For quite a long time now I have been struggling to drop some bad habits cause they really eat up my time. I'm sure we all have at least one bad habit and I was surprised after performing a search on this site that I couldn't find a thread about it. I used to smoke two packs of cigarettes and a average of 3gr cannabis a day but I managed to drop this. But long before these habits dominated my life there was my music addiction.
At first I didn't see any harm in listening to music all the time being young of age, but for a year or two now having more responsibilities to deal with I am sick and tired of it. Quitting smoking was very easy compared to what I am facing now. The worst part is it manifests itself in hyper activity (fast pacing through my room and such) Being hooked to my iPod I loose all sense of reality, space and time and withdraw to my own internal world. I can't perform any activity when zoned out like this and the most fascinating thing is when I get the "urge" listen to a certain song it is due to a impulse a sudden thought that fires into my mind. If I attempt to restrain it I get all nervous and shaky like a heroine addict. I used to wake up on a free day and not eat, drink shower or get dressed and just pace around to my music for hours. It might sound ridiculous (I found it hard to accept myself) till I stumbled upon these articles:
http://psychcentral.com/news/2009/06/15/emotional-music-triggers-addictive-brain-activity/6521.html
http://news.softpedia.com/news/Addiction-to-Music-Has-Biochemical-Basis-179952.shtml
"Dopamine is important because it makes us want to repeat behaviors. It’s the reason why addictions exist, whether positive or negative,” Salimpoor explains in an email. "
“In this case, the euphoric ‘highs’ from music are neurochemically reinforced by our brain so we keep coming back to them. It’s like drugs. It works on the same system as cocaine,” he adds."
I concluded from these statements that my music addiction is a result from a lack of dopamine (I have been diagnosed with ADD/ADHD) and DSM acknowledges "Impulse control disorder" (source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Behavioral_addiction) and I found some references to dealing with bad habits here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Habit_(psychology)
The reason for this post is not to rant about my personal life or a cry for moral support. I was wondering about "dopamine related" bad habits of users on this forum since I think these habits/addictions are all branches of the same tree they just manifest themselves in different ways. Anyone had similar experiences? Or know of further references I should look into?
At first I didn't see any harm in listening to music all the time being young of age, but for a year or two now having more responsibilities to deal with I am sick and tired of it. Quitting smoking was very easy compared to what I am facing now. The worst part is it manifests itself in hyper activity (fast pacing through my room and such) Being hooked to my iPod I loose all sense of reality, space and time and withdraw to my own internal world. I can't perform any activity when zoned out like this and the most fascinating thing is when I get the "urge" listen to a certain song it is due to a impulse a sudden thought that fires into my mind. If I attempt to restrain it I get all nervous and shaky like a heroine addict. I used to wake up on a free day and not eat, drink shower or get dressed and just pace around to my music for hours. It might sound ridiculous (I found it hard to accept myself) till I stumbled upon these articles:
http://psychcentral.com/news/2009/06/15/emotional-music-triggers-addictive-brain-activity/6521.html
http://news.softpedia.com/news/Addiction-to-Music-Has-Biochemical-Basis-179952.shtml
"Dopamine is important because it makes us want to repeat behaviors. It’s the reason why addictions exist, whether positive or negative,” Salimpoor explains in an email. "
“In this case, the euphoric ‘highs’ from music are neurochemically reinforced by our brain so we keep coming back to them. It’s like drugs. It works on the same system as cocaine,” he adds."
I concluded from these statements that my music addiction is a result from a lack of dopamine (I have been diagnosed with ADD/ADHD) and DSM acknowledges "Impulse control disorder" (source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Behavioral_addiction) and I found some references to dealing with bad habits here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Habit_(psychology)
The reason for this post is not to rant about my personal life or a cry for moral support. I was wondering about "dopamine related" bad habits of users on this forum since I think these habits/addictions are all branches of the same tree they just manifest themselves in different ways. Anyone had similar experiences? Or know of further references I should look into?
otherwise I am smoking more and more at the moment. My obsessions and addictions usually occur when I'm bored. I've been bored for a while now. I also have ADD. Addictions perhaps caused by restlessness? I bet ADD/ADHD people have more of a tendency towards addictions.
