I've felt addicted and tried to find out more about it. But there isn't much info out there about this sort of thing. I first realized I might have a problem when I was 8 or 9 years old. I was playing outside and told to go inside and read through a pamphlet my mother had gotten from a neighbor that was meant to help kids with english. I grumbled and went to do it, unhappy about having to stop playing. When I started reading through the pamphlet I went through the pages slowly, but a few pages later, I started flipping them faster and faster, felt like I was being pulled in, started salivating more, stopped blinking, and felt something like a hunger for more. When I finished the last page I was actually angry enough that there was no more that I stamped my foot. And then I stopped and thought "What the? Didn't I hate this homework? And.... wasn't I acting like a crazy person just now? " So I sat there and tried to make sense of it for awhile. Some of the things I remembered were getting that same feeling of hunger every now and then, and reading through the dictionary, encyclopedias, my mother's college homework, anything with words on paper, it didn't matter what, to satisfy that hunger. At that time I didn't have internet access and didn't know I was very shortsighted, so words written on paper were my only option and I didn't get many chances to go to the library, so the hunger was more noticable then. Nowdays, I almost never feel it, because I'm always seeing words here and there, internet, phone, work, school, or road signs. I think that if I went somewhere with absolutely no words for a few weeks, the next time I was able to read I wouldn't be able to stop drooling. I often descibe good books as being delicious or having a nice flavor. Well that sort of description came about because of the hunger thing. After that time when I was a kid, I tried to slow down when reading, to exercise a bit of control you see. But not long after that I moved somewhere closer to a library and was checking out 7 or 8 books once or twice per month, and the hunger was sated and mostly forgotten. I did go plenty of days without eating meals because of books. I got lightheaded plenty of times from lack of food and water. I had to make a habit to have snacks next to me while reading just so I wouldn't starve. I went to school without proper sleep more often than not whenever there was a nice book. My parents often confiscated them. And so I created the habit of checking out at least one thin book each time I checked out a stack, so that I could hide it in my matress They would confiscate the stack and believe they got them all, I would act sad as usual. Later I would happily pull it out when they thought I was asleep >><< So it really did affect my life (especially my health). Whenever I am stressed out, I read obsessively. To the point where I completely stop enjoying the novel/manga/etc, but I feel like I can't stop. So I understand what you mean... Like I said at the beginning of this post, I have tried to understand this stuff before. I didn't succeed but I did come across a few potentially useful things. I will link them here as I remember/re-find them. http://www.beyondliteracy.com/reading-addiction/ https://webstandardssherpa.com/reviews/breaking-the-perfectionism-procrastination-infinite-loop/
Wanna learn accounting software , Voice acting, Video editing, Python(it's a bit related to data analysis) , How to make youtube tutorials, making my own skincare products, shoe making, sewing. I always dream of big stuff and when I learn I may toss aside or they get too overwhelming and I don't do 'em.
Wow , I didn't realize there was an addiction like this before. But seriously despite the intensity of it I believe this is a good thing for you. Bec. you don't just read novels, but books in general. So you'd be very knowledgeable . I only like to read useless stuff though. which is what makes me want to stop. it's not real and it doesn't add anything to me . But I do hope you can be moderate coz anything has the potential of being too much and draining your life.
When you care too much then you spend too much time thinking and planning trying to get it "right" instead of just doing it. Take social anxiety for instance, people that care to much about what other people think about them have difficulty interacting with other people properly and then their failed interactions just accumulate and make it harder over time. A software engineer that cares too much about getting things right might get caught up about choosing the best library for the job and might get paralyzed by all the choices. They might spend more time testing things out then it would take to solve the problem with any random library. 90% of the time caring about things makes them harder. Learning not to give a crap is one of life's most valuable skills. Frankly, I don't think reading is a problem. You can read for several hours a day as long as its not replacing your life. And even if it is interfering with your life then it is still most likely not the root of your problem. Stuff like shame, guilt, fear, anxiety, or depression are much more likely culprits. "I feel like I'm wasting all my potential by escaping, but I'm afraid to discover I had no potential at all If I don't." You give too many shits and its holding you back.
Well, once I got easy access (with internet, manga and translated novels), I started reading only the useless stuff too I only read things like textbooks when desperate, or online articles when bored of too much fiction. I do try to be moderate, and it works fine when I'm feeling alright, but when I get stressed out all the moderation goes out the window and I become an obsessive reader, so it's really not good... Please let me know if the second link (the perfectionism one) is helpful to you. It's been awhile since I read it, so I'm not sure but I think the topic might be closely related to your situation. edit: am googling and findning more links. Not sure if helpful, but interesting at least: https://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2008/aug/12/aslowcureforbookabuse https://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/go...ion-is-a-story-in-itself-20180208-h0vsd4.html
Honestly, just the fact that you admit you might have a problem and want to work on it is a big step forward. You also have very clear images of things you want to do. So I would suggest you to slowly try to cut down your reading time and replace it with tutorials and books for the things you want to learn. I know it’s not as easy as it sounds but it does only requires discipline. Like someone typed above, it’s a bit like hipnose. Tell yourself constantly you’ll have a better time learning about what you want.
Playing a instrument does really help, once you get into it in the moment you can go on and on. It happened to me before, tho it's a little hard actually getting myself to play it
Sad to say it's incurable. It only escalates. Unless you start to medicate. People are predisposed to addictions, it's just different types. I got pickier the more I read, but now I've started MTL'ing cause I have no patience to wait for the English translation, and sometimes I find an untranslated novel that I can't wait to read. I've started learning Chinese (my preference is for Chinese novels, and it's easier to find them online, from a practical point of view). It took me 12 years to get over my manga reading addiction, and that's mostly because novels took over. I don't know what to tell you. If you still want to be a functioning member of society, try to set up a schedule for reading and working. Or use the novel chapters as a reward after completing tasks. It's what works for me, but people are different. At this point, probably only medication can help me (simply other drugs), but I don't even wanna get treated. It's like that article about a kid who's so addicted to gaming, he spends 6 hours a day on the computer. And the comments from real addicts below: I don't even wanna say how much time I spend on novels. Right now it's nearing 5 am, I gotta work tomorrow, yet here I am. I'm thinking of trying out stoicism in order to learn some self-control. The hard part is, I need some self control to even start out with this idea.
No set time, cause it's hourly. I'll probably go around noon. I could catch 6 hours of sleep if I go right now, ahah. Which I probably won't, let's be honest.
You know I'm beginning to see a pattern here ,your work is hourly and mine is from home. it's like bec. we are supposed to discipline ourselves that this happens. Say have you tried fasting (No food, nor water) morning to night? to control yourself. I did and it works but I can't actually get myself to do it more times bec. I don't like feeling deprived of something.