# personal addictions history: what have you wrestled with? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 23, 2002, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/personal-addictions-history-what-have-you-wrestled-with/144556 "2002-12-23T17:24:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Pablito](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@Pablito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pablito)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2002, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/personal-addictions-history-what-have-you-wrestled-with/144556/1 "2002-12-23T17:24:47Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![cuauhtemoc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecb155/32.png) [@cuauhtemoc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cuauhtemoc)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2002, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/personal-addictions-history-what-have-you-wrestled-with/144556/2 "2002-12-23T18:10:43Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![jellen92](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/6bbea6/32.png) [@jellen92](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jellen92)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2002, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/personal-addictions-history-what-have-you-wrestled-with/144556/3 "2002-12-23T18:33:47Z")
Incessant, nagging worry constantly about anything and everything… oh yeah, and smoking… ---
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2002, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/personal-addictions-history-what-have-you-wrestled-with/144556/4 "2002-12-23T18:41:57Z")
Frozen yogurt. ---
**Author:** ![dragongirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b38774/32.png) [@dragongirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dragongirl)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2002, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/personal-addictions-history-what-have-you-wrestled-with/144556/5 "2002-12-23T19:57:56Z")
Smoking ---
**Author:** ![Eva\_Luna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e495f1/32.png) [@Eva\_Luna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eva_Luna)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2002, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/personal-addictions-history-what-have-you-wrestled-with/144556/6 "2002-12-23T19:58:29Z")
Chocolate and obsessing about relationships. Usually simultaneously. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2002, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/personal-addictions-history-what-have-you-wrestled-with/144556/7 "2002-12-23T20:00:12Z")
Uppers and downers. Marijuana Cigarettes Food Booze Booze Booze Wine Ben & Jerry’s. ---
**Author:** ![roadrunner70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e19b73/32.png) [@roadrunner70](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/roadrunner70)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2002, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/personal-addictions-history-what-have-you-wrestled-with/144556/8 "2002-12-23T20:03:14Z")
Smoking, beer, pot, cocaine, heroin, bitchy women, more coke, and Hooters waitresses. But I’m _much_ better now… ---
**Author:** ![Pablito](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@Pablito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pablito)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2002, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/personal-addictions-history-what-have-you-wrestled-with/144556/9 "2002-12-23T20:46:13Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Lodrain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c4cdca/32.png) [@Lodrain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lodrain)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2002, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/personal-addictions-history-what-have-you-wrestled-with/144556/10 "2002-12-23T20:51:28Z")
Masturbation. Pornography. Meat. Overeating. Swearing. The Internet. ---
**Author:** ![Pablito](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@Pablito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pablito)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2002, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/personal-addictions-history-what-have-you-wrestled-with/144556/11 "2002-12-23T20:53:35Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Adam\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ee7513/32.png) [@Adam\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Adam_P)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2002, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/personal-addictions-history-what-have-you-wrestled-with/144556/12 "2002-12-23T21:24:23Z")
smoking, heroin, Japanese girls ---
**Author:** ![Mephisto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/48db29/32.png) [@Mephisto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mephisto)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2002, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/personal-addictions-history-what-have-you-wrestled-with/144556/13 "2002-12-24T00:36:40Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![MsRobyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90ced4/32.png) [@MsRobyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsRobyn)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2002, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/personal-addictions-history-what-have-you-wrestled-with/144556/14 "2002-12-24T02:24:47Z")
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 ---
**Author:** ![jasonEric](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b4bc9f/32.png) [@jasonEric](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasonEric)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2002, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/personal-addictions-history-what-have-you-wrestled-with/144556/15 "2002-12-24T05:33:57Z")
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 ^^) ---
**Author:** ![LouisB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@LouisB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LouisB)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2002, 11:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/personal-addictions-history-what-have-you-wrestled-with/144556/16 "2002-12-24T11:38:17Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![11811](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/1/9d8465/32.png) [@11811](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/11811)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2002, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/personal-addictions-history-what-have-you-wrestled-with/144556/17 "2002-12-24T12:43:20Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![monica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a183cd/32.png) [@monica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monica)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2002, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/personal-addictions-history-what-have-you-wrestled-with/144556/18 "2002-12-24T16:28:48Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2002, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/personal-addictions-history-what-have-you-wrestled-with/144556/19 "2002-12-24T17:49:48Z")
food internet - SDMB basically - thionite ---
**Author:** ![Marconi\_Schmeese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ea666f/32.png) [@Marconi\_Schmeese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marconi_Schmeese)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2002, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/personal-addictions-history-what-have-you-wrestled-with/144556/20 "2002-12-24T18:13:19Z")
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.) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/personal-addictions-history-what-have-you-wrestled-with/144556.md?page=2)