Addictions

In the past week or so I've noticed a bit of a theme recurring in my life: addiction. Not necessarily to drugs or alcohol or even my own addiction. I'm talking about vices in general.
For some its weed or cigarettes, shopping, gambling, sex, food, excersize, etc.

In my own life I definitely could own up to having a mild food addiction, although I'm getting a lot better at controlling how I view food and what and how much of it I eat. For a long time in my life, food was something that never made fun of me, never talked back to me, never yelled at me. However, there was a tipping point. Food and drugs are very similar. At the height of this food "addiction" I was acting very much like a drug addict. No longer was it necessary that I eat socially, now I was doing it alone. I would eat my regular meals and then hide food in my room or buy it when no one else knew what I was doing. I would lie about it. I would tell people I wasn't hungry or didn't need food and would proceed to hoarding it in private.

Disgusting? Absolutely. Part of me is conflicted about even posting this blog entry, but I feel like its worth exploring. Food is troublesome because it was literally something I was addicted to, but unlike drugs or alcohol I actually need food to survive.

For example, if we do well at work, management often goes around and offers ice cream to employees. No one walks around offering lines of coke to their employees after a job well done (depending on your profession of course, but that's an entirely different topic...). Yet sometimes, that is how I feel. Full fat and sugar ice cream is my cocaine. A little extreme, sure, but its the closest I've come to a full-fledged addiction.

How about addictions to destructive people? I don't personally have this problem, but as a big girl, it could have easily become one. We often loose confidence in ourselves and assume that any and all attention is good attention. WRONG! Guys who are abusive, or won't commit are not healthy! I have very many friends- of all shapes and sizes with this addiction. It often happens because we're depressed, have low self-esteem and are desperate or lonely.

What kind of addictions have you witnessed or are brave enough to discuss? Any hateful or offensive responses will be removed so feel free to be open or anonymous if you wish.