Addictive personality, real/not real? (zaibatsu), 08/22/2019
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I've heard people mention the "addictive personality" in the
past, but have never really read up on it. I still haven't
delved, but I did look at the gopherpedia page at least[1].
First and foremost, it's important to consider the idea in
its intended form, as a hypothesis. Too often, people talk
about theory and hypothesis (even in education) as fact; I
don't see the value in such a behavior, no matter how solid
the hypothesis may seem.
Upon hearing mention of the addictive personality, I've
sometimes wondered if I am of the variety that might have
one. Gopherpedia's reference to Lang's research tells me
that the following personality factors might be indicative.
Quoted directly:
* Impulsivity
* Sensation seeking
* Nonconformity combined with weak commitment to socially
valued goals for achievement
* Social alienation and tolerance for deviance
* Heightened stress coupled with lack of coping skills
Already things aren't looking great; I see quite a bit of
these factors in my personality.
As for genetic, physical, and biopsychosocial factors, I
have no idea other than my father was an alcoholic and my
parents were divorced. There are some other dramas in my
family tree that might have an influence as well.
Most telling for me, and the reason why the subject
interests me at all, is the reality that I've dealt with
some addictive behaviors. This is, in fact, what this post
is all about. Recently, I've taken Minecraft back up,
playing on the SDF server. I work for myself and at home,
and so I can play during the day if I choose. I think I've
taken it up in response to some life challenges (see "lack
of coping skills" in the list above), as an easy emotional
way out.
Yesterday I snapped out of my crazy long enough to realize
that spending almost an entire day playing a video game is
not the kind of thing that a person of my age and situation
should be doing. I decided that today, I would just skip it.
Of course, I've also been searching for the reasons why I
haven't been on gopher as much recently. I think the fact
that I've spent so many hours on MC is part of it.
I like gopher, and I feel like it helps me have an outlet
for thoughts, ideas, feelings, and the like. It's is an
inlet too, for ideas and understanding and connection. It's
not perfect, but nothing is. I'd like to get back to it; I
think it's a more viable coping mechanism than MC. If only
gopher were a little more addictive, I might have an easier
time.
[1]
gopher://gopherpedia.com:70/0/Addictive personality
