Internet Addiction -boredom?

Lonesome Dove

I was hoping not to be back here again, but back I am.

I've been trying to keep my blog up to date and it is good to write things down in order to see my thoughts in black and white.

The problem is that I don't think I can do this alone. I am getting nowhere fast. I'm trying to to sort out my daily routine in order to free up more time to allow me to even start considering doing other things.

I love going to the gym. However, I'm not getting suffiicent sleep which means that I arrive in work late and then work late. This affect me in that the gym is busy when I get there and I cannot therefore do my routine. This makes me cranky and down.

The knock-on effect is that my free time in the evenings are too short to do anything because I have wasted time at work and gym. Most evenings I get home at around 7:30pm and make dinner for 9:00pm and sit on internet then either watching online TV or surfing.

This brings in my next problem. I have self diagnosed myself as having an internet addiction. It has taken me time to come to this conclusion and I'm not sure of this diagnosis. It is an outcome of my living arrangements at present. I live in shared accommodation, so spend most of my time in my room. I am saving for my own house and after living in some bad houses, I feel safe and secure in this property. However, I do recognise that it may be part of my problem. I'm just really, really loathed to move out considering that it has taken me 7+ years to find somewhere I feel safe and secure in this city.

The internet addiction displays itself as continuous surfing from approx 9:00pm to 12:00am - 12:30am. I therefore get little sleep (or sleep in) and my working day has to extend in order to fulfil my commitments and my time at gym is reduced quality due to tiredness. And so the cycle continues.

I think the addiction is problem due to boredom and circumstances. At home I don't use the computer a lot, although I was cautioned at work for internet usage. As I have no social life, I sit in my room. In my room I have a computer to watch TV - if TV is boring, I surf. This leads me onto YouTube etc and I just sit clicking through links for hours.

I have taken the step of setting an alarm for 10:45pm in order to prompt me to go to bed, but I've willingly turned it off and ignored it every day this week in order to surf the internet.

I've thought about this a lot and I think I need to resolve these issues before I make any other steps - or at least make some decent progress in these areas.

A final thing is that I notice things becoming down since the time change. I spoke to my doctor about SAD, but she was very blaise about it. I appreciate that I am unable to get medical advice on here, and I'm not asking for any, but it is something I need to address.

So, I've written all this and it again sounds like a blog, but I have a question - what do I do to resolve this situation? Do I try harder to stick to my 10:45pm bedtime? What else can I do? Writing the blog is a good outlet, but I've no-one to bounce ideas off - no one seems to be reading it or leaving comments. I'm not sure how to get readers - maybe it is just not interesting!!!


Thanks for reading this and I hope for some helpful replies - thanks.


Finally - thanks to Boards & Big Bag of Chips for posting the link to my blog in my last thread. I appreciate the help.

Red About Town

I'm guilty of spending a lot of time on the net too however I wouldn't consider myself 'addicted'.

My advice would be to replace the internet with another hobby - something outside of the house. Join a team, group, evening class etc. I'm sure you could find something to interest you. You are lucky as you live in a city and will have more options.

I think you should also be more disciplined. Easier said than done I know. If you are going to switch off the laptop at a certain time, do it. You would be surprised how quickly it will become a habit.

Let us know how you get on.

ivytwine

Leave the laptop downstairs if it's possible?

Research shows that being online late at night disrupts sleep patterns and this will not help your mental state.

Do you feel comfortable watching TV with your housemates?

Do you read? Best way to get to sleep imo. Or, how about writing blog posts longhand and then typing them up if you want to stay away from the computer?

I'm a divil for Netflix but I force myself to turn off the laptop before 11.30 if I'm watching a movie or else I'll have trouble sleeping.

Plus don't beat yourself if you break the rules every now and again. No-one is perfect

The Diabolical Monocle

But you go to work and the gym during the day - isn't that enough productivity for one day ?
Let yourself chill out.

blatantrereg

You might be a bit withdrawn. I would guess that your job doesn't involve a huge amount of interpersonal interaction, but is more about internal focus.

I would agree that what is bothering you is more about what might be missing than what you're doing. Getting out of your room would be a good idea. Working an office job can be a killer in this time of year. You can go to work when it's dark and finish work when it's dark. Getting outside at lunch might be a must. If your habit is to surf the net at lunch perhaps that would be the first thing to address -especially considering your allusion to SAD.

Arrange to spend time doing social and/or outdoors things. Both would make you feel less withdrawn.

Lonesome Dove

Red About Town wrote: »

My advice would be to replace the internet with another hobby - something outside of the house. Join a team, group, evening class etc. I'm sure you could find something to interest you. You are lucky as you live in a city and will have more options

This is part of the problem. Sorry, maybe I should have included a link to my other thread on here. I have problems with social interactions. I have no friends to socialise with and rarely go out - either to pub, cinema or activity.

Let us know how you get on.

Follow my blog - I'll pm you the link if you want - not sure if I am allowed to post the url here.

Do you feel comfortable watching TV with your housemates?

Not really, one person is a relative of the person who wons the property and they treat the living room like it is their own own room. Neither me or the other housemate use the room when they are in it. That is the dynamics of the house and was before I moved in.

Do you read? Best way to get to sleep imo. Or, how about writing blog posts longhand and then typing them up if you want to stay away from the computer?

Ye, I read. I am a member of our public library and read quite a bit, although I'm a bit fussy on what I get to read. I don't like writing longhand. I much prefer typing, but I do write out lists of things to do etc longhand and stick them to my noticeboard so that I am aware of them.

But you go to work and the gym during the day - isn't that enough productivity for one day ?

It is, but part of the problem is that the gym is a substitute for other activities where I engage with others, make friends etc.

I would agree that what is bothering you is more about what might be missing than what you're doing. Getting out of your room would be a good idea. Working an office job can be a killer in this time of year. You can go to work when it's dark and finish work when it's dark. Getting outside at lunch might be a must. If your habit is to surf the net at lunch perhaps that would be the first thing to address -especially considering your allusion to SAD.

I do go for a walk every lunch time in order to get my head cleared. I am missing so much. I apoloise - I think I need to link to my previous thread to get al the background in place and everything here will then appear in context.

Arrange to spend time doing social and/or outdoors things. Both would make you feel less withdrawn.

Again, I'll post a link to my initial thread and hopefully the reason as to why this is a massive jump for me will become apparent.

Lonesome Dove

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Lonesome Dove

Well, got a surprise letter today from my GP. She has referred me for IPT - Interpersonal Theraphy. I'm not promised a slot, but am getting an exploratory session with the counsellor in order to see if it fits.

I still would appreciate some feedback on my above questions though...

seanie_c

A final thing is that I notice things becoming down since the time change. I spoke to my doctor about SAD, but she was very blaise about it. I appreciate that I am unable to get medical advice on here, and I'm not asking for any, but it is something I need to address.

Physical and emotional contact with other people is important, I think.

You can try to substitute the emotional side of it with the internet using social networks, online forums and blogs but really, I can't see how it even compares. (talking as someone that doesn't use facebook, twitter..etc)

Have you thought about attending any meetup groups on depression?
I would say over exposure to the internet might be causing your loneliness and depression.

And if you want someone to listen, a meetup group might help.

Ickle Magoo

Lonesome Dove,

While PI is a wonderful resource for general & non-professional advice, it has it's limitations.

Your last thread ran to four pages in which you received plenty of good advice worth following up on. It then turned into a blog and was closed. This thread has started where that one left off, even to the point you both refer to that thread and then link to it.

PI posters have offered all the help and advice they can - it's up to you now to put that into practice in real life and if you have difficulty doing that, to contact a professional and take their advice on board instead.

Thread closed, please do not repost.