me, than if it was somthing that I could literally "just" avoid. So, I'm actually just going to have to try and cut down both of them to healthy/ normal levels.
I've got a plan on how to deal with Substance-E. I have no plan on how to deal with Process-L, that one's truly daunting for me.
Both of them are causing relatively major damage to my health tho, so turning these patterns around would be quite a big deal.
I'm struggling a lot at the moment, so I feel like my ability to deal with withdrawal symptoms etc, is close zero right now, which is not a very helpful place from which to start. But eh, when is it ever "the right time"? Maybe if I can cut down the addiction patterns in these two areas, I'll actually feel a bit better and struggle a bit less?
I've never had to deal with addiction issues head-on before. I'm not prone to substance addictions, thankfully. Never been addicted to alcohol, drugs, nicotine, meds, coffee, etc. But that also means having no practice/ experience in this area. I find process addictions are a bit sneakier... Never been addicted to the classic things like gambling, computer games, shopping, etc. Probably had a sort of TV addiction back in the day and I know I use my phone too much these days, and I've had phases where I think I've spent too much money on stuff I didn't need. But they've never been outright addictions... And I think process addictions are so much easier to "rationalise" and "explain away" anyway... So no experience there in actively dealing with process addictions either...
So yeah... My whole plan on how to break through these addictive patterns is... "Um... just stop...?!" Which sounds like it's going to be a naive failure... So I'm hoping an accountability thread might make it a bit less likely I'll fail...?
Anyone else trying to break any addictive habits right now?
Anyone got experience and good tips re do's and don'ts re trying to break out of addictive cycles?
ETA: I've set myself some (hopefully vaguely) realistic goals re Substance-E. I've got nothing re Process-L, tho. I should set myself some kind of goal, right? Kay... I guess I'll set myself a goal of 25% x 10. Bit cryptic, but I know what it means, which is what matters...
ETA-2: Doing my first lot of refraining-from-Process-L. I've set myself a time limit, to make it achievable at first. I feel resentment, straight away. My brain wants to fight it. Is coming up with a ton of reasons why this is a bad idea. Feels like my brain and body are like "Noooooo". Ugh. Great. I assume it will sort of get easier over time, with practice? Except for on "bad days" and when I "mess up", obviously. Not expecting this to be a neat, linear thing... Even tho not-doing-Process-L is objectively not a horrible thing (many people actually truly enjoy this activity) my brain and body hate it. They're both all about Process-L and wanting more of it... They'd be happy to do this 24/7, each and every day. Can't get enough of it. Ugh. It seems weird to me, that my brain and body are that polarised... That focussed on one end of a spectrum... I know that hating the other end of that spectrum has to do with childhood trauma... Never having learned anything positive to connect with the-opposite-of-Process-L.... Sigh... I guess that's going to be something I need to do... I don't think breaking this process addiction is going to work if I continue to view its opposite as "horrible" and "to be avoided at all costs". I have to get it to be something that's not entirely negative in my head.
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