Minti addiction – is it a serious issue?

Hi my name is Kim and I am a Minti-holic.

A lot of us joke about being addicted to Minti and some of us aren’t really joking. I have to admit I am a Minti addict. The funny thing is that I have been on the other side of the addiction. My first husband was a computer addict. I left him and his computer usage was definitely a large part of the reason why.

At one stage during my first marriage I went to HolyOake to do a course for family members of addicts. Initially the other people in the group looked at me strangely when I said what my husband’s addiction was. Within a few weeks one of the ladies who was married to a violent alcoholic commented to me about just how similar our marriages were. Just for the record my ex never hit me. My ex didn’t drink, smoke, gamble or do drugs. He used the computer all day and all night except when he was sleeping. He worked on computers all day at work and then came home and played computer games until the early hours of the morning. In the last 12 months of our marriage he also added a gym addiction. He went from 125kg to 85kg in only a few months by eating only salad sandwiches for lunch and dinner and daily trips to the gym to use the treadmill.When he wasn’t on the computer he was talking about it. He was obsessed with online interactive adventure gaming. Most of the people he like to play with were in the US, so the best time for him to play was late at night our time when they were on their computers. Eventually after an 11 year relationship I decided that I could not live like that any more. I left him and we are both much happier as a result.

The other day my gorgeous wonderful second husband told me I was turning into my ex husband. I couldn’t deny it.

My Minti addiction is affecting the amount of time I spend doing other things.

Instead of doing housework – I am on Minti.

Instead of sorting the spare room to get it ready for baby – I am on Minti.

Instead of spending time with my husband when he is home – I am on Minti.

When I wake up in the middle of the night – I think about blogs, questions and advice I can write on Minti when I get up.

Some mornings before I have even had my shower – I am on Minti.

Late at night – I am on Minti.

My goodness, what will happen when the baby is born? Will I still be on Minti?

So now I am trying to reduce the amount of time I spend on Minti.

Being 33 weeks pregnant I need regular breaks from housework and other activities. So often during the day I set my timer 15 minutes on housework then I can either lie down or sit at the computer for 15 minutes. Then it is back to the house work again for 15 minutes.

I am trying to exercise control to stay off Minti in the morning until after 11.

I am trying to spend less time on Minti on the evenings that my husband is home.

I know I should try a Minti free day, but I am not quite ready for that yet!

A google search on ‘computer addiction’ comes up with pages of results including articles in scientific journals. There are even professional services to help people with computer addiction. 

A good article with  a list of symptoms and some good recommendations for strategies to control computer addiction can be found at  http://www.hno.harvard.edu/gazette/1999/01.21/computer.html

A brief fact sheet on computer can be found at http://www.mediafamily.org/facts/facts_gameaddiction.shtml

A nice list of the symptoms of computer addiction along with some suggestions for overcoming it can be found at http://www.utdallas.edu/counseling/selfhelp/computer-addiction.html

Please have a read of the symptoms. Are you a computer addict too?