When does a habit become an addiction? When does one become delusional using denial as a defence mechanism when it does?

Over the past few months I’ve had some interesting conversations with people surrounding this topic. Covid seems to present us with more than enough time to indulge, or in some cases, overindulge.

A friend remarked the other day that Creme de Menthe is nasty. Apparently she had run out of wine and the only alcohol she had at home was left over from being drizzled over ice cream quite some time before. She doesn’t consider herself an alcoholic. Yet she couldn’t go one day without alcohol. Hmmm. When had her occasional evening glass of wine turned into more than 8 ounces daily? Chalk another one up to Covid?

I love my morning coffee. I also love chocolate. Both are notorious in terms of caffeine content. While I can go days without chocolate, I’ve never gone days without coffee. Is my morning habit of coffee an addiction? I don’t think so. The odd time I’ve missed a morning I’m just a little on the lethargic side, not shakey or headachey. But maybe I am delusional. Maybe I am addicted to caffeine.

Tranks. Now those are drugs that once were my best friends. The drawback was that I couldn’t feel emotions such as anger. I merely floated through life on a cloud. Teetering on the edge of addiction, (according to my then therapist), I somehow managed to leave the pills behind more than a decade ago. I must admit that occasionally I wish I were still floating but I also realize that it is far healthier for me to feel emotions and to learn to control them.

Videogames. Sadly, I believe that I have become addicted to Candy Crush Friends. That Yeti is just so darn cute! I love the way he prances about when I pass a level. I also started playing Candy Crush Saga again after taking a year off. I started that game back in 2013 while recuperating from knee surgery. These games have become more than just a habit.

My ex was a hopeless TV addict. It drove me crazy. Half the time he didn’t even know what he was watching as he’d doze off. But God forbid if I tried to turn the idiot box off. Suddenly he was wide awake. Grrrrr.

There are a myriad of other things from sex to hoarding that can easily evolve from habit into an addiction. There are two choices. The easy one is delusion and denial. The hard one is confronting it and dealing with it.

OK. Call me delusional. I’m not ready to give up coffee, chocolate or candy crush.