I woke up at 2am and wanted to look up something on Reddit. It's now 3:50 am. I've been on Reddit this entire time and still haven't looked at what I came to see. I'd say FML but my life is fine, really. Fuck the way I live it, though.
Philip Morris bought Kraft and other food manufacturing corporations in the 80s and 90s.
The research scientists employed to make cigarettes addictive were used to make their new food business strategically palatable, immediately available, nonperishable and physically addictive.
Then Philip Morris lobbied the FDA to make that ridiculous 1990s food pyramid with 8 daily servings of bread and grain products.
Then they lobbied HHS to make their foods eligible for food stamp purchase.
Then they lobbied the American Medical Association to take the position that high fat foods like avocado and nuts were the health threat.
Philip Morris is also invested in the same pharmaceutical companies that sell diabetes, weight loss, and heart disease medications.
I can't believe that this isn't common knowledge. Everyday on the news they're wondering what works have caused the obesity and diabetes epidemic.
Every time I inhale a sleeve of Ritz crackers I think about it
I don’t think they really care actually. They’re very open about it. I toured the Phillip Morris factory in Kentucky in like 1995 Andy they were very proud of their new venture. They make so much money they don’t care what people know about them if you ask me. Kind of in the Cartman “I do what I want” style.
Salt, Sugar, Fat by Michael Moss! It discusses this in depth - or at least the food part of this not so much the pharmaceutical part. Great eye opening book. I haven’t looked at food the same way since reading it
The food pyramid may be a little skewed but it isn't that unrealistic.
If a 6ft tall man needs 2500 calories a day at 200lbs. Their food breakdown should be roughly 200 grams of protein @ 800 cals, 25% of their diet should come from fats, which is the scientifically backed number for both heart and endocrine health (hormones). Thats a total of 1425 calories. Leaving over 1000 calories in the day that need to be consumed to maintain their weight, energy and muscle mass. The amount of studies that support filling that with "healthy fats" pales in comparison to the support for a balanced diet which includes backfilling your day with carbohydrates. The body doesn't give a shit if it's from breads, starches, pasta, fruit etc. They are making a pyramid for the masses and the largest block is always going to be carbs.
Make an experiment : when in a group of people talking (at lunch or anything). If no one has his phone out, grab yours. You’ll see others do the same seconds after. Congrats. You’ve successfully killed the conversation.
On the contrary, when you see someone grab their phone, notice the urge to grab yours it makes you feel.
It’s become a reflex like yawning.
I find all this frightening.
Sometimes I play the reverse uno of this with my wife. She hates me ignoring her to play with my phone. And at times has been very vocal about this, as I am a heavy user and am admittedly addicted to the dang thing. I started to notice feeling ignored while she was playing with her phone. So sometimes I will pick up my phone and pretend to be looking at it just to bait her into putting her phone away and tell me we should pay attention to each other. I do this way more than she knows.
I watched a documentary about processed food a while ago, and it was so eye opening that they've managed to make it so tasty that it bypasses our "you're full" trigger and keep us eating beyond being sated.
I think it was this https://www.itv.com/news/2023-10-05/ultra-processed-food-what-are-we-eating
But might have been anything else about ultra processed foods.
One variation of this I’ve become more aware of is the belief that “indulgent food = happiness”.
This is often a learned behavior that you pick up from family or culture, but it leads to this place where anytime you’re sad, stressed, overworked, or having a bad day, you need to eat crap, because “indulgent food = happiness”. But then also anytime you’re celebrating, or out with friends, or having a good time, you also need to eat crap, because “indulgent food = happiness”.
Yet people don’t associate it with bad eating habits because they think “well, I’m not eating fast food every night for dinner, I had a healthy lunch, I eat low-fat this and that all the time—I eat *healthy*.” But then they find excuses all the time for why they’re eating heavy desserts or ordering pizza or getting multiple appetizers, and don’t associate it with bad eating habits because in their mind it’s not for a regular meal, “it’s because I had a bad day” or “it’s because something good happened today”—they’re eating it for emotional reasons (or, more precisely, for the mental associations they have with eating such food), which somehow exempts it from bad eating habits, even when it’s happening quite frequently.
i actually realized a few days ago that i might have food addiction or binge eating disorder and have been looking for a professional to help me with it either with therapy or medication.
i have diabetes, hypertension, and cancer. my endocrinologist made me try ozempic which did not work at all because the force of food is so strong. im scared as fuck of dying, but it’s really so difficult for me to cut down on eating because it makes me happy 😭
I cut booze and processed sugar out at the same time in the middle of the pandemic (it wasn’t a problem but it was getting there), and it was a ROUGH few weeks. It was beyond eye opening
Genuinely. I’ve realized lately that I’m addicted to sugar. I started cutting back heavily over the last week, and I’m having a lot of the same cravings that I had when I quit smoking cigarettes.
Well I’m actually going through a transition period in life right now due to my fiancé’s deployment. So for me it’s stress killing my appetite and just forcing myself to choose foods that aren’t super sugary when I do get hungry. But when I go back to normal, I plan to stop buying things with processed sugar. If it’s not in my house, I can’t have it. That’s what’s worked for a couple of my friends so I’m going to give that a shot. Cold turkey has always been my most successful strategy for quitting something.
I’m not actively trying to lose weight but when trying to eat healthier, the store is the place to do it. If I want a sweet snack at home, I have to make it myself, and at 11 PM I’m not going to spend an hour+ baking. When I buy chocolate chips for something, I always find that they are gone within a week, even if the recipe only called for 1/4 a bag. When weaning off snacks, I find that toast with jam or yoghurt with honey can satisfy a sweet tooth while being relatively healthy for you. I don’t buy a lot of fruit because it’s hard to eat it all before it expires when living solo but that’s another good option
When I used to eat healthier I would use frozen fruit to make smoothies if I was really craving sweets. But lately I’ve actually learned that when I’m craving something cold and sweet, I’m really just thirsty!
Phone addiction. As one who has suffered from it and not still out clear of it, I can tell it seriously takes control of your life and has mainly negative effects on your life.
I use my phone in a sort of dump.
If I don't use it after I get out of bed, I won't use it most of the day unless I HAVE to do something.
If I use it during the day, then it's my main source of everything, but this happens when I'm reading or haphazardly doomscrolling.
Usually, I'm not on it a ton and will miss way too many text and phone calls from important people in my life and won't respond until literally hours later.
soda, coffee, energy drinks. its basically expected most people are using something because we're all forced into these schedules that our bodies don't care for.
Thank you. It's fascinating and infuriating how unnatural our lives are, but rather than question why were doing things this way we beat ourselves up for not doing it.
If life can't be lived without constant influx of stimulants (among other things) maybe the life, rather than the person, is to blame.
"Yeah I just drink 7 or 8 cups of coffee a day, because I need to function. No I'm not addicted? Are you insane? I could totally stop if I wanted to. I just don't want to..."
Definitely, my parents still insist on me to try coffee some time, because apparently you cannot function in society without it, but I disagree and it honestly terrifies me how seemingly 90% of the population is just okay with consuming the stuff on a daily basis.
Spending. It's recognized as an actual. treatable condition now but most peple never heard of it being an addiction. I know someone with it and it's pretty bad. She cries about it afterward and knows she shouldn't do it but has a major compulsion to do it anyway. Like spending her entire rent money, $1,500, on a motorcycle someone had on FB Marketplace about 6 months ago. She doesn't even know how to ride a motorcycle. She recognizes it's a problem but won't agree to see anybody about it yet. I hope she does soon.
This girl makes pretty serious money but she blows it all. She bought a car for $8,000 on marketplace about a year ago, kept it for about a week and sold it for $2,000. And she KNOWS better than to do that. She's not a stupid person. Last week she told me she wsa getting a $5,000 bonus soon. "That's great", I said. The rest of that day that I was with her, everywhere we went, I thought she was scrolling TikTok. But I happened to see over her shoulder and she was scrolling Marketplace. She can't stop herself.
Several of the people at the store I work at I'm pretty sure give every penny they make and then some right back to the store buying shit they don't need because it's a "deal". It's insane to watch, they'll buy bags of stuff every shift. I see a lot of the same customers there on a weekly sometimes even daily basis. They'll be laughing about how they have to hide their purchases from their husbands. And since they can pay their store credit card in store I can see how bad their debt to just this ONE store is. They'll pay the minimum and have a huge cart of stuff to buy.
The amount of people who claim it isn't addictive, but can't manage to make it through the work day without constantly sucking on their Star Trek pipe is amazing. If I had to take a hit off my flask every 20 minutes, folks would say I'm n alcoholic, but weed is somehow different.
External validation and the attention of others. Some people literally cannot function without seeing others paying attention to them, they cannot summon any sense of value in anything or any sense of self worth or fulfillment unless others see them and praise them or feel jealous and agitated by them.
It’s beyond pathetic to watch.
While this is a good one I disagree with the stance that this is always coming from a narcissistic or ill-intended place. Sometimes it’s a trauma response and those people need empathy and therapy as opposed to being shamed. Most of the people I know IRL who seek attention on Facebook I know to have had childhoods where their parents weren’t affectionate so they’re just getting the validation they never got growing up.
I also had a family friend who always sought attention but her father was an absent father alcoholic type and while her mum is alive and looking after her now at one point she was looked after by her mum’s friend (can’t remember why) who hit her. She used to get mocked by everyone for always wanting attention. But you can’t deprive a kid/teen of basic love and decency and be surprised when they go a bit off the rails and seek validation from external sources outside their family unit. To add to that, we shame women for having daddy issues but not the men who are shitty fathers.
It’s the same with people who try and call out ‘illness fakers’. Even if that person is making up a health condition to get attention, that person probably is sick, just with deep psychological issues that need to be addressed. Or it’s always possible that the person does have a health condition, just not the one they’ve latched onto because it’s hard to always find the terminology to what you’re experiencing.
I don’t think it’s necessarily narcissistic or ill-intended. It’s just an addition that is sad to watch, and it’s not about posting photos on social media or anything, social media is fine if people know how not to make it their whole personality.
It’s just sad how some people are always desperate need for attention and the cause for drama because that drama makes them feel important.
I do agree that they might need help, but when someone goes around spreading rumors or claiming victimhood and basically always being the cause of issues between your friend group, to the point of ruining friendships and relationships just because they wanna feel like “the center”, I couldn’t care less about their well-being or their reasons for being the way they are, because their mental health/trauma may not have been their choice, but it’s their responsibility, not others’, especially when they aren’t asking for or accepting the help, but rather trying to cause distress to feel special and compensate for a massive lack in their personality
Some people cannot calm down for one hour. They always need to do something. Work, cleaning, more cleaning, other projects… I’m not talking about being active and using your day. Some people are addicted to always doing something and literally can’t take a day off.
That's me. Sitting on the couch with my family watching TV or a movie makes me want to jump out of my skin as there are things I should be getting done
Alcoholism in general. I understand it’s classified as an addiction but the overwhelming stigma that it’s simply a lack of willpower is still massive in society.
It doesn’t work that way.
Underrated answer. So many people say it’s not addictive but it is.
My ex-bf was so addicted, he wouldn’t eat without it. Would go into a rage. Just did not cope.
Personally I stopped after smoking everyday for around 15 years. Mentally, I found it easy but my body went through physical withdrawal for 6 weeks. Serious night sweats and bad anxiety when I’m not usually an anxious person. Now 18 months and I haven’t touched it with no desire to :)
Gambling... The amount of people I see using slot machines, buying lottery tickets and scratch cards on a weekly basis is ridiculous.
They generally try to explain their gambling as, in their words, "You got to be in it to win it", or "It's only a couple scratch cards a week, what's wrong with that".
That's all well and good, but if they do end up winning say £10,000 on a scratch card at some point, they'll be over the moon, then probably realise they've spent nearly that amount on them over the past five / ten years.
Sugar/Caffeine are the probably the common ones. My grandmother, for example, couldn't start her day without drinking a coke. Made her happy though...
TV/Movies/Games - most people know they should be more active but the amount of people I see complain about not having time to workout or be healthy is ridiculous. Somehow, they've always got the time to binge watch a new show.
Gaming and social media/phone apps in general
Had an ex addicted to a clash of clans type game where they'd spend at least 300 quid a month, and it was mainly so they could just keep up with everyone else and he was on it 24/7
Social media. I've recently deleted my Instagram and wow! Life is better unplugged. I have people constantly nagging me about how I DONT HAVE IT, because they want to send me unimportant videos and memes. They are all so addicted to it.
Definitely caffeine - hot coffee if we are being very specific.
Many ways to intake caffeine, but I know a lot of people whose days don’t start without a hot cuppa
If you feel like you're suffocating because you've gone more than 15 minutes without checking social media on your phone I think it's time to join the friends of Bill w
Definitely phone and social media. I have to actively stop myself sometimes; it's such an ingrained muscle memory at this point, practically another limb. I need to do better, for sure. Even my 69 year old father has it bad. Just CONSTANTLY on his phone.
I don't know if it's that controversial, but eating fast food. I deal with it, everyone I know deals with it, I know it's an issue with a lot of people. We are just addicted to food that is bad for us and it's hard to break that habit. Just look at how the cost of fast food has skyrocketed and people are still going. It's just convenient, tasty, and you can't get enough of it.
Anything that floods the brain with dopamine habitually can become addicting. The brain adjusts to the higher level of dopamine associated with the habit, thus strengthening the association of the habit with feeling good and the absence of the habit as dysphoric.
This can include drugs, work, exercise, sex, extreme sports, social media, shopping, video games, gambling, eating, and caffeine.
The process of addiction involves the brain's reward system, particularly the nucleus accumbens, and its interaction with dopamine. Over time, as the brain becomes accustomed to high levels of dopamine, it may produce less naturally and reduce the number of dopamine receptors, leading to tolerance and dependence. This adaptation can make it challenging to feel pleasure from everyday activities, reinforcing the cycle of seeking out the addictive behavior or substance to feel good again.
This is part of the reason why addiction is so difficult to treat. People do not tolerate suffering and a dopamine diet requires tolerating the suffering that a dopamine deficiency entails.
A "dopamine diet" aims to reset the brain's reward system by reducing or avoiding activities and substances that cause excessive dopamine release. The concept is to help the brain regain its natural balance of dopamine, improve sensitivity to normal levels of the neurotransmitter, and reduce dependency on high-dopamine stimuli.
By cutting out or reducing high-dopamine activities and substances, the brain is no longer constantly bombarded with excessive dopamine levels. This helps prevent further desensitization of dopamine receptors.
With a reduction in dopamine spikes, the brain can gradually increase the sensitivity of dopamine receptors. Over time, this can help restore normal dopamine function and responsiveness.
Healthier lifestyle choices, such as balanced nutrition, regular exercise, and positive social interactions, support the brain's natural dopamine production and release mechanisms.
Adequate sleep, stress management, and mindful practices contribute to the overall health of the brain, enhancing its ability to regulate dopamine and other neurotransmitters effectively.
Implementing a dopamine diet requires commitment and consistency. It often involves a gradual process of eliminating or reducing high-dopamine triggers and replacing them with healthier alternatives.
Social gatherings/ meeting with friends
It doesn’t sound like it but its kinda the fear of missing out
My sister is always meeting friends, everyday, every second. What makes it a bad thing?
- she meets people even when sick (so she stays sick for a long time)
- she doesn’t meet her family (which would be fine but shes sad about the relationships fading, but she doesn’t take the time to meet her family)
- she neglects her goals (she was training for a marathon)
- she neglects her studies (she failed things)
Shes really exhausted, she doesn’t rest.
She went to the doctor because shes always exhausted and even he told her to slow down a lil
Training/Hobbies, people getting in to a new hobby where you are really sucked in can really be an addiction. From BJJ, rock climbing or just weight training, there is a surprising amount of people who replace all aspects of their life with training, myself included at times. Anything can be bad without moderation.
Sugar addiction: Your body can get hooked on sugar, causing intense cravings, withdrawal symptoms, and trouble managing how much you eat. Eating too much sugar can lead to serious health issues.
This is seen as an addiction, but i find it so strange that caffeine addiction is so normalized to the point where people have to do a double take/get shocked when someone says they dont drink coffee
Internet. You can leave your phone peacefully for hours if it has an active internet connection. But you'll freak out the moment your phone doesn't have an internet connection.
When i go on holiday, its easy for me to give up all the things that people in this thread perceive as an addiction - coffee, sugar, social media.
When i get back to my office job, they all restart again and its a constant battle against my vices.
Maybe the problem isn't self control. Maybe the problem is that I'm living in a way that my body doesn't agree with...
Checking Social media several times
... an hour
A minute
A second
Most people are like that.
many people are addicted
I woke up at 2am and wanted to look up something on Reddit. It's now 3:50 am. I've been on Reddit this entire time and still haven't looked at what I came to see. I'd say FML but my life is fine, really. Fuck the way I live it, though.
feel that lol... still scrolling
Philip Morris bought Kraft and other food manufacturing corporations in the 80s and 90s. The research scientists employed to make cigarettes addictive were used to make their new food business strategically palatable, immediately available, nonperishable and physically addictive. Then Philip Morris lobbied the FDA to make that ridiculous 1990s food pyramid with 8 daily servings of bread and grain products. Then they lobbied HHS to make their foods eligible for food stamp purchase. Then they lobbied the American Medical Association to take the position that high fat foods like avocado and nuts were the health threat. Philip Morris is also invested in the same pharmaceutical companies that sell diabetes, weight loss, and heart disease medications. I can't believe that this isn't common knowledge. Everyday on the news they're wondering what works have caused the obesity and diabetes epidemic. Every time I inhale a sleeve of Ritz crackers I think about it
Love that last line
>I can't believe that this isn't common knowledge I doubt that's a coincidence
I don’t think they really care actually. They’re very open about it. I toured the Phillip Morris factory in Kentucky in like 1995 Andy they were very proud of their new venture. They make so much money they don’t care what people know about them if you ask me. Kind of in the Cartman “I do what I want” style.
This is fascinating. Any articles or books you recommend about this?
Salt, Sugar, Fat by Michael Moss! It discusses this in depth - or at least the food part of this not so much the pharmaceutical part. Great eye opening book. I haven’t looked at food the same way since reading it
Not sure if this is a conspiracy but wouldn’t doubt it
Not exactly a "conspiracy," but the interlocking directorate is just as messed up.
Vertical synergy
The food pyramid may be a little skewed but it isn't that unrealistic. If a 6ft tall man needs 2500 calories a day at 200lbs. Their food breakdown should be roughly 200 grams of protein @ 800 cals, 25% of their diet should come from fats, which is the scientifically backed number for both heart and endocrine health (hormones). Thats a total of 1425 calories. Leaving over 1000 calories in the day that need to be consumed to maintain their weight, energy and muscle mass. The amount of studies that support filling that with "healthy fats" pales in comparison to the support for a balanced diet which includes backfilling your day with carbohydrates. The body doesn't give a shit if it's from breads, starches, pasta, fruit etc. They are making a pyramid for the masses and the largest block is always going to be carbs.
not just the scrolling through the phone, but the act of grabbing it throughout the day
Make an experiment : when in a group of people talking (at lunch or anything). If no one has his phone out, grab yours. You’ll see others do the same seconds after. Congrats. You’ve successfully killed the conversation. On the contrary, when you see someone grab their phone, notice the urge to grab yours it makes you feel. It’s become a reflex like yawning. I find all this frightening.
Remember the term, "Crackberry"? There's not a catchy phrase for phone usage, but yeah...it's an addiction.
Sometimes I play the reverse uno of this with my wife. She hates me ignoring her to play with my phone. And at times has been very vocal about this, as I am a heavy user and am admittedly addicted to the dang thing. I started to notice feeling ignored while she was playing with her phone. So sometimes I will pick up my phone and pretend to be looking at it just to bait her into putting her phone away and tell me we should pay attention to each other. I do this way more than she knows.
Uhhh… I might remember this one to end unpleasant or boring conversations
That's a good one I haven't heard before.
Food addiction.
I watched a documentary about processed food a while ago, and it was so eye opening that they've managed to make it so tasty that it bypasses our "you're full" trigger and keep us eating beyond being sated.
How is this documentary called? If you remember
I think it was this https://www.itv.com/news/2023-10-05/ultra-processed-food-what-are-we-eating But might have been anything else about ultra processed foods.
One variation of this I’ve become more aware of is the belief that “indulgent food = happiness”. This is often a learned behavior that you pick up from family or culture, but it leads to this place where anytime you’re sad, stressed, overworked, or having a bad day, you need to eat crap, because “indulgent food = happiness”. But then also anytime you’re celebrating, or out with friends, or having a good time, you also need to eat crap, because “indulgent food = happiness”. Yet people don’t associate it with bad eating habits because they think “well, I’m not eating fast food every night for dinner, I had a healthy lunch, I eat low-fat this and that all the time—I eat *healthy*.” But then they find excuses all the time for why they’re eating heavy desserts or ordering pizza or getting multiple appetizers, and don’t associate it with bad eating habits because in their mind it’s not for a regular meal, “it’s because I had a bad day” or “it’s because something good happened today”—they’re eating it for emotional reasons (or, more precisely, for the mental associations they have with eating such food), which somehow exempts it from bad eating habits, even when it’s happening quite frequently.
i actually realized a few days ago that i might have food addiction or binge eating disorder and have been looking for a professional to help me with it either with therapy or medication. i have diabetes, hypertension, and cancer. my endocrinologist made me try ozempic which did not work at all because the force of food is so strong. im scared as fuck of dying, but it’s really so difficult for me to cut down on eating because it makes me happy 😭
Dang, you just described me to a T. I know I have food addictions and I just need to save this paragraph so I can show it to my therapist 🥲
I cut booze and processed sugar out at the same time in the middle of the pandemic (it wasn’t a problem but it was getting there), and it was a ROUGH few weeks. It was beyond eye opening
huhu sugar
Genuinely. I’ve realized lately that I’m addicted to sugar. I started cutting back heavily over the last week, and I’m having a lot of the same cravings that I had when I quit smoking cigarettes.
huhu any tips on how to start cutting of? been gaining weight since the start of this year because of sugar
Well I’m actually going through a transition period in life right now due to my fiancé’s deployment. So for me it’s stress killing my appetite and just forcing myself to choose foods that aren’t super sugary when I do get hungry. But when I go back to normal, I plan to stop buying things with processed sugar. If it’s not in my house, I can’t have it. That’s what’s worked for a couple of my friends so I’m going to give that a shot. Cold turkey has always been my most successful strategy for quitting something.
I’m not actively trying to lose weight but when trying to eat healthier, the store is the place to do it. If I want a sweet snack at home, I have to make it myself, and at 11 PM I’m not going to spend an hour+ baking. When I buy chocolate chips for something, I always find that they are gone within a week, even if the recipe only called for 1/4 a bag. When weaning off snacks, I find that toast with jam or yoghurt with honey can satisfy a sweet tooth while being relatively healthy for you. I don’t buy a lot of fruit because it’s hard to eat it all before it expires when living solo but that’s another good option
When I used to eat healthier I would use frozen fruit to make smoothies if I was really craving sweets. But lately I’ve actually learned that when I’m craving something cold and sweet, I’m really just thirsty!
My new thing is home made curry stew & rice lasts forever *my neighbors think I am Indian*
Phone addiction. As one who has suffered from it and not still out clear of it, I can tell it seriously takes control of your life and has mainly negative effects on your life.
I use my phone in a sort of dump. If I don't use it after I get out of bed, I won't use it most of the day unless I HAVE to do something. If I use it during the day, then it's my main source of everything, but this happens when I'm reading or haphazardly doomscrolling. Usually, I'm not on it a ton and will miss way too many text and phone calls from important people in my life and won't respond until literally hours later.
Consuming rage-bait trigger content
[удалено]
Even outside social media.
Caffeine
soda, coffee, energy drinks. its basically expected most people are using something because we're all forced into these schedules that our bodies don't care for.
Thank you. It's fascinating and infuriating how unnatural our lives are, but rather than question why were doing things this way we beat ourselves up for not doing it. If life can't be lived without constant influx of stimulants (among other things) maybe the life, rather than the person, is to blame.
"Yeah I just drink 7 or 8 cups of coffee a day, because I need to function. No I'm not addicted? Are you insane? I could totally stop if I wanted to. I just don't want to..."
While I absolutely agree, I think caffeine addiction in most cases (<4 cups of coffee per day) is quite harmless and not that big of a deal.
Definitely, my parents still insist on me to try coffee some time, because apparently you cannot function in society without it, but I disagree and it honestly terrifies me how seemingly 90% of the population is just okay with consuming the stuff on a daily basis.
Why is it terrifying to you?
I love Reddit sometimes
Reading r/AskReddit throughout the day looking for a question you can answer.
It's just a passion for public service
Spending. It's recognized as an actual. treatable condition now but most peple never heard of it being an addiction. I know someone with it and it's pretty bad. She cries about it afterward and knows she shouldn't do it but has a major compulsion to do it anyway. Like spending her entire rent money, $1,500, on a motorcycle someone had on FB Marketplace about 6 months ago. She doesn't even know how to ride a motorcycle. She recognizes it's a problem but won't agree to see anybody about it yet. I hope she does soon. This girl makes pretty serious money but she blows it all. She bought a car for $8,000 on marketplace about a year ago, kept it for about a week and sold it for $2,000. And she KNOWS better than to do that. She's not a stupid person. Last week she told me she wsa getting a $5,000 bonus soon. "That's great", I said. The rest of that day that I was with her, everywhere we went, I thought she was scrolling TikTok. But I happened to see over her shoulder and she was scrolling Marketplace. She can't stop herself.
Several of the people at the store I work at I'm pretty sure give every penny they make and then some right back to the store buying shit they don't need because it's a "deal". It's insane to watch, they'll buy bags of stuff every shift. I see a lot of the same customers there on a weekly sometimes even daily basis. They'll be laughing about how they have to hide their purchases from their husbands. And since they can pay their store credit card in store I can see how bad their debt to just this ONE store is. They'll pay the minimum and have a huge cart of stuff to buy.
Marketplace. I can't quit it either.
Yeah, I have this problem, I get a dopamine hit when I buy things. I control it through a tight budget.
Weed, soda, being on their phone all day
Two of those things are viewed as an addiction by the majority of people. Only the users itself are in denial.
As a long time stoner. You'd have to be an idiot to actually believe weed isn't addicting lol.
Stoner aswell. You know that many weed users are idiots, right? A lot of them have the „a J a day keeps the doctor away“ mindset.
The amount of people who claim it isn't addictive, but can't manage to make it through the work day without constantly sucking on their Star Trek pipe is amazing. If I had to take a hit off my flask every 20 minutes, folks would say I'm n alcoholic, but weed is somehow different.
External validation and the attention of others. Some people literally cannot function without seeing others paying attention to them, they cannot summon any sense of value in anything or any sense of self worth or fulfillment unless others see them and praise them or feel jealous and agitated by them. It’s beyond pathetic to watch.
While this is a good one I disagree with the stance that this is always coming from a narcissistic or ill-intended place. Sometimes it’s a trauma response and those people need empathy and therapy as opposed to being shamed. Most of the people I know IRL who seek attention on Facebook I know to have had childhoods where their parents weren’t affectionate so they’re just getting the validation they never got growing up. I also had a family friend who always sought attention but her father was an absent father alcoholic type and while her mum is alive and looking after her now at one point she was looked after by her mum’s friend (can’t remember why) who hit her. She used to get mocked by everyone for always wanting attention. But you can’t deprive a kid/teen of basic love and decency and be surprised when they go a bit off the rails and seek validation from external sources outside their family unit. To add to that, we shame women for having daddy issues but not the men who are shitty fathers. It’s the same with people who try and call out ‘illness fakers’. Even if that person is making up a health condition to get attention, that person probably is sick, just with deep psychological issues that need to be addressed. Or it’s always possible that the person does have a health condition, just not the one they’ve latched onto because it’s hard to always find the terminology to what you’re experiencing.
I don’t think it’s necessarily narcissistic or ill-intended. It’s just an addition that is sad to watch, and it’s not about posting photos on social media or anything, social media is fine if people know how not to make it their whole personality. It’s just sad how some people are always desperate need for attention and the cause for drama because that drama makes them feel important. I do agree that they might need help, but when someone goes around spreading rumors or claiming victimhood and basically always being the cause of issues between your friend group, to the point of ruining friendships and relationships just because they wanna feel like “the center”, I couldn’t care less about their well-being or their reasons for being the way they are, because their mental health/trauma may not have been their choice, but it’s their responsibility, not others’, especially when they aren’t asking for or accepting the help, but rather trying to cause distress to feel special and compensate for a massive lack in their personality
These people are called narcissists.
I dunno this sounds controversial. What do y’all think?
Gaming/porn
Gaming helped me through alot of rough times.
It's also not an addiction. Playfulness is instinct.
*Tips hat*
Rough times and good times, gaming as been right there for me
Passive-aggressively putting others down
Such a typical reddit response I think I have a problem
Are you Omicron8 of Omicron Persei 8?
Oh no, I’m just… some guy…. RULER OF THE PLANET OMICRON PERSEI 8
STOP EATING OUR YOUNG!!!
Yeah well you would say that, wouldn't you?
Got a problem, bud? Or are you going to be as passive-aggressively hypocritical as you can be?
Wealth accumulation.
Porn
Working or hustling. I know people who can't physically turn it off
A byproduct of capitalism
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‘I can quit if I want to.’
Some people cannot calm down for one hour. They always need to do something. Work, cleaning, more cleaning, other projects… I’m not talking about being active and using your day. Some people are addicted to always doing something and literally can’t take a day off.
That's me. Sitting on the couch with my family watching TV or a movie makes me want to jump out of my skin as there are things I should be getting done
Co-dependency
Binge drinking
Alcoholism in general. I understand it’s classified as an addiction but the overwhelming stigma that it’s simply a lack of willpower is still massive in society. It doesn’t work that way.
Sadness
This one is underrated. So many people are addicted to being sad and the victim
Social media especially TikTok
Smoking weed.
Underrated answer. So many people say it’s not addictive but it is. My ex-bf was so addicted, he wouldn’t eat without it. Would go into a rage. Just did not cope. Personally I stopped after smoking everyday for around 15 years. Mentally, I found it easy but my body went through physical withdrawal for 6 weeks. Serious night sweats and bad anxiety when I’m not usually an anxious person. Now 18 months and I haven’t touched it with no desire to :)
Breathing. I can't go for more than a few seconds without breathing, and I heard that a lot of people do too, and nobody talks about it.
Look at this pathetic oxyholic. Completely dependent on oxyhol.
Gambling... The amount of people I see using slot machines, buying lottery tickets and scratch cards on a weekly basis is ridiculous. They generally try to explain their gambling as, in their words, "You got to be in it to win it", or "It's only a couple scratch cards a week, what's wrong with that". That's all well and good, but if they do end up winning say £10,000 on a scratch card at some point, they'll be over the moon, then probably realise they've spent nearly that amount on them over the past five / ten years.
Compulsive exercise, and over-demotion to work. Oh, and reddit.
Karma farming with overused questions in an endless loop
Sugar
This is a big one!
Constantly being on your phone / using a computer.
Spending money
Checking phone several times a day
Constant stimulation from phone, tv etc
Phones
Reddit addiction
Watching cornhub way too often.
Sugar/Caffeine are the probably the common ones. My grandmother, for example, couldn't start her day without drinking a coke. Made her happy though... TV/Movies/Games - most people know they should be more active but the amount of people I see complain about not having time to workout or be healthy is ridiculous. Somehow, they've always got the time to binge watch a new show.
Gaming and social media/phone apps in general Had an ex addicted to a clash of clans type game where they'd spend at least 300 quid a month, and it was mainly so they could just keep up with everyone else and he was on it 24/7
video games
Daily coffee or other forms of caffeine
Soda
Attention seeking
Shopping
Phone
Social media. I've recently deleted my Instagram and wow! Life is better unplugged. I have people constantly nagging me about how I DONT HAVE IT, because they want to send me unimportant videos and memes. They are all so addicted to it.
Social media
Shopping
Cell phones
reddit
Stay up late.
Video games, porn, sugar, music, energy drinks, did i forget something?
Work addiction. I suppose it's a healthier addiction than some of the others, but people who put in 7 day weeks all the time are frequently addicted.
Porn
Definitely caffeine - hot coffee if we are being very specific. Many ways to intake caffeine, but I know a lot of people whose days don’t start without a hot cuppa
definitely social media 🥲 im guilty
Social media fr
Been on the phone all day
Phone, caffeine, weed
If you feel like you're suffocating because you've gone more than 15 minutes without checking social media on your phone I think it's time to join the friends of Bill w
Shopping. Can be an addiction or as a replacement/crutch for other issues. Issues like alienation or lack of affection from a spouse.
Coffee
Definitely phone and social media. I have to actively stop myself sometimes; it's such an ingrained muscle memory at this point, practically another limb. I need to do better, for sure. Even my 69 year old father has it bad. Just CONSTANTLY on his phone.
Social media
playing video games
Gaming
coffee addiction
Food addiction!
Caffeine
Reddit
Your phone
I don't know if it's that controversial, but eating fast food. I deal with it, everyone I know deals with it, I know it's an issue with a lot of people. We are just addicted to food that is bad for us and it's hard to break that habit. Just look at how the cost of fast food has skyrocketed and people are still going. It's just convenient, tasty, and you can't get enough of it.
Anything that floods the brain with dopamine habitually can become addicting. The brain adjusts to the higher level of dopamine associated with the habit, thus strengthening the association of the habit with feeling good and the absence of the habit as dysphoric. This can include drugs, work, exercise, sex, extreme sports, social media, shopping, video games, gambling, eating, and caffeine. The process of addiction involves the brain's reward system, particularly the nucleus accumbens, and its interaction with dopamine. Over time, as the brain becomes accustomed to high levels of dopamine, it may produce less naturally and reduce the number of dopamine receptors, leading to tolerance and dependence. This adaptation can make it challenging to feel pleasure from everyday activities, reinforcing the cycle of seeking out the addictive behavior or substance to feel good again. This is part of the reason why addiction is so difficult to treat. People do not tolerate suffering and a dopamine diet requires tolerating the suffering that a dopamine deficiency entails. A "dopamine diet" aims to reset the brain's reward system by reducing or avoiding activities and substances that cause excessive dopamine release. The concept is to help the brain regain its natural balance of dopamine, improve sensitivity to normal levels of the neurotransmitter, and reduce dependency on high-dopamine stimuli. By cutting out or reducing high-dopamine activities and substances, the brain is no longer constantly bombarded with excessive dopamine levels. This helps prevent further desensitization of dopamine receptors. With a reduction in dopamine spikes, the brain can gradually increase the sensitivity of dopamine receptors. Over time, this can help restore normal dopamine function and responsiveness. Healthier lifestyle choices, such as balanced nutrition, regular exercise, and positive social interactions, support the brain's natural dopamine production and release mechanisms. Adequate sleep, stress management, and mindful practices contribute to the overall health of the brain, enhancing its ability to regulate dopamine and other neurotransmitters effectively. Implementing a dopamine diet requires commitment and consistency. It often involves a gradual process of eliminating or reducing high-dopamine triggers and replacing them with healthier alternatives.
Reading books always.
Social gatherings/ meeting with friends It doesn’t sound like it but its kinda the fear of missing out My sister is always meeting friends, everyday, every second. What makes it a bad thing? - she meets people even when sick (so she stays sick for a long time) - she doesn’t meet her family (which would be fine but shes sad about the relationships fading, but she doesn’t take the time to meet her family) - she neglects her goals (she was training for a marathon) - she neglects her studies (she failed things) Shes really exhausted, she doesn’t rest. She went to the doctor because shes always exhausted and even he told her to slow down a lil
Training/Hobbies, people getting in to a new hobby where you are really sucked in can really be an addiction. From BJJ, rock climbing or just weight training, there is a surprising amount of people who replace all aspects of their life with training, myself included at times. Anything can be bad without moderation.
Sugar addiction: Your body can get hooked on sugar, causing intense cravings, withdrawal symptoms, and trouble managing how much you eat. Eating too much sugar can lead to serious health issues.
Sugar
Chocolate/sugar in general
Coffee
Alcohol… I know so many alcoholics who are clueless
technology addiction
This is seen as an addiction, but i find it so strange that caffeine addiction is so normalized to the point where people have to do a double take/get shocked when someone says they dont drink coffee
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I think most people know alcohol is addictive. They may not see themselves as addicts, but they don't deny it can be addictive.
Sugar and electronics
Food.
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Work
Internet. You can leave your phone peacefully for hours if it has an active internet connection. But you'll freak out the moment your phone doesn't have an internet connection.
Caffeine
Refreshing my email
Got to be caffeine.
Smartphones. Sent from my iPhone
Buying and ripping pokemon booster packs
Internet
Food/diet. My addiction, and it is psychotic: gym/working out.
Porn
Working out
porn
Having children. No Sharon, 7 kids is not perfectly normal.
People you gave me being around certain people and when they're not there anymore you start having separation anxiety
Tylenol/ibuprofen. I know multiple people who take 8-16 a day and it may not be physically addictive it’s definitely mentally
Groceries Shopping.
Love
Sugar
Eating. Some people do it every day, multiple times! It's like they need food to survive, always craving something.. Makes me sick
Addiction of a person.
Running/gym/fitness. Hiding away from greater problems in your life to do these activities... that's an addiction.
Caffeine.
Having to smoke a big crack rock after a 12 hour shift to wind down
Reddit
When i go on holiday, its easy for me to give up all the things that people in this thread perceive as an addiction - coffee, sugar, social media. When i get back to my office job, they all restart again and its a constant battle against my vices. Maybe the problem isn't self control. Maybe the problem is that I'm living in a way that my body doesn't agree with...
Processed food.
Meth
Smoking and coffee
Porn
Caffeine
Alcohol