There are specific habits, actions, and substances that are perilously addictive, yet they often go unnoticed as major concerns by the broader society. Someone recently asked the question, “What’s an addiction that no one takes seriously enough?” We compiled the 23 best answers.
Scrolling
“I almost missed this one because I was scrolling so fast.”
“Just keep scrolling just keep scrolling what do we do we scroll scroll.”
Sugar
“I found my sugar addiction harder to beat than fentanyl or suboxone. It’s a daily struggle with sugar, and most people are 100% addicted, even if they don’t know it.”
“I’m 100% addicted to sugar.”
Coffee
“I had a doctor tell me that coffee counts as water. It is a diuretic but apparently not enough so to counter the water content. So I’m taking that and running with it for the rest of my life.”
“We don’t always want coffee; we want water. Coffee is around 90% water. If you’re still feeling sluggish after coffee, drink water. It might not have been caffeine you needed.”
Attention
“It can manifest in so many ways – social media, causing issues in school, causing chaos, etc. Just look at Elon Musk.”
“My friend described her sex addiction as the need for validation. She does not care if the sex is good or bad. She only cares about the attention gained.”
“I agree. My sister is addicted to attention. Not the social media kind, but within the family and friends. She also lies to get said attention.”
Shorts And Reels
“The new craze of watching 700+ videos that are only about 20 seconds long as a form of entertainment. No wonder so many people have ADHD.”
“ADHD is not an appropriate term for how the mass effect of these, but I do believe it increases anxiety, makes it difficult to focus, and misleads people about subjects because there is very little or no context in these short videos.”
Self-deprecation
“It starts as just jokes to break the ice in social situations. Then it becomes a form of sarcasm ingrained into your everyday speech. Then it becomes a true depiction of how you see yourself, and it spirals into depression.”
“Came here to say this! Just say you are the best in the entire world in a sarcastic joking way, and it has the same comedic value without damaging your mental health.”
Late Nights
“I’m always staying up late for no apparent reason. It’s taking a serious toll on my mental health, and yet I can’t seem to stop. Maybe my circadian rhythm is weird, but it seems like I do this entirely by choice.”
“If a person feels emotionally exhausted and hasn’t had enough time for themself, they will often stay up late to get this time, but exacerbate the problem due to lack of sleep.”
TikTok
“I have a few hundred thousand followers. During those first couple of months, I was helplessly addicted to checking the number of views I got. I’m not exaggerating; I would check 100+ times a day.
“It was ruining other things for me by being a constant distraction, and the disappointment I felt when new videos didn’t get shared was crushing. Ultimately, I quit a year ago, but that was a horrible addiction for me.”
Energy Drinks
“I’m bad with this, and I’ve tried to control it. When I started my job a couple of years ago, I was drinking 4 Monsters (sugar-free) a day, five days a week. I’ve gotten down to 2-3 a day, but I know that isn’t good enough.”
“Something like a bang has 300mg of caffeine. We used to have a nurse that would drink 2 or 3 a night, and I always wanted to hook her up to an EKG and look for PVCs.”
Food
“It’s also the hardest to break as you can’t go cold turkey or abstain.”
“For years, I was using food in almost exactly the same way as drug users and alcoholics. I found certain high-carb foods would knock me out within minutes, day or night. I used to skip out on work to get a fix, even when not hungry. And I spent a lot of time thinking about when I’d beagle to eat more.”
Social Media
“It’s already a well-known fact that social media contributes to mental illness.”
“As someone who got off most social media, it’s crazy how stressed I got when I first stopped using them. It was weird; I felt so out of the loop, but now I understand it’s truly improved my day-to-day life.”
“What’s worse is we still normalize exposing kids to these from an early age.”
Procrastination
“I was surprised and a bit disheartened to see it go unmentioned for so long too. It’s a very hard thing to even try and overcome, I feel, without all the “do it later” jokes.”
“I think it’s an addiction if you are always delaying doing stuff until later, or when feeling more prepared for it, rather than being realistic and just getting it done.”
“That’s a problem for future me to worry about.”
Dopamine
“It’s easy to become addicted to all these things being mentioned when the real problem is you’re just trying to get access to a normal amount of dopamine.”
“I’ve never read a more accurate statement in my life. I don’t know a way out of my bad habits right now. I’m always so overwhelmed trying to keep myself borderline okay.”
“This is the most concerning comment and should have more upvotes for awareness.”
Alcohol Dependency
“Just because someone’s not a full-blown alcoholic doesn’t mean they don’t have a serious problem. There are millions who can’t go a day without booze yet are functional. But their lives would be ten times better without it.”
“Two years sober after 25 years of that particular ‘everything’s fine’ level of suffering. Every single thing about my life has improved.”
Afrin Nasal Spray
“I’m a doctor, and this can really mess your nose up. The active ingredient is oxymetazoline. Definitely, one I avoid at all costs.”
“I used Afrin for a week straight while I had a cold. I proceeded to experience the most insanely painful and perpetually blocked nasal cavity for the next two weeks. The stuff is stupidly addictive. Will never take it again because that experience was so miserable.”
Phones
“Oh, it’s true. I didn’t have my phone for a bit the other day. I think the network was down, so I received no calls or texts. It was absolute torture for 12 hours.”
“The only solution is to get a flip phone. I just finished having one for a year. You won’t be on it because it’s a pain.”
Chapstick
“Not to sound dramatic, but it ruins my day if I forget my chapstick. I try to keep back-ups in various spots, but then sometimes I get desperate and move them.”
“Surprised this one isn’t mentioned more. I’ve known several people with serious chapstick addiction.”
“Lips are probably so messed up from chapstick they depend on it for relief.”
Working
“So many of my friends in their late 20s work themselves to exhaustion, go out for drinks and talk about work for 3 hours, get called in early to work the next day, and even kiss up to their bosses on their days off.”
“Especially if you have a job that shows you instant gratification at the end of the day. I’m a general contractor and had to slowly ween myself off working 17-hour days.”
Skin Picking
“My fingers are permanently destroyed, and I just can’t stop. My parents hate it.”
“Mine aren’t permanently destroyed, but it’s definitely not okay; I pick at pimples as well until they’re flat. I spend hours a day doing it, and I only just realized it’s a problem.”
“Body focussed repetitive behaviors are difficult to break. I don’t pick my fingers too badly, but the rest of my skin is a mess most of the time.”
Marijuana
“I know it’s not as bad as other drugs, but if you’re seriously going to look me in the eye and say it’s not addictive when you wake and bake 24/7….”
“Weed dependency is real, but people will swear to you it’s not a problem because it’s natural. I have this acquaintance that smokes weed every moment of every day because otherwise, she has panic attacks.”
Shopping
“In the worst cases, the person either becomes a hoarder due to all the stuff they accumulate and/or turns themselves into a debt slave by opening up 10+ credit cards and maxing them out to buy more stuff to get the dopamine hit.”
“My mom’s house is full of stuff, and she never stops buying. Attempting to talk to her is fruitless; she sees no problem. I don’t know how to help her, but I also don’t think I can.”
Self-harm
“Absolutely. Especially when adults say the kids do it for attention. If they are doing it for attention, then give them attention. I say this sincerely, as a former self-harmer.”
“I started at 14 and stopped within half a year. I relapsed at 17. I’m 23 now and four months clean. No matter how long it’s been, the temptation is still there, waiting for when you are weakest.”
Vaping
“This kills me. From personal experience of quitting heroin and meth, vaping is harder to quit. I’ve been vaping for five years since I got sober, and I’ve tried quitting before, but it’s brutal. Every time I hit my vape, I know it’s bad for me, but I still do it.”
“I have one. It’s ritualistic. I went through stress and immediately picked it up again.”
“If you want to quit, stop counting days. You’re not on day 2; you’re just not that kind of person anymore. Remember the date, but don’t count the days.”
MORE FROM LOVED BY CURLS – 19 FALSE MYTHS THAT ARE SO OBVIOUS YOU’LL KICK YOURSELF FOR BELIEVING THEM
Sometimes it’s hard to sift fact from fiction, especially when certain long-ingrained myths are still perpetuated by society and in the media. A recent internet survey asked, “What’s an annoying myth that people still cling to?”:
19 FALSE MYTHS THAT ARE SO OBVIOUS YOU’LL KICK YOURSELF FOR BELIEVING THEM
20 AMERICAN FOODS THAT THE REST OF THE WORLD CAN’T STOMACH
They say you are what you eat, but for these treats, you might want to wish otherwise. Here are 20 foods that Americans may love but the rest of the world just absolutely can’t stand:
20 AMERICAN FOODS THAT THE REST OF THE WORLD CAN’T STOMACH
19 PEOPLE WHO DESTROYED THEIR ENTIRE LIVES WITH ONE SIMPLE MISTAKE
We are only human, and we all make mistakes, but sometimes mistakes have disastrous and life-changing consequences. Recently, someone asked the question, “Who destroyed their entire life by making one mistake?”:
19 PEOPLE WHO DESTROYED THEIR ENTIRE LIVES WITH ONE SIMPLE MISTAKE
22 THINGS WE ALL SECRETLY KNOW ARE TRUE BUT WON’T ADMIT
Sometimes the truth can be difficult to swallow. Someone recently asked, “what are the truths people don’t like to hear?”:
22 THINGS WE ALL SECRETLY KNOW ARE TRUE BUT WON’T ADMIT
Source: Reddit
