How to Know When a Habit has Become Self-Destructive
Anything can become a form of self-medication if you try hard enough.
I haven’t written one of these since April 2023. Here’s a list of things that have changed since then:
I’ve taught nearly 200 spin classes at SPINCO Kelowna.
I got laid off from my tech job.
I started working as a freelance writer.
I got engaged.
For a while, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to come back to this newsletter because I was embarrassed I’d started another thing only to drop it (this is, unfortunately, a pattern of mine). But as I’m learning, shame is a sh*tty thing to base your decisions on.
Now that you’re all caught up, let’s pick right back up where we left off, shall we?
Yesterday, I started a one-week detox from Netflix and YouTube. While there’s nothing wrong with winding down with an episode of a show at the end of the day, my video content consumption was a) well beyond an hour a day and b) becoming a self-destructive habit.
Here’s how I knew it was time to take a break:
I felt like I had a baaaaaad case of brain rot.
My motivation to do anything and everything was the lowest it had been in a while (doing anything other than watching TV or YouTube felt like a huge effort).
I was spending every free moment watching something (even when I was brushing my teeth and eating lunch at home).
I hadn’t been alone with my own thoughts in, uh…too long. How long? Well, it literally took the power going out for 3.5 hours for me to even notice how long it had been.
My creativity hadn’t reared its head in a long time.
I started to feel like everything that wasn’t watching Netflix or YouTube was a drain, which is problematic for so many reasons.
Watching all that content never left me feeling relaxed or recharged (like I thought it would).
In honour of my break from Netflix and YouTube, here are some of my favourite episodes of I Like To Watch, Netflix’s most successful YouTube show where two iconic drag queens drag Netflix movies and shows.
If you’re starting to question the share of your life you’re giving to drinking, scrolling, smoking weed or working, here’s what you could ask yourself:
Is this habit adding to your life, or is it taking away from it?
As always, stay weird.
— Reggie