Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Everyone is an Addict

I felt that the slide about "Soft Commitment" which is defined as, "Development of valuable patterns of behavior that bridge over individual temptations" was interesting. As I read on about examples of soft commitment, I realized that I am guilty of having an addiction to working out. I came across this realization when I actually broke down my actions with addiction in mind:

1. Desire- I get this weird urge when I start my day to go to the gym. It is a similar feeling that one would get the urge to go downstairs and make food. It is not an overwhelming urge, but is apparent enough to be persuasive.

2. Satisfaction- When I am in the gym my endorphins go crazy and I am so happy when I am active. I feel unstoppable and energetic. Even when I leave the gym, as tired as I am, I am automatically in a better mood than I was before working out.

3. Withdrawal- If it is has been more than a day or two of me not going to the gym I start to feel weird. I start to feel disgusting and unmotivated. My energy is extremely low and I do not feel 100%.

Now if you were to read these 3 steps without an explanation, your first thought would be drug use. I have a positive addiction to working out and I never thought of it as one because it was positive. I honestly had never heard of "positive addictions" before because I am around so many negative addictions. This slide opened my mind to a different perspective of looking at someone who has an addiction. The only difference between me and a drug user is that mine is positive and benefits my body, and theirs does the opposite. Very mind opening experience.

What do you all think?!


3 comments:

  1. Your addiction is definitely a positive one and a soft commitment. You most likely started working out to feel healthy and avoid temptation of gaining weight and such. But over time it became a pattern that you began to love and need, that's great for you! I used to have the same addiction untik I went to Europe and lost all motivation to exercise :(

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  2. This is a very thought-provoking post. It is interesting to think of everyone as an addict, because positive addictions exist just as abundantly as negative ones, we just do not often think about them. We could be addicted to seeing a certain person, to volunteering, etc. After putting my own explanations in under desire, satisfaction, and withdrawal, I could easily say that I am addicted to playing the piano. I literally crave it if I am away from it for a day. I like that you mentioned the difference of drug users is that they just have a negative addiction. That creates a more unified and connected approach to understanding motivations for addicts of all kinds.

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  3. As I read your post, I found it interesting that you named it "Everyone is an addict". You described how you are an addict of working out, and have made your addiction into something positive. When most of us hear the word "addiction" we think of only negative thoughts. We fail to realize that addictions can be positive and I think you made a good example of your own to point out that it can be something good. There is something that each and every one of us crave and we feel lost, empty, or not ourselves without it, and whether or not its something good or bad, we are all addicted to something. I think that it's important for people to understand that addictions are not always bad. Reading your post along with the lecture slides, opened my mind up to looking at things in a more positive aspect.

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