According to my experience the most common addictions in late capitalism humanity are:
1. Thinking (uncontrollable Mind, “Mindfuck”, “Hirnwichserei” in German)
2. Talking (unstppable verbal diarrhea)
3. Watching TV
4. uncontrolled media consumption (Social Media, Newspapers, TV, Internet, Netflix, Amazon Prime etc)
5. Shopping (also online)
6. Internet addiction
7. Gambling
8. Substance abuse (Cigarettes, Alcohol, Drugs)
9. Sport addiction (Yoga, Jogging, Fitness Studios etc)
10. Binge Eating and other eating disorders
11. Sex addiction
12. Addiction to contacts (no healthy solitude in silence possible)
13. Compulsive action (Addiction to washing your hands repeatedly etc)
14. Amendment addiction (self- and foreign optimization “I can improve (you) by…”)
15. Perfectionism and addiction to tidyness (Cleaning Flashes, Decluttering Addiction etc)
I hardly know any person who doesnt at least have one of these addictive behaviors in his or her life. What did I do to protect myself from them?
ad 1) For the mind, meditation has turned out to be a great factor, but according to the latest science outcomes, only if you practice it on a regular basis.
ad 3) Since more than a year I dont own a TV and I dont miss it. Sometimes I buy DVDs on the flea market for 1 Euro and watch them on my Laptop
ad 4) In 2016 I tried to go 4 months without Facebook and it was the best time of my life. I plan to quit it again soon.
ad 5) As I sarted to practice minimalism I eradicated shopping clothes or cosmetics (and decluttering is my substitute addiction for that).
ad 6) I have never had Netflix or Amazon Prime, instead I read more books than ever. The internet is still tempting me with Youtube, Pinterest and Blogwriting.
ad 8) Substances like alcohol can be reomoved best with a certain cause: in my case it is losing weight and detoxing in order to reduce my autoimmune sicknesses.
ad 9) Some of my former addictions that I´ve overcome obviously turned into a kind of “better addiction” called Yoga. The same underlying behavior mechanism are behind it though. And I see that in a lot of yogis, especially those who practice excessively and with a certain goal (“I will do the splits in 3 months” etc). This is, btw, a complete misunderstanding of the purpose of yoga, because it is about self acceptance rather than self optimization.
ad 14) I dont need any improvement for myself or others (most of the time) as I know that everyone´s perfect anyway since I´ve come across the Advaita Vedanta philosophy in 2015.
ad 15) I refuse to give up my perfectionism though. I am addicted to the compliments I get for the tidyness of my apartment. I admit it.
Pic via Pinterest
Sarva Yoga 