I'm an addict
Sounds like OP isn&#x27;t necessarily an addict: they have ADHD.<p>Half the article was them complaining about poor working memory, and the rest about getting stimulation&#x2F;dopamine from unhealthy sources.<p>Everyone has &quot;a little ADHD&quot;. We all <i>occasionally</i>, forget things, hyperfocus on things we are excited about, etc. ADHD is the disorder of having those struggles so often it&#x27;s debilitating. It stems from having an underdeveloped frontal lobe that doesn&#x27;t feel dopamine as well as neurotypical brains do, meaning an ADHD brain needs more stimulus to feel healthy.<p>Because of the deficit in stimulus, people with untreated ADHD are statistically much more likely to have a substance abuse disorder (SAD); but in many cases, treating their ADHD (with medication and cognitive behavioral therapy) has the side effect of treating their SAD.<p>Addiction, in the public consciousness&#x2F;vernacular, is more abstract than SAD: it can mean anything from chemical dependence to unwanted habits. I suspect most people tend to make a false equivalence between the former and the latter. I see all the time people struggling to change a simple habit and immediately labeling themselves &quot;addicts&quot;. I think that&#x27;s a unhelpful characterization.<p>I think the point people tend to miss is that in order to change a habit, you don&#x27;t just &quot;stop doing it&quot;: you must replace it with an alternative dopamine source. This is especially tricky with untreated ADHD.