gr9813

It has been 103 days since I quit smoking pot and drinking. Realizing that these habits were not good for my body, I needed to give them up. With the exception of a few urges here and there I'm doing pretty good. When I was drinking and getting high, I would park my ass in front of the TV and watch marathons of whatever TV show was on Netflix and pass out a few hours later. I would be too drunk to read so web surfing never really occurred. Now with a clear head I'm constantly on the web filling my head with garbage. Staring into the address bar my stupid fingers go right to ***** dot com. I hope for something educational, but all I get is Miley did this, Reid said that, bonner did this, you shouldn't eat that and all the stupid advertisements. I'm aware more than ever that these web sites are basically junk food for the mind. I try to go to sleep at a reasonable time, but wait lets check the internet one last time, then its 2am...no wonder i sleep like crap...ohh lets google how to sleep better...lol. Today I'm giving it up. No more news web sites, no more *****, no more break, no more youtube. I have a full bookshelf of books just waiting to be read. I have a guitar and drum set just screaming to be played. The Internet will now be used to sign up for yoga class and SoberRecovery. I even when as far to cancel TV and Internet, I have a smartphone for Internet if I really need it and South Park on DVD. I've given up cigarettes, cocaine, alcohol and marijuana now its time to give up unnecessary Internet use...here we go!!!

Coldfusion

How about spending more time at SoberRecovery?

Toffee1

Nice one! Hope it is easier to give up than alcohol ! Keep up the good work

b086

i was just reading about this today, because i do many of the same things that you do...reading news sites or following sports teams or whatever. apparently the scientists have discovered that there is such a thing as "information addiction"... apparently, learning new information, especially new information that deepens existing knowledge, activates the same dopamine reward system in the brain as more "standard" addictions. there's a lot of information about it on the internet, if you're inclined to another binge (like me)

best of luck to you!

TucTee

I know exactly what you're struggling with, gr9813. It's like you're looking for the next thing to get into by searching all those miscellaneous topics. Or, just looking for distraction however it comes.

I encourage the music avenue. Coming from a musician, there are copious amounts of free instruction on YouTube that will show you anything you want to learn about either guitar or drums. What would you like to play music-wise?

lorelei

103 days is great... well done and good luck with the rest!

GimmeAnudder1

This post actually made me laugh. I don't mean that to sound callous, it's just that I see that type behavior in myself. It's my addictive personality. The last time I quit drinking I threw myself into a sport/hobby and that became my life. I lived, ate, and breathed it so to speak. For me it seems to be an all or nothing type deal.

KateL

Ha ha. Yes. Even if I watch a film, I have to wiki it afterwards, totally analise and pick the bones of it, just to see if I can find out more ... mad!!

I even sat in on a lecture at my daughter's uni open day once, and kept involuntarily putting my hand up.

Joe Nerv

I actually feel that way about this site, and another musicians forum I frequent. While I get to think about a lot things here, challenge myself, and learn a lot about others I don't consider SR a tool for my sobriety. I understand that it is a very important tool for others and I'm not taking issue with that, I just find sometimes that I'm just a bit more involved here than I'd like to be. I'm at work right now and my supervisor walked in while I'm clicking away on my ipad... Not a huge deal, but I feel like an ass. For reason like these, I feel somewhat addicted. Should, at times be more present in the real world.

I took the summer off from any forum posting and I got a whole lot accomplished. Wrote and recorded my first complete song in years. So yeah, a little less time on the internet would do me good.

KateL

I am on the internet all day for work. But I work for myself so can mess around elsewhere. It will be better when my son is back at uni after Xmas, I use the solitude to crack on with work, so I might disappear a bit ... or not

Mountainmanbob

I wonder if one can wean themselves down
like only an hour a day
or is it like the alcoholic
that can't even have one

guess it depends on if we have crossed that invisible line of addiction ??

Mountainman

George3334

I pulled wayyyy back from looking at Facebook. This quote from Time magazine summed it up pretty well:

"Facebook is supposed to envelope us in the warm embrace of our social network, and scanning friends’ pages is supposed to make us feel loved, supported and important (at least in the lives of those we like). But skimming through photos of friends’ life successes can trigger feelings of envy, misery and loneliness as well, according to researchers from two German universities."

gr9813

I took drum and guitar lessons for a year and half, but when the drinking got bad I never practiced and eventually stopped. I would like to start again, but I would aim to use books rather than the Internet for tutorials. I'm trying to learn to read music for the guitar. I can read drum music pretty well, so I'd like to start pushing the bpm. The worst part about the Internet is ill keep researching how to get something done, rather than just sitting there and doing it... I don't have any plans for tonight, so the goal is to sit there play.

Thanks for the reply.

gr9813

Lorelei, thanks for the reply. I'm glad your back on. I wish you the best with your recovery as well!!

gr9813

I do the same thing. As I'm watching the movie, I google the actor to see what other films they've been, and end up having to rewind it to catch what I've missed...

happyperson

You have no idea how much time I spent trying to figure out the ending of Inception... Got it though, but it came from my own reasoning, not the internet.

This sounds very familiar. I do the same thing. I've even sat in frustration, not knowing what to Google next. Now I just walk away from it.

And the internet is filled with garbage. But there's some good stuff on it to. On the occasions you do find yourself doing this, here are some tips:

- Go to SR and post about it.
- Google "hobbies", "sports", "activities", stuff like that. You might find something interesting to do.
- coursera.org. It's awesome. If you do go on the internet and don't want garbage but good stuff, go there.

George3334

HA! I do that, too! I'll go to the IMDB app on my phone while watching...
Occasionally, I'm sucked into doing that hashtag twitter thing when watching a tv show so that I can read, in real-time, other viewers reactions to what's happening on the show. It's too much!

gr9813

I invite you to google honest movie trailer inception.

Honest Trailers - Inception - YouTube

Lol, I spent too much time on the Internet...

happyperson

Hahaha... that one is hilarious! Had me laughing out loud.

Mountainmanbob

I took my name and information off Facebook two or three weeks ago
seems to be a waste of time
seeing my friends on the beach in Hawaii
or
to know that they are at Taco Bell
like really -- who cares

wish my grandchildren were not on Facebook
how many young ones have committed suicide due to something said there ???

have we ever wondered
how many perverts go there so as to look around ???

MB