personal addictions history: what have you wrestled with?

[Pablito]

Ok, so I've recently accepted my addictive personality and started making a list of things I've experienced some degree of addiction to. One view of addictive behavior is each addict gravitates toward a particular 'drug of choice' or problematic behavior, but when the preferred option is unavailable or if the addict is on the wagon from it, the addictive part of the mind will try to find a replacement and begin abusing that.

From starting at the beginning, sometime in my mid-teens and continuing over the past 20 years roughtly to the present, my list of 'problem areas' is pretty impressive (not in a good way) when I list my many different vices. I've listed those anything that threatened or actually became a problem area. It looks something like this, in roughly chronological order:

fingernail biting
homework procrastination
reading
video games, TV
pornography
alcohol
marijuana
other illegal drugs
alcohol
sex
alcohol
sex/ relationships
internet surfing
internet porn/erotica
internet chess
alcohol
SDMB

Thankfully, things are pretty much in control these days, and thank god for support groups. Anyway, I was wondering if others had similar lists to share.

[cuauhtemoc]

I think I have a mild food addiction. I use it for comfort. During stressful periods, I routinely eat an entire large pizza (8 slices) without coming up for air. Once in a while, I do eat myself sick. And I do eat alone.

I don't know if it's serious. I'm not obese, I hang out in between slightly overweight and slightly more overweight most of the time. But I'm sure it can't be good for me, especially the psychological aspects. I don't know if it's better or worse than dependance on alcohol, health-wise.

[jellen92]

Incessant, nagging worry constantly about anything and everything... oh yeah, and smoking....

[JThunder]

Frozen yogurt.

[dragongirl]

Smoking

[Eva Luna]

Chocolate and obsessing about relationships. Usually simultaneously.

[Annie-Xmas]

Uppers and downers.
Marijuana
Cigarettes
Food
Booze
Booze
Booze
Wine
Ben & Jerry's.

[roadrunner70]

Smoking, beer, pot, cocaine, heroin, bitchy women, more coke, and Hooters waitresses.

But I'm much better now...

[Pablito]

thanks Annie-Xmas and Superbee. After the first few posts, I was starting to wonder if anyone else would have the courage to 'fess up to some more serious stuff. Still, I gotta think I'm 'winning' for longest list.

[Lodrain]

Masturbation. Pornography. Meat. Overeating. Swearing. The Internet.

[Pablito]

Um, sorry, I didn't mean to write 'serious' above; I'm not here to minimize anyone else's issues. The shoes never feel bad until you've walked in them yourself.

[Adam P.]

smoking, heroin, Japanese girls

[Mephisto]

Cigarettes. Smoked at least a pack a day--sometimes two or three packs a day--for fifteen years. It was for me a very difficult habit to break.

I'm half-heartedly fighting over-eating right now. I've always eaten much more than anybody else I know, but it is only now, as I enter my thirties and a supposedly healthier lifestyle (having recently given up several vices) that I'm putting on weight. I don't want to be fat, a condition which I now feel I'm on the verge of.

Um, drugs in general, I guess. Sort of. Seems like I spent much of my teens and early twenties stoned on something or other, but I never became addicted to any one particular drug. *shrug*

Procrastination? Does that count? There have been periods in my life when it seemed as though I was a compulsive procrastinator. If that makes any sense.

Can you exercise too much? I was a pretty bad exerciser for a while.

There have been some periods where I was "borderline" with some sexual stuff I'm not going to get into here.

[MsRobyn]

Alcohol, various downers, food, cigarettes, and lousy relationships.

I've been clean and sober for almost ten years, and in a very healthy relationship for over a year. The food and cigarettes will take care of themselves eventually.

Robin

[jasonEric]

begining with teenage years.

Food
video games

sexual thoughts

masturbation

erotica / pornography

my first girlfriend ^^) thanx God for her!!

sex (never got too out of hand with multiple partners but I definately think I became annoying to my girlfriends)

alchohol

control

marijuana

love

computer games

internet pornograghy

self-pity



ok thnx for your time, you guyz got some good ones too!!! keep up the good work kids!!! lol I'm sure i forgot a few but sex has really kinda been uncontrolable force in my mind.

cya, and happy holidays. jason ^^)

[LouisB]

Codeine, alcohol, tranquilizers, nicotine and Coca Cola. It has been six years since I stopped smoking and ten since I gave up the drugs. I still drink an obscene amount of Coke and can't seem to beat that habit.

[11811]

Smoking, but I've been clear of that for 10 years.
Alcohol, but I generally don't keep it in the house anymore.
Definitely food, especially carbs, and in excess.
Smut, which thanks to the internet is easier to find.
Needlessly spending money.

[monica]

SDMB
chocolate
procrastination
fingernail biting (I am way over that one- my nails are so long and beautiful that people frequently ask me if they are real)
I used to have Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), which also caused some weird behaviors.

[astro]

food
internet - SDMB basically -
thionite

[Marconi & Schmeese]

Fingernail biting (under the age of 10)

Bulimia (a fight that I fought for 17 years and have been clean for
12 WHOLE MONTHS now!!!!!!) :) (YAY ME!!!!)

Vicodin (thank goodness that's done with)

Smoking (still do off and on, but it's not truly an addiction anymore)

Trichtillomania (pulling out hair - I unfortunately haven't been able to stop this yet. Medicine, therapy, nothing has worked long-term. For anyone else with OCD, you know what I'm talking about. Thankfully, I'm blessed with super think, long blond hair and you can't tell I pull.)

[BioHazard]

Ultima Online
SDMB
EverCrack
Cigarettes
EverCrack
SDMB
EverCrack
SDMB
Bad Girls

[FunLvnCriminal]

Alcohol, pot, LSD, extasy, and smoking. Those were my biggest. I have now quit all of them. Though I do have a drink from time to time. I am smoke free now for almost 2 days and smoking is by far the hardest one I have ever had to quit.

[Krisfer the Cat]

I don't allow myself to use a Walkman anymore. I WILL slide so far into myself that I stop talking.. I will sign to people.. if I even acknowledge their existance.

I read compulsively. Right now I am reading an average of 10 waking hours a day.. makes it hard to be a parent.

Internet porn.. but that got old. I guess I prefer the real thing! hahahaha

[JavaMaven1]

Over-eating, especially carbs. I'm a huge sugar addict.
Constantly worrying and sniping.
Alcohol, but to a lesser degree.
Internet--SDMB, LJ, etc.

[Ruby]

JavaMaven1, based on your username, I would have expected coffee on that list...? :)

My first obsession was cigarettes.

The second is depression/anxiety/food.

I've beaten the first one for over 13 years. I'm still battling the second. A little Paxil and WeightWatchers and I'm doing better every day.

[Honey]

Originally posted by Miss Xanax
Fingernail biting (under the age of 10)

Bulimia (a fight that I fought for 17 years and have been clean for
12 WHOLE MONTHS now!!!!!!) :) (YAY ME!!!!)

Vicodin (thank goodness that's done with)

Smoking (still do off and on, but it's not truly an addiction anymore)

Trichtillomania (pulling out hair - I unfortunately haven't been able to stop this yet. Medicine, therapy, nothing has worked long-term. For anyone else with OCD, you know what I'm talking about. Thankfully, I'm blessed with super think, long blond hair and you can't tell I pull.)

I was also addicted to Vicodin (the hateful, evil little pill). I will 2nd and 3rd your "thank goodness that's done with". Miss Xanax, I will not impose on you but, would you please e-mail me, I'd really like to talk to you.

(Many apologies for the slight hijack- carry on) :)

Honey

[Moirai]

Yum, where should I start?

Booze

Cigarettes

Bad men

Cocaine

LSD

Psylicybin (did I spell that right?)

Assorted pills

Marijuana

Spending money I don't have


I don't do most of these things anymore (almost 12 years off booze & drugs, 10 years off cigs, 10 years + off of bad men). But I will tend to overindulge in just about anything- it's the way I was built.

[Keith Berry]

Booze

More Booze

Nicotine

Yet more booze

Female high-school dropouts (too easy to impress)

Video games

Horror movies

Even more booze

Cocaine (the potato chip of drugs; try to snort just one line!)

Narcotic Painkillers

Bad Jokes

Women who drink booze


Out of all of those, the only one I have a problem with anymore is the booze and nicotine. I stopped telling bad jokes long ago, I think.

[japatlgt]

SDMB

[Shadez]

the internet. specifically MUDs lately. then suicide.

[Nutty Bunny]

Honey and Miss Xanax,
Chalk me up as another Vicodin addict. I was also hooked on Ultram and as unbelievable as it may seem, the Ultram withdrawl is WORSE than the Vicodin w/d! I'd like to know how you two kicked it. If you don't mind, would you please email me? Thanks.

Other addictions:

Food, cigarettes, caffeine (Mt. Dew in particular)

[Indygrrl]

Alcohol
Cocaine
Pills (vicodin, percoset, xanax)
Smoking


Oh, you know, just the everyday ones.

[Finnie the Pooh]

Alcohol. Been clean now for 22years.
Cigarettes. Still have one a month.
Work. Enjoy working more than holidays.
Cats. We share a house with seven cats and a dog. Love this one - not willing to chage.

[Typo Negative]

Narcotics, been clean for 15 years.

Cigarettes, been off them for 12 years.

[Pammipoo]

Skittles. sex. working too much. SDMB. the internet in general. sex.caffeine. exercising. sex. nail biting. trying to solve all of my friends' problems for them. shopping. did i mention sex?

[Maastricht]

In chronological order:

nail biting (over it, thanks to special nail care: filed/laquered nails don't have those edges where it's so nice to start gnawing)

worrying what people would think about what I said/did to them (almost competely over it, but it was really so annoying I actually evaded people -it almost did not seem worth the trouble)

procrastination (i didn't know that was an addiction till I read some good books about it -check Amazon .com if you're interested)

reading

sugar (I am not more addicted then most people, but recently read more about addiction and sugar really qualifies as an harddrug)

I tried some other things that qualified as drugs (coffee, sigarettes, alcohol, marjiuana, psychedelic drugs), Fortnately, I just did not like them. I never had any problems in not trying them again.

[BioHazard]

Originally posted by Pammipoo
Skittles. sex. working too much. SDMB. the internet in general. sex.caffeine. exercising. sex. nail biting. trying to solve all of my friends' problems for them. shopping. did i mention sex?

Are you female? ;)

[Shirley Ujest]

SDMB

Carbs ( mostly comfort, but mostly laziness. Cooking is not my thing.) I am slightly overweight, but more out of shape than anything and it drives me nuts.)

Day Dreaming. (Walter Mitty Is My Personal Hero.)

Reading.

OCD hand washing or water related things ( shower, dish washing, laundry)

[ladyfoxfyre]

[list]
Stealing (big one when I was younger, not anything expensive but a lot of inexpensive stuff. I got really bold for a while, then all the sudden I got "the fear" and stopped)
Carbohydrates
Sex
Sugar
Infidelity
Sex + Power all at once. Pretty much just being able to string along as many guys as possible. Still dealing with this one.
I suppose the last 4 are all connected pretty closely, I just can't pinpoint the one thing that is the similar. Probably the power aspect of it, I greatly enjoy that. It's definitely my more serious addiction.
-foxy

[ladyfoxfyre]

Well crap. That didn't work at all how I hoped it would. Everybody gets the point though.

[Miss Magic8ball]

My greatest addiction... well, It's either cherry vicks coughdrops or Manderin oranges.

Since I'm of a limited age, I really haven't had much time(or resources) to explore... A lot of poeple here seem to be addicted to Lysol and Listerine... Apparently, there's alcohol in them...

[Silver Fire]

I'm another hand washer, like Shirley. It got better after some really icky, intensive therapy (put your hand in this bowl of assorted yucky stuff (peanut butter, dirt, syrup, etc) and don't wash them for X amount of time). It was seriously painful, but it's mostly better now, unless I get angry or upset.

"Don't piss me off! I'll... I'll WASH MY HANDS!!!" Oh yeah, I'm bad... :rolleyes:

Drugs That I am Now Completely Over
Cocaine
Vicodin
Oxy Contin
Percoset
Demerol
Morphine
PILLS, PILLS, PILLS
Alcohol (particularily tequila (cheap, icky tequila if you ask Joey Hemlock))
Crank
I did a dance with acid for a short time...
Mountain Dew which I could almost say was the hardest habit to break, being that it's legal and so much easier to get one's hands on when compared to, say, crack.

Drugs That I'm Still Working On
Nicotine, which totally sucks, but I really am working on it. I got a few patches and a die hard will that screams, "I WILL QUIT".

Other than that... I'm not really addicted to a whole lot these days. There's still the hand washing thing, and the cigarette thing, and the fact that I am incredibly lazy. I wish I were addicted to cleaning. :D

[Pammipoo]

Originally posted by BioHazard
Are you female? ;)

Yup.

[phouka]

Caffeine. I had my last coke one month ago, and it took me two weeks to get over the withdrawal symptoms. I still get a little bit from iced tea and chocolate, and I suspect I'll have to give them up as well, since the only thing worse than not getting caffeine is the heart palpitations it causes.

[TVGuy]

Thank goodness, I've never had to deal with a booze or tobacco habit. Considering that alcoholism and other unfortunate addictions run in my extended family, that in and of itself is a minor miracle.

However, I do have problems with food and work - I tend to use both to fill empty places in life. I'm working on the first, the second is MUCH harder when one is expected to work hard and be productive. But are continuous 70 and 80 hour weeks healthy? Is thinking of yourself AS your profession healthy?

[jane_says]

Whew. This is something I have struggled with a lot in considering posting a similar question here. I am in the mental health field and have to be extremely careful about talking about these kinds of things (in reference to my own habits, anyway). Here goes.

I am addicted to nicotine. Big whoop.
I have, and do, engage in sexual behaviors that might be seen as addiction, or the beginnings of one. Certainly they would be seen as at least "freaky" by most people. However, it's not something that controls my life, and not something that causes problems for me. It IS something that I have to be careful to hide from most of my family.
My major addiction, though, is opiates. I have been addicted to pain pills for over 12 years, only stopping before I conceived each of my children, and beginning again in the hospital with the scripts they sent me home with after childbirth. I have sought treatment, and I was on methadone maintenance for six months with a private "doctor" :rolleyes: who made it clear that I was going to have to be a lot friendlier to keep getting my 40 mg. a day, so immediately I was back on the Tabs, Percs, O.C.'s, dilaudid, and morphine. The only methadone clinic in my area is over an hour and a half away, and they "dose up" at the same time I must begin work each day. So I come home from work, snort my lines, and go to bed. It is my hope that the closed-minded bigots who are my neighbors will eventually see the need for a clinic here and allow one to open closer to home.
For the record, I don't do it in front of my kids, I am never buzzed in front of them (I only do enough these days to keep from getting sick, not enough to get "high"). The only person in my family who has any inkling is my husband, who has been supportive but not co-ey.
Good luck to all the rest of you who are still fighting.

[non-native]

Let me see:

Nail biting
Not really an addiction per se, but since many people have mentioned it, so will I. Like a lemming. Hmm..

Computer games
It would still be an addiction if a had the time. I would also need the money to upgrade my shitty computer.

Porn
I am a man after all.

Alcohol
Not much of an addiction actually, but sort a slight yearn when it gets to the weekends.

Marijuana
I get bored.

Cigarettes
I dunno.

Marijuana
I'm still bored.

Over-sleeping
For some reason, if I can afford it, I need 12+ hours of sleep. Due to my ungodly snoring and ability to hold my breath for an unsually long period of time despite my smoking, friends have suggested I have sleep apnea.

Meat
No, I don't mean penis. I mean bovine flesh. My meal is usually over 50% meat, and that can't be healthy. But since i'm not overweight (i'm slightly underweight for my height, actually) I'll blindly assume I don't have a cholestral problem.

Due to my apathic nature, I haven't really wrestled with any of these except computer games which sort of solved itself. All these addictions are still with me, and still going strong.

[Moirai]

Damn Jane, that's quite a bit of baggage to keep hauling around. I know all about maintenance replacing the high. Been there, done it.

[jane_says]

Yeah, EJsGirl, it is. And if you've been through it, you know it. Give me a shout when you get a chance, if you want. My email's on my profile and my life's an open book. ;)