Totally addicted to....................

[Rosie-RO]

Not all people recognise that addictions are serious things and should not be used for parental advantage.

Have you ever started trying something new, or realised that you like
doing something so much that you feel dependant on it and out of
control? These dependencies can weigh down on us, affecting us
physically, emotionally and mentally. But wait! We want to be in
control of our lives, so what can we do about it?

Addiction can include but is not limited to drug use (illegal and
legal), alcohol, computer games, shopping, food, exercise and so much
more. Sometimes we may find it hard to believe we are addicted to
something, so how could we let a friend or family member know that
they may be addicted to something?

If you want to come and share your tips for overcoming addiction and
also the ways you have coped, we would love to listen. Or if you want
to read how others have overcome addiction, please feel free to view
the discussion too.

Please join us this Monday, February 25th at 8pm AEDST on the forums
to discuss addiction.

[Lightuptheworld]

Hey everyone!

Welcome to our discussion session on addiction!

Bethechange and I will be running the session with Sophie tonight. 

If you feel upset at all during the discussion remember that there are people you can talk to. See the emergency Help tab in the top right corner of this page (the yellow one). Also keep the Community Guidelines in mind so that we can keep the discussion on track and useful for everyone. 

To start us off the first question is: 

Have you ever felt like you (or someone you know) were addicted to something and how did

it make you feel?   

[Pris]

I'm addicted to the internet. It's fine for now, but I get about on edge if I go for a couple of days without it. Yeah, this is gonna work so well when I finally get a job, right?

[bethechange]

Hi there everyone!

I have a friend who has had an ongoing issue with addiction and it has affected almost everything in his life. It controls where he goes, how long he goes for and it is always on his mind, which stresses him out.

[Sophie-RO]

Hi all... it will be interesting to hear about how everyone has dealt with unhealthy obsession/addiction.... The simplest example of obsession i can think of in my life is the way that i will obsess over a song that i love and listen to it over and over again until i hate it and can't listen to it anymore. I know that i'm going to end up hating the song but i just cant stop listening... that may not be addiction but maybe it's a bit of a metaphor for addiction anyway... what do other people think?

[_sagira_]

The Internet is the worst!

[Lightuptheworld]

Welcome Pris. 

I think in this day and age many of us have become more reliant on the internet but sometimes it can go beyond that. How does it make you feel that you spend a lot of time online? Frustrated? Confused? 

[_sagira_]

Have you ever felt like you (or someone you know) were addicted to something and how did

it make you feel?  

Most definitely been addicted to things.  It was a controlling driving force in my life that I couldn't avoid.  Right now I still have addictions, but they're probably more on a milder side.

[graphiqual]

Good evening!
I think I might be finding this topic a bit hard to talk about because addictions isn't really something I've thought about or faced much.
So, with that said, I have to say no, I honestly haven't known anyone who has been addicted to something. At least not directly. I know my brother used to be quite addicted to gaming, but I only found out in later years after he got over it. I know a lot of other people with various addictions to gaming, but none all that serious, so it hasn't bothered me much because I haven't really seen it affecting with their everyday life. But I think I would be quite upset if someone close to me was addicted to something to the point that it took over their life, because it would seem like they've lost who they truly are to this thing that they're dependant on.

[Sophie-RO]

Hi pris, hi sagira... yea we hear a lot about internet addiction these days... what about how you feel makes it feel like an addiction?