Brett's Blog: Do You Have an Addictive Personality?
May 21, 2009 | by Brett Blumenthal | 3 Comments
Hello, my name is Brett and I have an addictive personality. Pretend Crowd Answers: “Hello Brett.” Ok, so I am not a drug addict or a gambler. I am not a sex addict and no, even though I have a pretty high tolerance and can drink with the best of them, I am not an alcoholic. I have never ACTUALLY been addicted to anything. But, even though I might not be clinically diagnosed with this personality, I do have tendencies towards an addictive personality.
Some of us fall into this category, and a lot of us don’t. But, for those of us who do, the idea of “You can never have too much of a good thing” rings true. If I really love something, I want more of it. This pertains to chocolate of the deepest and darkest varieties, it pertains to a great performance at karaoke, it pertains to eating a good cheese, it pertains to fine champagne, and it even applies to time spent with people who make me feel great. Pure and simple, I can’t get enough.
I think there is a fine line between having an addictive personality and being an addict. That fine line is called ‘awareness’. Here is how awareness is vital to not crossing the line:
- Having a sense of awareness that I have the potential to be addicted to something allows me to make the conscious decision to stop the addiction before it becomes a problem. In other words, awareness gives you willpower.
- Without awareness, the good always outweighs the bad of over-succumbing to your object of desire. With awareness, you can see the negatives of overdoing it and the possible repercussions.
- Awareness allows you to enjoy your guilty pleasures in a healthy way so that you don’t have to completely cut them out of your life.
Do you think you have an addictive personality? Have you ever become fully addicted? What did you do to stop the addiction?
Related Topics:
- Is Willpower Biased?
- Can You Influence What You Crave?
- Chocolate – A True Love Affair
- Know When to Give into Your Cravings
- Do You Exercise Too Much?
- Are You a Carbaholic?
- Common Traits of an Addictive Personality
I am addicted to sugar and caffeine, which are
in soooo many things. My worst offense is Coca-cola, which in essence, makes me a Coke addict. Also, sugar in my iced tea, lemonade, etc. Cookies, etc.
I have tried to quit, do cleanses, cut down, and inevitably the sugar and caffeine creep back up to unhealthy levels, causing god knows what symptoms!
Help! Does anyone out there want to join a sugar and caffeine addict/but want to be healthier support group with me? I am planning to do a cleanse in June for the whole month on my own, but some support would help a lot.
Diana
Yeah… on the chocolate thing… HECK YEAH!!! A freak for chocolate am I. That is until I took this crazy chocolate class I am in. I have never consumed so much chocolate in my life. It is curing me of the addiction and I am building immunity.
I’m pretty sure I’m only addicted to one thing – the internet. Thanks for being such a great enabler! I’m aware of it, but often quite powerless to stop. I should be working right now, for instance…