I Think I May Have a Problem (only one you ask?)

I was tooling around the Internet last night and came across a story from Wired about how the bible of the psychiatric profession, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, is pondering adding Internet Addiction to their list of various diagnoses.

Upon reading this I had to e-mail my dear friend Laurie, and all I wrote to her was "Uh oh, we're in trouble!"

She and I often joke about how if we're away from home and can't check our e-mail how itchy we get. I did not however realize that my jonesing for my e-mail and Internet access was cause for concern and might eventually lead me to a life of 12 Step Meetings and making amends to those injured by my Internet Addiction.

I did a little research and found I do meet some of the protocols for an addiction: I was justifying my addiction this morning by telling my son I HAVE to be on the Internet for work and research. I sometimes sneak to the computer while my kids are waiting for me to leave just to see if any new e-mails had come in before I leave. When I go away I bring a laptop in case I find some WiFi along the way.

I like to think as addictions go, I'm pretty lucky if this is my only one. That said, I'm sure there are people who are seriously in a bad way because of their time spent on the Internet. For folks who view porn for hours, or avoid interacting in the real world or with their families to instead stay cloistered alone with a computer, it's not good. But for folks like me and my friend Laurie, we're very much present in the real world and don't let ourselves get too swept up in an online world.

If however you're spending more time with your friends on Facebook or MySpace than you are with your flesh and blood friends, maybe it's time to reevaluate your lifestyle.

In the meantime I am going to go online to see if there are any Internet Antonymous meetings near me, just in case I see myself slipping into a bad place. Hmmm... I wonder if that's against the rules? If I can't go online how will I ever find out where to go for help with my Internet Addiction? This is becoming way too complicated. I am just going to admit I am powerless to the draw of the Internet and suffer the consequences. After all, I have to find out if there's any truth to the rumors that George Clooney was dating someone else before he broke up with Sarah Larson!