Addiction

[fruitonthevine]

When you think of addiction typically we come in mind with things such as drinking, drugs, cutting and things of this nature. Lately I have been exploring the wonderful world of the telly and found a show called My Strange Addiction. I must admit I love the show for it explores all kinds of "abnormal behavors" such as ingesting toliet paper, sniffing gas, teddy bears and so on.

What do you consider an addiction? And do you feel empathy for those with a problem of some sort that they may have created themselves? Does an addiction to you have to have negative side effects on the body or can the mental effects be just as harmful?

[Nami]

Interesting post! My best friend told me about this show (I don't watch the telly-vision). One episode featured a man named Dave Cat who loves his synthetic wife Sidore. (Apparently her nickname is Shi-chan.)


Addictions are things that tend to have negative side effects, yes. However, the harm is not always apparent. Even "good" things in excess can be harmful. For instance, we need to eat. However, eating in excess can cause health problems. Laughter and joy are good. However, an attack of laughing gas is deadly. The body simply cannot take it.

The things we do repeatedly and are unable to stop doing of our own accord... those are addictions. Some addictions pass unnoticed by the populace because they are extremely commonplace. There are certain activities we do repetitively to pass the time we have on this earth. Some are consumed with gaming. Some are consumed with exercise. Some are consumed with travel. Some are consumed with sports. Though... some may argue that this is not addiction. This is simply a "passion", a love for a hobby. To that I don't really have a reply.

Either way, I'm not sure that all of the "addictions" on the show are actually "addictions". If addictions are identified, then what? Do we then censor the addiction? Do we attach additional labels to the individual with the said "addiction"? What profound purpose is there for the label? Does it do anything to help anyone or the situation? For now, I suppose gawking at the strange individuals who go on the show and allow the world to see their eccentricities will continue to provide amusement at the very least.

[fruitonthevine]

I was pondering the same thing myself. I understand that the lady loving on her teddy bears and lugging them around with her everywhere is a bit "strange", but to what degree would one treat something like this? I see this as more of a quirk than something that needs to be treated as soon as possible. While I understand this may bring the women a bit of hardships in her life, why would one cast her into rehab because she may stray from social norms? I can't help but think these types of cases may be more of an obsession than addiction.

I'm addicted to soda if you think about the way they define an addiction on the show. But if I were to pick something to cast aside it would be my pack {every two days} habit of smoking. When you weigh the options of both of these "quirks, addictions, obsessions" of mine which seems to be one of great distress? Something we know is not the best for your health or something we know for sure causes lung cancer and many more other heath problems that may lead to your death?