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Your thoughts on addiction

RawVoiceRawVoice Raw Newbie

I think that most, if not all, addictions are unhealthy, especially addictions to substances like alcohol and drugs. Other addictions can be very destructive as well, like overspending, gambling… My question for you – I’d really like your input – is this; do you think ALL addictions are unhealthy? For instance, I’m addicted to this website. I enjoy this addiction. I learn a lot here. I can support others and be supported on the raw lifestyle. I’m also addicted to email. I love to forward interesting things to my friends, and they usually send me good stuff, too. Are these addictions unhealthy in some way? In a way, I can see how they might be unhealthy because they make me feel “driven.” In a holistic, spiritual sense, maybe these addictions are taking me out of my center even though I enjoy them very much.

What do you think?

Comments

  • BluedolfinBluedolfin Raw Newbie

    An addiction is unhealthy when it interferes with one’s life. If you are emailing and viewing this site to the detriment of your family, job, your health (like not eating, drinking, sleeping, going the bathroom, etc.) or in any other way, then yes, it is unhealthy, in my opinion…

  • SueSue Raw Newbie

    RawVoice, there are so many worse things to be addicted to than this web site. If this is your biggest concern, than you are doing better than most. Good luck.

  • deborahanndeborahann Raw Newbie

    This is the only site I am “addicted” to. I wind down from work by perusing posts and recipes. I should be exercising! There is a huge learning curve in this shift in lifestyle ad I read and observed a lot before I jumped in, but it is so different from how I lived before that I still feel I need the guidance and support that is so abundant here. You also help yourself learn by helping others

  • RAWVOICE - I agree with your concerns and have thought about this as well. I am looking forward to what others have to share about this.
    It could also be argued that Raw Foodism is an addiction/control issue.
    Thoughts on that???
    :) HC

  • CarmentinaCarmentina Raw Newbie

    Although being 100% raw is a wonderful thing to aspire to, making it possible ALL THE TIME would become an obsession for me – it would kill my social life. I think the answer is finding the balance that’s right for each of us. I aspire to 100% when I can and try to FILL UP IN ADVANCE when I can’t. It’s important to surround yourself with like minded people to make it less taxing. I think it can be argued, like Hippie Chick wrote, that raw foodism is an addiction/control issue, but I think it might be a reaction to the positive effects brought on by the diet. Once you get a taste of good health, you want more!!!

  • deborahanndeborahann Raw Newbie

    I have battled sugar addiction for years and it seems many on this site and in raw food have issues with food. Raw food definitely makes me feel better and the compulsion to overeat is not as strong. I am just so used to the stuffed feeling from SAD days that I sometimes still overdo even on raw. I just had a bad couple of days with dates and soaked almonds. I couldn’t get enough dates and I usually don’t even eat them except in recipes. I was craving something sweet (horrible sweet tooth!), and I usually would have caved and eaten SAD sweets but I really didn’t want that – I wanted dates. It was really weird. I have been almost 100% since 1/1 so hopefully I am past that critical stage and each day off refined sugar will get easier. I also came up strong pos on a food allergy screen (controversy about accuracy) for refined sugar and apparently many crave what they are allergic to. I was a very strong pos for dairy and when I eliminated that, a cough I’d had basically my whole life went away in about 2 mo. I never really craved the milk, though. Sugar has some major effects on the neurotransmitters and I think that is why I was so addicted to it. The natural sugars don’t seem to affect me the same way. I would get almost a buzz and then crash an hour later from refined sugar. I still crash after too much natural sugar but I don’t get that buzzed feeling. I still feel very mentally clear until the huge insulin spike to clear the sugar from the 20 or so (yes, 20!) dates I ate. It is wnderful to finally be off refined carbs again!

  • My one-year contract with Verizon expires on Jan 31st. In this – my first year – with high-speed internet, I’ve spent far too much time online. I’m going to cancel in 4 days, so that I can go back to visiting libraries, and having more time for walking, reading books, learning guitar, etc. I spent 30-days camping in September without any internet, and I somehow survived.

    Of course, in balance, everything is OK. But I do agree that using the web can be addictive. Also, not to worry to much about addictions, because they all seem to fall away over time. I was eating mostly raw, but then aspired to be 100% raw after I found this website. Now I’m back to eating cooked foods again. I feel better at around 70%, rather than 100% raw. Just do what feels right for you, and over time, you’ll find the right formula for you. For everybody, the formula is slightly different.

  • I don’t want to judge others or hurt anyone’s feelings, but…
    My opinion is that anyone who freaks over having something (ie 1 t of Bragg’s) if they 100% raw might want to look at their intentions. If you are okay with them, that’s great. If it is a reason that refers to control issues, they might want to look further into it. I think that raw foodism could approach a ED just as anorexia can. Of course, the implications are different, but once you get so controlled over anything (chocolate, surfing the net, etc) it effects your mental balance.
    I think that a healthy balance is the key. I found myself on this site too much (and after my comment above, I am sure that some people might want me on less LOL) and I made a conscious decision to only go on during certain times unless I was in need of a recipe of something specific. You can definately get lost for hours with all of the great stuff….again…it’s all about the balance. We don’t want the government, etc to control our food or health, but are we over controlling our wellness at times?
    “FOOD” for thought…

  • deborahanndeborahann Raw Newbie

    Very good food for thought! and no offense taken here. I try to focus my efforts on healthy eating and how this is helping my body heal, not the fact that I need to be 100% raw. I’d be the first to tell you I have control issues with food but I am making a conscious effort to keep the healthy stuff around so I have options when the inevitable problem times crop up. I think when I feel more comfortable with creating meals this way and everything becomes routine,I won’t feel the need to be online so much.

  • Thanks for not making me feel bad. Sounds like you gotta good thing going on.

  • SueSue Raw Newbie

    I agree with you hippiechick. To each his (or her) own. It’s easy to get “gung-ho” on a particular facet of life. When you find something you love and that works for you, you just want everyone you know (and even people you don’t know) to grasp it and follow it. YOU MUST!! THIS IS THE BEST THING THAT WILL EVER HAPPEN TO YOU!!! But the reality is, it just doesn’t work that way. I live in a household that accepts whatever I want to do; (They have to, I pay most of the bills..LOL!) But really, I never force anything, I do the best I can, and I am respected. That’s all you can really ask for.

  • SUE - beautifully put and amen to the bills comment. Love it!

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