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From Shopping To Sugar, 28 Of The Worst Kind Of Dependencies Folks Have Ever Seen
Article created by: Denis Krotovas
When you actually think about it, there are way too many things in the world that you can get obsessed with. It’s different for everyone, as for some it can be an illegal substance, while for others, it can be caffeine or just a plain sugar rush.
Many people are drawn to quite a few different things, and they shared all of them when a Reddit user asked about their non-substance dependencies. Some of them are quite common, while others are just outright bizarre. Piqued your interest, have we? Just scroll down and check them out for yourself!
More info: Reddit
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
I have a close friend of mine who was a video game addict during college. He would spend all his time up in his room just gaming from the time he woke up until he passed out in his gaming chair at like 3am.
He was failing college classes, skipping out on parties and hanging out with friends and it completely took over his life.
That is, until my friends and I sat him down and literally had an intervention with him about how we never see him anymore and he broke down and admitted he was completely addicted.
We came up with a system where he would turn his controllers over to us and we would let him have them only when he proved he turned his assignments in. Pretty soon, he was gaming less and less and ended up going to med school.
He’s now a doctor with a happy family and he still will bring up how thankful he is that he had friends that had his back instead of just letting him “do his hobby”
Video game addiction is real guys.
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#2
Animal hoarding, cats, Guinea pigs or dogs. Reproducing, never going to the vet, never cleaning after them.
#3
My aunty had a shopping addiction and it was bad, when she died it took months to sort out her things she had so much and she had been in severe debt for it.
Edit - wow, I never expected my little post there about my aunt to have so many up votes. I feel I need to add to the story about her.
Truly, everyone loved my auntie very much, she was a kind woman who made people laugh with her joy and happiness, she had a unique way of talking to you and making you feel warm inside. She had coloured blue/pink/red short, spiky hair, always had the coolest prints on like leopard blouses and her nails intricately painted. I always loved seeing her and sadly she died too young, only in her late 50s.
She very much was into QVC and she would also go into thrift stores in our local town coming home with bags of things. Good things, good quality things, but too much. No one needs 200+ handbags for instance.
I miss her everyday.
#4
Self harm.
I work with people who have severe mental health conditions, including addictions of every kind. I had one client who was bright and had a quick, biting sense of humor. I know we aren't supposed to have "favorites", but she absolutely was one of mine.
She also had zero ability to regulate her reactions to negative emotions/ feelings.
If something upset her, she would light herself on fire. She never wanted to. And it was the only thing that would alleviate her emotional agony.
Whenever she is hospitalized for this (which is often, and for months at a time) and therefore unable to have a lighter or matches, she will bash her head on a wall.
Not on a random spot on a wall, mind you. On a corner. Every time. To the point where she has a permanent deep scar on her forehead which breaks open every week. Plus brain damage from the constant concussions she is giving herself.
Rational her does not want to do this. She knows it's destroying her brain and devastating her family. Emotionally dysregulated her absolutely cannot stop herself.
#5
I have a friend whose paycheck is entirely lost to online blackjack hours after he gets it each week, it's a terrible existence.
#6
Plastic surgery addiction can be so sad to see
These people's dysmorphia is so bad that they can never be happy with their own appearance, and what's mad to me is how normalised it is among teenagers and twentysomethings. My mother gets her nails done from a 25-year-old guy who said he'd had 'preventative botox' to pre-empt wrinkles. And supposedly Jenna Ortega has had about seven procedures done and she's only 22.
#7
Had a neighbor that was in her 60s. She went to the casino fairly often during the week, but "limited" herself to only going to Vegas once a month. She only had two rules for her trips to Vegas.
Only bring cash.
Leave a $50 bill underneath a rock at the outskirts of Vegas for gas money to get her home.
#8
Hoarding, I've been traumatized by this house, the body of the woman lied for 2 months in the flat and only because we noticed the over filling mailbox we actually got worried about the woman. Her flat was always reeking therefore no one was thinking anything was weird. We helped the owner to clean out the flat and her life must have been miserable.
#9
I see 350-400 lb people every day here in the Midwest. It's become so normalized to eat way, way more food than you actually need.
#11
Sports betting. I watched a vp from another department at my old job lose his house, cars, wife and kids, because he couldn’t stop betting despite interventions. We are talking millions of dollars of debt.
#14
My brother in law was addicted to master baiting. You could not leave this guy alone anywhere. Almost cost him his family. Years of therapy to get his brain right. He literally beat off everywhere all the time. I have no idea how he never got arrested. I mean if you ran to the store together you had to make him come in with you so he didn’t rub one out while you were inside. It was terrible. I cost him several good jobs.
#18
I had a friend of 5 years who couldn't go twenty minutes without an energy drink. No matter what it was, C4, Monster, Nos, whatever. He just couldn't. Last time I checked he's still addicted.
#20
Fast-food addiction. My step-dad is obese and will go out daily multiple times for Chik-fil-a, Starbucks or McDonald's. If he can't, he gets irritable and restless. Doctor told him to knock it off, but its like his whole day revolves around food.
#21
Co-workers constantly tell me they can't live without coffee. I know you said non drug but many don't realize how addictive it is.
They wake up before their body tells them to and then inject caffeine to stay awake.. have a few caffeines during the day to keep their high going.
Repeat this daily for years. Crazy addiction.
#22
One of my former bosses used to spend upwards of $250, sometimes $500 a day on Hearthstone. He'd walk around all day, not working, just playing. He was also an alcoholic and I quit when he beat his wife and went to jail. Loved that job though.
#23
Mountain Dew. so much caffeine my friend went into withdrawal, when the mountain resort we were at was out. actually started to shake a little.
#24
Gacha games. I know it's technically just gambling, but the attachment an ex friend of mine had to the characters was what really drove it. He'd spend thousands. Had a decent income but never moved out because he couldn't stop spending everything to pull his favorite characters. Ended up begging me and some other people for money just to turn around and waste it on a jpeg.
#25
Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 almost completely ruined the lives of multiple kids at my school. Like literally - school grades, friends, everything. I saw one of them a couple of years back, he basically had to do high school again
#27
My nephew is addicted to the DS era pokemon. An adult with autism and will spend his SS on it before food. Left the care of his dad so he can freely spend all his money on pokemon. Buying expensive peripherals and tournament cartridges, multiple DSs to exchange pokemon with himself for evolutions.
#28
Buying collectables wrestling figures. I know a guy who has spent probably 5k on them in the last year
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