Obsessive behavior

I feel like I am a very obsessive person and it plays into my abuse of alcohol. I am not really sure how to describe it but I do lots of things obsessively. Like, I used to check Facebook obsessively. For no real reason other than to keep my mind busy. Well, unblocked fb from my phone. Now, I am checking this forum obsessively. Several times a day. I guess, I am just wondering if all addicts are this way or if I am dealing with something totally different. Does anyone else do things obsessively and get overwhelmed by them and then feel like you have to “calm your self” with a drug or drink?

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I do a lot of obsessive actions. I wipe down my counters in the kitchen 3 times a day, I count ceiling tiles, I check this forum more frequently than I probably should. Not sure if it’s an addict trait or not but you’re not the only one.

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Absolutely. Try to do other things if you can.I actually tend to obsessively fill my day with too many things.It helps to distract me though from being bored and wanting to drink.
This form is alot healthier than facebook.I dont think fb is good for anyone I try to spent as little time as possible on there.
You arent alone!

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Facebook is horrible for me. Seeing people drinking, having a good time, my mind starts to wander and then I am like, see, everyone drinks, it doesn’t matter if I do. Had to put a halt to that. Right now, my obsessions are this forum and MARIO run. Keeps my occupied for the time being but I feel like I need to be more productive! Gotta break the cycle. But one thing at a time. At least, I am sober. Gonna focus on that and then move on to my other problem areas.

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I had to remove Facebook and messenger off my phone because I was checking it too often and it was pissing me off, especially my ex posting pictures and what not trying to get a reaction out of me. So I decided to take a break. I also check this forum obsessively, but I think it’s a lot more healthier. I also do other weird things. I go on short walks about every 45 mins just to clear my head. In fact I’m about to take another one now. Even though I just took one 15 minutes ago. Maybe it’s an addict thing. Just trying to find anything to distract and calm your mind. Maybe you are also dealing with a mild form of ocd that you’ve been hiding/medicating with alcohol all this time. I think it’s just our anxiety, and we need to learn healthier ways to cope with it and our negative emotions.

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I was talking to someone about this. Drinking alcohol is the tip of who you are. Once you get sober, you realize that drinking was a way of coping with life. Now you get to learn about that other stuff and address it with a sober mindset. That’s why you can’t just stop drinking, you have to replace it with something healthier and more productive. The old heads say this in AA all the time.

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I obsessively check Facebook, Instagram and this forum all day. Sometimes I realize I’m not even reading or absorbing any of it, it’s just a nervous habit.
Sometimes I wonder if I’m doing it to “dissaociate” from the anxiety and nervous energy I seem to constantly feel.
Anything is better than reaching for a drink like I used to though!
I try to stay off my phone completely on Sundays and it’s always very hard, like another addiction, damnit!
I believe in what @Oliverjava posted about learning to harness this obsessive/anxious energy for good purposes and I’m going to try and focus on that instead of beating myself up.
Ok…gotta go check Instagram again. Bye.
:smirk:

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I mentioned this a few weeks ago on a post somewhere. I do have an addictive personality. It’s not the alcohol it’s me! The biggest thing for me was applying this behaviour towards positive things. I found I really needed direction or a goal. Sometimes I do ask myself, was I always this way or just the repercussions of the substance abuse?

Either way it’s here now, I need to deal with it… I became even more obsessed when I drank, which really is scary! In general, I can’t stand to see red numbers on my phone i.e “one email”. Even when I open the app, and see all the post I HAVE to open and read them all. This made my drinking bad because if a bottle was opened, mentally a mechanism would go off that I had to drink it all.

So, almost all the messages, links and content that is posted is read by this guy. smh :pensive:

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