Preventing and Overcoming 7cups Addiction
We are referring to addiction here as any compulsive and negative behavior. Do you find yourself compulsorily coming to 7cups, when you know it isn’t exactly good for you?
@Hope had made this very insightful post on 7 cups Addiction. Let's be reflecting more and reflecting again on this crucial and ever urgent topic.
What could cause 7cups Addiction?
Not having a purpose or direction in life.
Not having a clear perspective on the ways 7cups is good for you, and on the ways it isn’t good for you.
Using 7cups as a Distraction from tough life problems, in a way that escalates those problems.
Not talking enough about what is going wrong and how it could be improved.
Being caught in cycle of conflicts on cups and not forgiving and letting go.
Those are just some of the causes. But through this post, I sincerely wish that each of us on cups uses this platform in a healthy way and encourages others to do the same.
A huge part of being a good leader is knowing what is good for your own mental health and taking the right steps.
We will also be using this thread to self-reflect and share views about preventing and overcoming 7cups addiction.
If you want to participate too, you may answer these questions in reply to this thread:
If we all
have to rate our addiction to 7cups on a scale of 1-10, where 1 being least
addicted & 10 being most addicted, what will be your self-rating?
What is your understanding of 7cups Addiction and how can we prevent it from happening? How can one overcome if it is already happening?
(Don't worry if others have already shared similar views as yours, the point of doing this activity is to have more voices in the direction of minimizing 7cups Addiction! You may even tag your 7cups friend(s) and invite them to answer the questions too.)
This article is part of the Living with Leaders Interview Series where we get to learn from leaders of our community as well as learn from one another and emerge as evolving leaders of humanity.
@Fristo
Wow, this is a great post, thank you for starting this discussion. I personally really appreciate the reminder that addiction isn’t only defined by substance abuse. Addiction is a maladaptive coping mechanism with many faces. It’s sneaky and cunning and can make us believe we are doing something positive and selfless when in reality our behaviors and/or thinking are toxic and selfish….and it can happen long before we even realize it.
This thread is a bit of a lightbulb moment for me and and I’m grateful. I will definitely be self reflecting about this subject and hope to be able to answer your questions after I give it a little more thought. Thanks again for this convo @Fristo!
@Fristo
conflict can get addictive, the high of seeing people fighting, being part of the fighting, the drama. People instigate. People use other members of chat to subvert being muted. There aren't very clear and accessible guidelines for how to provide support to each other.
It's really easy to jump into a chat and engage in self-harm behaviors. Even honestly opening up about issues can be a self-harm behavior if it's not a safe, validating, supportive environment.
@Fristo
Hello
and good morning/afternoon/evening Fristo, and everyone <3. I’m
throwing my opinion on this by answering the posted questions!(I
think that’s how this works...right?)
What
could cause 7cups Addiction?
I think 7cups can be
considered as a social media app/site. While it is a much safer
social media site, prioritizing positive mental health and well being
above everything else(The fact that we even are discussing 7cups
addiction on...7cups, shows how noble the intentions are)
Anyway,
as what could cause addiction to a social media site, well the first
and most(what I think is) obvious thing is the lack of a social
circle/community. I strongly believe that every single one of us
craves to be apart of some sort of a community. And when we’re not,
we may “latch” onto a virtual community like 7 cups/
Now
don’t get me wrong, I don’t think there is anything inherently
bad with having an online
community. I think it is a very beautiful and wonderful thing, but it
is no replacement for a “real” community from the people around
you.
Unfortunately, modern life is making communities
rarer and rarer. With people becoming
busier and busier, and often having no time to take part in a
community. It is honestly, a very sad but very real thing. I don’t
really blame anyone for latching onto cups as their source of
community need. It’s just good to keep an awareness and not lose
oneself into it.
Ultimately, the real people around you,
effecting your life, are more important then us here.
Anyway,
so onto the questions, sorry for that rant.
If
we all have to rate our addiction to 7cups on a scale of 1-10, where
1 being least addicted & 10 being most addicted, what will be
your self-rating?
I think now, I am a solid 4. I keep track of
the time I am online, and do not exceed 3 hours a day. Normally it is
only 1 hour, but sometimes I push it to 2 and 3. I’ve also (happily
and gladly) removed the app form my phone. As much as I love being a
listener here, receiving messages 24/7 was driving me crazy. Pretty
proud of that.
What
is your understanding of 7cups Addiction and how can we prevent it
from happening?
I’ve talked a lot about my understanding in my
intro, so I’ll spare you another rant haha.
As for how to
prevent 7cups addiction, I think the issue with addiction is always
substitution. 7Cups is being a substitute for something else, be it
professional therapy, friends, a social circle or a community. That
fact alone is not necessary a bad thing, we all go through bad and
tough times and having something like 7cups to make things a bit
easier is a wonderful thing, but it’s important to be aware of this
fact, and not make it into a permanent thing.
How
can one overcome if it is already happening?
There is nothing to
say but discipline. Schedule your time on cups, and keep that
schedule as much as you can. If you have a particular bad day and
just want to chill with us all day, that’s totally fine. But try to
leave that on the bad days. We are here and in a lot of ways, we all
love being here, but we are for sur enot the most important thing in
your life <3.
