Sweatpants & Sanity | That's What She Said | Anxiety And How I Was Addicted To Everything

If you do it right, you can be addicted to everythingBy “it,” I mean taking online quizzes. I have been diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, anxiety, depression, and - wait for it - low self-esteem. I tend to avoid rejection. I’m attracted to low-risk situations in which I get the answer “yes” on a regular basis. There’s no better place to get a “yes” than online quizzes. Some great examples:“Are you too dramatic for your own good?” Yes. Shocker, I know. “Are you a real bro’s bro?” Yes. So I’m not a dude. What. “Are you addicted to food?” Yes. Wait, what?I tucked that tidbit away from my therapist, with whom I have been meeting for eleven years. At my next counseling appointment, I said, “I’m addicted to food and you didn’t even bother to tell me?” My therapist paused, then said, “Did you take another online quiz?”“Yes,” I said. There was no point in denying it. “It was Are You Addicted to Food? I answered 19 out of the 20 questions with a yes.”“What were some of the questions?” she asked. I thought for a moment. “Okay, one was ‘Have you ever felt hungry?’ And I was like, duh, every day.”She nodded. “Go on.”“Another was ‘Do you hide food?’ Well, yes, because I have two teenage boys. If I didn’t hide food, it would be gone. They practically snatch food out of my hands.”“Any more?” asked my therapist.“Okay, this one - ‘Do you eat in private so no one else can see you?’”“Well, do you?”I shrugged. “Yeah, but I really don’t want to share. Oh, and another question was, ‘At get-togethers, are you more interested in the food than the people?’ Heck yes, I’m an introvert!” “And what website was this quiz on?” she asked.“I don’t quite remember. I think maybe Food Addicts something. I just remember the logo had an FA followed by a cross, because I thought that was not a great branding choice.”“Did you ever consider the source?” she asked. “Maybe they want to get as many people as possible to sign up.”“So you’re saying they want me!” I cheered. I swear, she rolled her eyes. “Is there any way I can convince you to stay away from online quizzes? They seem to feed your anxiety.” I took a moment to consider the question. Was it realistic for me to not take online quizzes? Did I really want to stop? I mean, I’m sure I could stop whenever I wanted. “Well, I make no promises,” I said, “but I can try. I mean, I might slip one in now and then. Also, that’s what she said.”“Okay, here’s a compromise,” said my therapist. “After each online quiz you take that causes your anxiety levels to shoot up, you must do a meditation. Here’s one that is perfect for you.”She grabbed her phone and showed me the following meditation. I have done several online meditations over the last year, and this is by far the best. I can’t wait to take another online quiz, and not just because I will be getting some acceptance...but because I will get to decompress with this meditation. [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92i5m3tV5XY[/embed]