Avoiding Forum Land addiction

Giving you a like and a tag and a response @Phoenix_Rising for three times a dopamine hit haha!

I too tend to get a bit hooked on things like this. Being isolated, or isolating myself, i have found and do continue to find it easy to fill my need for social interaction through online spaces. My best person and I connected through an online space, i think I mentioned this in another one of your threads maybe, and I feel very thankful that we were able to come into each others lives which wouldn't have been possible had we not spent time online together.

This forum is different because of the anonymity, so I find it a little easier to switch on and off. In saying that, at the moment I run the risk of totally fulfilling any desire for social interaction I might have, here. I feel like it's an effort to reconnect with people in 'real life' (outside of this space) at the moment and I am not sure I even want to do that again after what's happened. I know that I probably need to get out into the world though even if it's hard, but not just yet.

Great topic and I am looking forward to reading what others have to say too.

(and ps - if I am still here in six months with no friends in the outside world, feel free to direct me back to this post haha)

Ahhhh phew...I'm glad I'm not the only one @Former-Member!!!! I was wondering what I was going to do if it turned out I'm the only person in the world that has this issue. That would make me, like, really weird or something...and there would be nothing worse than being an Aspie sea turtle with BPD who was weird to-boot!

...and here is 9pm so this is me signing off from Forum Land so that I can have my non-screen time before bed. Night all.

This thread made me giggle nervously because it describes me perfectly. I log into different forums and Facebook around 10am and have them running in the background while I do stuff. I must check then dozens of times during the day and I logged in until I go to bed around 10pm at night. I am a self confessed internet addict.

@Queenie, Thank you for sharing. Does your internet addiction bother you? I have found that since I've been hanging out here on the SANE forums, I've stopped going onto facebook so much. Thus I have kind-of transferred my addiction. I find the forums a much "safer" place to hang out than FB, so this is a good step forward for me...but I super don't want to just end up being hooked on being on here instead.

Ok, I think I've spent quite enough time in Forum Land this morning chatting to fun people like @Former-Member, @Zoe7 and @Faith-and-Hope. Now it is time for me to go and do some other things. My goal is to not jump onto the forums again until lunch time. Yes, this is a plan - have fun forum time, do other constructive stuff, then have more fun forum time. Ok...here I go...one, two, three, kerplop - the turtle has left the building.

Hi @Phoenix_Rising

I think you overestimate my wisdom 🙂

I have one practical tip though, which has helped me.

I have changed the frequency of my notifications. In your settings you can choose to get your notifications instantly, daily or weekly. So if you choose weekly or daily, it will collate all the notifications in the one email. So for me I have chosen to get a notification about my 'Likes' once a day but if someone @mentions me I get it immediately.

You can check out this function in 'My settings' & then 'Notification settings'

Nik

OMG @NikNik - that is amazing. I had no idea you could do that!!! Yayyayay!
Now I won't have notifications streaming in whilst I am at work.

I go on here when I'm avoiding writing essays..... like now.
But unlike others, I find sometimes it highlights my attempts to isolate myself and gives me a bit more impetus to get out there a bit more. Unless I'm depressed, in which case I have no insight about anything, at all.

Hi @NikNik @Phoenix_Rising

I think I get 'addicted to forums' and social media (FB) quite a bit. Sometimes it makes me feel loved, wanted and supported to be on a forum but other times it is triggering, my flashbacks come back from my abuse, reading other posts triggers and upsets me of not having family.

When i feel so alone, i tend to come on here and read other posts. and at times it reminds that i am doing okay as others on here are doiong it tougher than me.

i guess i do crave 'other people' interaction. i don't get it from my parents or siblings or hubby so i look for it elsewhere (if that makes sense). and then i cry because i feel so sad for myself and for others on here.

maybe that's why i was 'banned' from another MI organisation forum. maybe i was on there too much. i just hope i never get 'banned' again. to be told not to come on the forum ever again is humuliating, embarassing, distressing and very upsetting. i still feel so abandoned by their decision. and it hurts.

maybe i need to set myself some goals.

@Phoenix_Rising i get hooked very easily as well and it does worry me sometimes but i think i have it under control. i just get on when i can sometimes ill jsut flick through the day and answer posts at the end of the day when i ahve abit more time unless i see someone needs that extra support. After my recent experiences, i dont know when ill be going back into the real world. i dont have any supports really except hotleines outside this forums any way so i guess ill ahve to live with it. my main issues though start later at night and although i know i shoudl turn it off some poeple on here are great distractions depending on the thread. but when i take my sleeping tablets im often asleep by 11ish anyway.

@Former-Member- i found the same thing as you. its easier to'talkk' to people on her than in real life. ive ahd a bad experience recently that makes me question alot of things but as you said its prob better to be in reality rather than the forums at some point in time. i like helping people on here where i can and although some posts are triggering to me, imglad this is a safe place for poeple to open and allow their story to come out jsut as i found myself doing. your right about the anonymity though, i dont feel so obligated to some users however some people i try to get back to as soon as i can to hopefully give them extra support, just as many have done for me