Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'm in my mid-30's. I quit reading Reddit because in pretty much all the subreddits I was in I started to feel old. People sound like I did 10-15 years ago when I lacked the life experience I have now. I don't have this experience on HN really. I suspect I'm closer to the average age here. There is the occasional poor opinion but it usually gets downvoted pretty hard. Even people that I disagree with I learn a lot fr…
No matter what the subreddit is, it’s full of radically far left political comments. They get upvoted and any attempt to provide reason gets downvoted. Not sure how it became this way but perhaps it’s as simple as what you say: > People sound like I did 10-15 years ago when I lacked the life experience They’re kids. Or perhaps it’s more sinister and coordinated. Either way, the political component of Reddit has made…
I'm an addict
241–250 of 602 posts
Re: I'm an addict
#242Seriously, what's the next step after acknowledging you have a disease (addiction being a well documented one)? GETTING HELP to treat it.
You just established your default-mode mind isn't amenable to your wellbeing: how do you see it helping to correct itself without any outside input?
As of this week, I just tipped back into sanity after 8 months being dysfunctional, another lapse into full avoidant coping mechanisms. It was certainly not the first time of my life, but I still got it wrong: I waited too long before reaching for help. As soon as I did the tide started stabilizing, and then it reversed. It took a couple of months (and leveraged the previously acquired experience) but it is obvious to me I'm back out of it now. Sleep, screen time, inner discourse... All indicators are in the green again.
Procrastination, addictions are symptoms hinting at other root causes. Believing that you can implement measures to keep it in check goes right against the very essence of the issue (as the article perfectly illustrates), and shows you don't have the correct grasp of the situation yet. You're leaving too much to chance, and I can tell you this is absolutely inefficient.
It is not the time to be picky and stick to one single truth® either: use a policy mix. The only required part is having someone TRAINED and EXPERIMENTED in dealing with your issue supervising your efforts. Someone you see in a regular fashion, each encounter creating another rung of the ladder that will get you out of this pit. Being in this kind of interaction tremendously helps with building the inner strength that up till now was lacking. They are your source of courage and support, the dam/dyke against which you fears, doubts and uncertainties will crash and subside. So make sure you feel you can trust them and stay clear from overly intrusive ones. But don't be too scared and just go to that first appointment.
Beyond that, anything goes, ritual/habitual practices especially (building up strength over time thanks to repetition). As long as you have that one external support providing strength and continuity to your efforts, you are bound to succeed. It will take some time, but the burden will get progressively lighter and the results more stable.
In the therapeutic frameworks department, I can strongly recommend EMDR, CBT and IFS (Internal Family System). If you can find someone in your area (or remote, you can actually self-administrate EMDR under the guidance of someone!) trained in one or several of those techniques that you get on well with, you're golden. This will most likely be the most efficient time-wise, but to a certain degree most things help, so start looking up directories of practitioners or local support group.
Take care everyone.
Re: I'm an addict
#243Earlier quoted context omitted.
Quick question: we have a similar (the same?) exclamation in German, it's "hört, hört!" which would be translated to "hear, hear!", not "here, here!". Is it actually "here, here!" in English or it possible you've just mistaken the words after having only heard them?
You are right. "Hear, hear" is correct qnd indicates approval.
Re: I'm an addict
#244The idea is that curiosity is good intrinsic reward function. The problem though is that it can get stuck doing something that is completely unpredictable, like changing the channel on a TV.
I think this explains a lot about human addiction to endless videos as well. Ironically I learned about this from a YouTube video[2].
Re: I'm an addict
#245Earlier quoted context omitted.
You really don't see the difference between popular fiction and cultural texts that have survived for thousands of years? How do you feel about The Iliad, Plato's dialogues, the Mahabharata, Tao Te Ching, or the Epic of Gilgamesh? Do they also offer "no more meaning in your world" than modern fantasy novels? I didn't think being an atheist meant closing ones mind to human culture. Guess I've been doing it wrong.
None of these are religious texts (as in, the Bible, the Koran, etc) . What are you talking about?
Re: I'm an addict
#246Knowing that HN is generally against it, I say it anyway: I recommend religion and religious teachings which address this and many other daily worldly issues perfectly. Christianity and Judaism both have excellent resources. Religious scholars have actually been the best psychologists but are generally dismissed by non-believers. Edit: for those asking for specific recommendations. It’s always best to find your own p…
> I recommend religion and religious teachings which address this and many other daily worldly issues perfectly. This advice simply doesn't work if the recipient is an atheist. To me, Religious texts are made up fiction that hold no more meaning in my world view than Harry Potter or Game of Thrones. If you read enough fiction on a shared topic, you'll be able to pull the same number of 'enlightening' quotes from thos…
In fact, Harry Potter And The Sacred Text does exactly that!
Re: I'm an addict
#247Earlier quoted context omitted.
You really don't see the difference between popular fiction and cultural texts that have survived for thousands of years? How do you feel about The Iliad, Plato's dialogues, the Mahabharata, Tao Te Ching, or the Epic of Gilgamesh? Do they also offer "no more meaning in your world" than modern fantasy novels? I didn't think being an atheist meant closing ones mind to human culture. Guess I've been doing it wrong.
None of these are religious texts (as in, the Bible, the Koran, etc) . What are you talking about?
Re: I'm an addict
#248The only solution I've found that isn't an impossible uphill battle against my lizard brain is... Be around people.
I'm not deep in an internet rabbit hole when I'm with another person. It's actually a motivator for me to live with a partner or roommates - they make me a 'better' person.
Maybe they make me ->A person<- rather than a brain hooked up to a doping device.
Re: I'm an addict
#249I dont like the idea of replacing the time spend compulsively procrastinating with "learning a new language, getting a pet, going to the gym" is the right way. I see the root cause (for me atleast (used to read HN and blogs for 4 hours everyday)) is that i cant stand being with myself. During the last two months ive been trying to not panic when i'm idle. And not take out my phone or read the nearest material i can l…
yes, I even like framing this as an environmental conservation activity.
I'm doing nothing at all (only consuming oxygen, no content, no nothing) as a conscious action to save the environment.
Re: I'm an addict
#250Earlier quoted context omitted.
> things as stupid as I see on reddit The majority of comments I encounter on Reddit are jokes that are at least mildly amusing, and some of them are hilarious. If I had to describe Reddit comments with one word, I’d say funny, not stupid.
The first year I spent on Reddit I thought so too. But those funny comments are often themselves memes, repeated in reply in similar contexts. Reddit has become one big circle jerk to my eyes. It's why I'm on HN, because I'm addicted but hate the community on Reddit.
Yeah, but they’re still funny. Better that than hate speech.