addictive personalities?

[tinkerbell]

do they exist?

I seem to be addicted, to a different degree, to many things

the internet (daily)
nicotine (daily)
alcohol (almost daily)
sex (daily, if she will let me :H, but seriously its getting a bit worrying )
cocaine (monthly, but have no willpower around it if its there)


does anyone else have any other problem habits/addictions?

[GratefulEm]

addictive personalities?

Yes, I have a clothes addiction, especially to Chicos. Currently, they are having a 50% off sale and I've been in the store 3 days in a row. I really don't need one more stitch of clothing, but.....I hope that the supps, topa and all the things that help with the drinking also help with my clotheshorse addiction because it's expensive. Em

[tinkerbell]

addictive personalities?

ha ha!

clothes too, I forgot clothes!

Tink

[GratefulEm]

addictive personalities?

P.S. I just changed my avatar when I saw that Lizzie Mouse had my old one. I didn't want to be confused with her.

[zampa75]

addictive personalities?

I definitely think such personalities exist, because I am exactly the perfect example of that: I am addicted to alcohol first of all - no kidding, that's why I am here! , I have been for long and sometimes still am addicted to food as a pain reliever, as something much more powerful than mere nutrition for my body. I used to be addicted to cocaine, for a year, and for 5 years now I just have not even remembered its existence - like that, I just quit and never felt the need of it again, I wish it could be the same with drinks. When I find a person I totally admire I am literally addicted to them, meaning the world seems to rotate around them,I only think about how to be like them, for days, until I finally wake up and realize how stupid it is and I am - no worries, I am no psycho, just admire from the distance and beat myself up for not being as "perfect "as they are. Used to smoke a lot too, now only a couple of cigarettes a day, that too with no effort..............so, yes, addicitive personalities do exist and I could be the queen of them!!
Only a question: you say you drink ALMOST daily.......so are u sure it is an addiction?? I can think of a day without drinking only if I am sick as a dog or have to wake up at like 5 the next day for very important reasons, otherwise there is no way........just curious.

[tinkerbell]

addictive personalities?

there are days where i force myself not to drink by not leaving the house to get alcohol, i sit here and itch for it, literally fidgeting and fighting the urge to go to the shop

i think i'm still at a stage where i can get over it....hopefully

how did you give up the cocaine? was there a trigger?

[zampa75]

addictive personalities?

one day me and my "friends" had a very coke- oriented nite - one of the many, but this one was really hard stuff: we blew from midnight till maybe 8 am,non stop.........I don't need to tell u how frickin' good it felt, I felt like I WAS GOD ON EARTH OR SOMETHING, as it always is on coke.....but,even if all the previous times I woke up the next day - afternoon- without major side effects, just feeling guilty cos I had been a bad bad girl, THIS time, I woke up and it was like all the amazing high of the night before just got completely, totally, tragically reversed.......I felt AWFUL, a lot worse than any hangover, I felt like I 'd kill myself, I just could not stop crying!!! And the fact is, even if the last few times I had done coke it felt a little more difficult to recover the next day, it had never ever felt that HORRIBLE before......I really cannot explain that, it was just like all the euphoria of the night before had just turned into utter loniliness, anguish, fear and pain!!!!!! It was soooo bad that I just swore I WOULD NOT DO IT ANYMORE.....and it worked, I have not had a craving for it since, guess I have been REALLY lucky, guess that was just an addiction I could get rid of without major effort.....I did it once since but it was just for the sake of it, just cos it was a special night and my friends were doing it so did I, felt good of course but never thought I couldn't do without it later, as is with drinks, nor felt the withdrawal effects.........Believe me man: the year I was into it I REALLY WAS INTO IT, could not think about going out and not doing it, coul not think of a night without it, I was always thinking about blowing and when to do it.......but then it happened that I lost my self esteem because of it, and of course it wasn't enough, and then 6 months later I had that horrible, awful ,AWFUL suicidial feeling I told u about that I just thought I could not take anymore.........as I told u, tha last times had been more difficult to recover from than the previous ones, but bearable.......but that one, THAT ONE was just too much.......that pain afterwards I could not take....and I quit, and it was no problem.............but I tried to give up drinks the same way and it never worked, never....so I guess it is just up to every single person, there is no rule, we are just all different, and above all every addiction is different....sorry if I could not help you....! For me it was just like that, no trick, no solution .... Let me know how you resist the urge to go the liquor store anyway! ciao

[zampa75]

addictive personalities?

I forgot one important thing: it is incredibly easier to give up coke if you quit hanging out with people who do it...... for a while it was a mess for me cos the people I used to go out with did it A LOOOOT and they were ' my friends'....... but then u just give your life a major twist, those " friends" just leave room to more worthy ones...... things happen ,life changes........

[Bluemoon]

addictive personalities?

I think its a compusion. Compulsive behaviour. Many people who quit one vice, simply take up another. Trading vices. Example: swapping exercise for drink, or drug. The exercise takes the place of the addiction and the next thing you know, they're exercising like fiends. 'At least exercise is a good addiction" I always hear. But, I don't think so. I think the same root problem still exists, the compulsive behaviour. And, without addressing the compusion, exercise is likely to be traded for something else.

I've never been able to sustain moderation. One more drink, one more cookie, one more mile to run, one more than whatever was yesterday, and far more than prudent. Moderation is where the regular folks live, those not looking for a way out. They achieve modration without even trying. And, I look at them with wonder: How do you DO that?? And, they look at me silghtly askance (or, largely askance, depending). Why do you DO that? they wonder. I am compelled.

As a kid, I was always the one for the thrill - highest on the swing, round and round on the highbar, fastest down the hill - Go Big or Stay Home. Adventures were never refused.

Older now, and I recognize patterns. I recognize I have a glitch, sober or not. Its taken a long time, and I'm sure (!) I've a long way to go, getting to know myself. An ever process, in progress.

[wwbarb]

addictive personalities?

The thing about coke is it's illegal and expensive. I "dabbled" in it when I was younger and could have gotten hooked, but I was too cheap. A buzz on booze is easy to come by.

That's one perspective from a "frugal old lady".

[zampa75]

addictive personalities?

Right, so much wasted money on coke........alcohol is at least cheaper and legal - and so easier to get addicted to- but still, how nice it would be to get rid of that too........no kidding. And, Bluemoon, you reminded me of another addiction I used to have, the one to the gym and running,I used to completely frick out if I could not exercise and run for one day.......sometimes it still is like that,only sometimes though, cos I realized I'd better decrease my drinking and my emotional eating dramatically instead of obsessively counting the minutes, the hours and the miles I run, if I wanna feel good about myself again........