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Most people with addiction simply grow out of it (2014)
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Re: Most people with addiction simply grow out of it (2014)
#12Earlier quoted context omitted.
I would say almost everything is acceptable once you understand the balance and how it impacts you if you do/over do it. I agree there are a lot of normalised addictions, including the modern trend of counting every step, heart rate beat, times you go in the bathroom and even sleep analysis so you can compare to your friends.
Can you show us a single example of someone who destroyed their life because they couldn't stop counting their steps? No? So maybe don't call it an "addiction" if you want words to have any meaning.
here’s an interesting account of someone’s advice that they devised after having and recovering from an eating disorder.
i don’t know enough to endorse all their medical claims, but you can get a sense of their experience.
you can see that for them and others, an addiction-like compulsion to exercise (including literally counting steps) was a big part of it.
Re: Most people with addiction simply grow out of it (2014)
#13Earlier quoted context omitted.
Can you show us a single example of someone who destroyed their life because they couldn't stop counting their steps? No? So maybe don't call it an "addiction" if you want words to have any meaning.
Addictions do not have to be life destroying. Plenty of people are addicted to various things but are fully functional and live fulfilled lives. It’s a bit unfair to ask whether OP wants words to have any meaning when it seems you’re a bit fuzzy on the definition of “addiction” yourself.
> Addictions do not have to be life destroying. Plenty of people are addicted to various things but are fully functional and live fulfilled lives. It’s a bit unfair to ask whether OP wants words to have any meaning when it seems you’re a bit fuzzy on the definition of “addiction” yourself.
Wikipedia: Addiction is a neuropsychological disorder characterized by a persistent and intense urge to use a drug or engage in a behaviour that produces natural reward, despite substantial harm and other negative consequences.
Re: Most people with addiction simply grow out of it (2014)
#14You can be addicted to mostly anything; ‘healthy’ (veg, sports etc) and unhealthy. I have seen many people ‘grow out of it’ which meant they replaced one addiction by another (or more than one), but the new ones are acceptable in society so now you are not an addict anymore (…). For instance, I know more than a few ex harddrug addicts who are now addicted to gaming, work, sports, alcohol (also a hard drug but somehow…
I would say almost everything is acceptable once you understand the balance and how it impacts you if you do/over do it. I agree there are a lot of normalised addictions, including the modern trend of counting every step, heart rate beat, times you go in the bathroom and even sleep analysis so you can compare to your friends.
It's true, when I started counting my steps, I just couldn't stop. Then I had to have data about my sleep and bowel movements, so that I could have data-driven insights about my body. My friends and family got annoyed at my compulsion to gather data about mundane activities. It got so bad, I started doing sexual favors to feed my habit, and I am ashamed to admit I was gathering data while I did it to improve my performance. Folks, be careful when you count steps! It's easy to get hooked and you may end up like me!
Re: Most people with addiction simply grow out of it (2014)
#15Earlier quoted context omitted.
Can you show us a single example of someone who destroyed their life because they couldn't stop counting their steps? No? So maybe don't call it an "addiction" if you want words to have any meaning.
Addictions do not have to be life destroying. Plenty of people are addicted to various things but are fully functional and live fulfilled lives. It’s a bit unfair to ask whether OP wants words to have any meaning when it seems you’re a bit fuzzy on the definition of “addiction” yourself.
No, I'm not fuzzy on the definition of addiction. If a behavior has little negative effects, then it's not an addiction.
Re: Most people with addiction simply grow out of it (2014)
#16You can be addicted to mostly anything; ‘healthy’ (veg, sports etc) and unhealthy. I have seen many people ‘grow out of it’ which meant they replaced one addiction by another (or more than one), but the new ones are acceptable in society so now you are not an addict anymore (…). For instance, I know more than a few ex harddrug addicts who are now addicted to gaming, work, sports, alcohol (also a hard drug but somehow…
Not every form of disordered behavior is best understood as an addiction.
Re: Most people with addiction simply grow out of it (2014)
#17I don't have a lot of personal experience dealing with addiction in either myself or others, but TFA lays out to me a pretty compelling claim that addiction is a developmental disorder. The current mainstream belief of addiction as disease has always seemed to me like it had a great number of holes; it's main purpose was to make people stop stigmatizing addicts for moral failing.
The comparison to ADHD made in the article is an interesting one: although for sure many ADHD kids do age out of the diagnosis, I know many ADHD adults who still have it significantly impact their lives. What do we do with addiction if you've made it past your brain developmental point and you're still addicted?
Re: Most people with addiction simply grow out of it (2014)
#18Even if after a few years you grow out of an addiction, it can destroy your health in the meanwhile. Or maybe you won't survive those years. How many do successfully grow out of the "crocodile" addiction?
Perhaps the actual lesson should be that addition is not a yes-or-no thing, but rather a scale. For each addictive thing, it would be nice to know (1) the half-time of growing out of it, and (2) the distribution of health impacts during that half-time.
Re: Most people with addiction simply grow out of it (2014)
#19Related:
Most People with Addiction Simply Grow Out of It. Why Is This Widely Denied? - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34167068 - Dec 2022 (7 comments)
Most People With Addiction Grow Out of It (2014) - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19013480 - Jan 2019 (125 comments)
Most People with Addiction Simply Grow Out of It - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8396375 - Oct 2014 (156 comments)
Re: Most people with addiction simply grow out of it (2014)
#20Earlier quoted context omitted.
Addictions do not have to be life destroying. Plenty of people are addicted to various things but are fully functional and live fulfilled lives. It’s a bit unfair to ask whether OP wants words to have any meaning when it seems you’re a bit fuzzy on the definition of “addiction” yourself.
No, I'm not fuzzy on the definition of addiction. If a behavior has little negative effects, then it's not an addiction.
Most mildly addictive drugs don't have that many negative effects.