Baby Boomers Network

Do you come home after work and zone out in front of the TV? Or do you spend hours surfing the web and checking your email? Can you do several hours at the gym or chat on the phone incessantly? If you can relate to this you may have a Soft Addiction, the phrase coined by author Judith Wright, Ed. D. who has studied these types of behaviors for many years.

A soft addiction is a harmless habit that can take over your life. It is an activity you overdo or one that consumes you. Has anybody commented on the amount of time you spend in this activity? Have you ever injured yourself or got into trouble doing this particular behavior? Is this something you would feel embarrassed about if others found out about it?

How can you tell if your activity has become a soft addiction? Ask yourself these two questions:

1. Do you feel energized, motivated and alive doing this activity?
2. Do you feel drained, numbed or distracted after this behavior?

If you answered yes to #1, that’s great, but if you answered yes to #2, you may have a soft addiction. Procrastination, watching TV, cyber surfing, video games, exercising, tardiness, shopping, etc. become addictive when they rob you of other more enriching, fulfilling behaviors. They can ruin relationships, interfere with productive work and even affect your finances. Really anything can become a soft addiction if it gets in the way of other things.

What can you do?

1. Maintain awareness that you may be developing a behavior that is turning addictive. Therefore, pay attention to the emotional turmoil in your life. Are you using this activity as a way to avoid what’s going on in your life? Are you having negative thoughts too difficult to face and need some strong distractions, like the one you’re doing?

2. Find an alternative behavior to substitute for this behavior. Make it something you enjoy doing and something that will keep you engrossed. So instead of watching three hours of TV, pick up the knitting needles and knit yourself a scarf. Or take a long walk after dinner instead of going on the computer. Slowly cut back on the amount of time you spend in the addictive behavior, a little each day, until it is reduced to a normal amount of time or not at all.

3. Connect with people, rather than your activity. A friend, counselor, co-worker, relative, etc. may help with support and encouragement, which could be just what you need to ease the transition away from your habit.

Don’t rationalize your behavior as something you can’t give up. Instead, use your personal insight to overcome any excuses that keep you from taking control. Just be willing to stop those behaviors that are detrimental to your well-being so you can get on with the process of living your best life.

Anything in extreme can cause you problems. While exercise is good, too much may do damage to your muscles or tendons. Vitamin supplements support good health, but mega doses could be toxic over long term use. You get the picture.

The key to getting the most out of life is following a regimen of moderation and balance. This applies to all your personal and professional experiences.

What does balance really mean and how can you apply it? Here are some suggestions:

1. Space your meals, for instance, so that you are not binging at any one meal. Do not go more than four hours without food or snacks. You don’t want to be “running on empty” because your blood sugar drops, making you feel run down and emotionally foggy. Eat balanced small meals 6x a day or 3 larger meals with sensible snacks in between. A diet rich in fresh, locally grown foods, rather than processed, packaged meals will keep you feeling energized and alert throughout the day. In fact, in areas noted for their longevity and good health, they enjoy eating lots of colorful fruits and vegetables and foods rich in omega 3 fatty acids, like salmon, mackerel and sardines with a variety of herbs/spices for flavor.

2. Make sure you get enough sleep, which means somewhere between 7-8 hours/night. If you go to bed and have difficulty falling asleep, you may want to read, meditate or listen to mellow music to wind down. Sleep is not an option. It is a requirement and an essential element for your balanced, healthy life.

3. Don’t take on more than you can handle. Saying “yes” to everything can leave you overwhelmed and frustrated. Think about the time, effort, and aggravation you feel doing something with resentment. Would it be less stressful to just decline? Too many obligations make you forget how important it is to take care of yourself.

4. All work and no play is dangerous. You need to experience carefree, fun times for your emotional and physical health. Allow laughter, joy, playfulness, and even silliness to filter into your day, because that keeps you young in spirit, heart and mind.

The reason you should stay mindful of how your life is going is to celebrate what you’re doing right and continue doing it. When you know that you are really in balance and not misaligned, you can enjoy your life to the fullest, without guilt, regret or disappointment.

There is a lot of research and new discoveries about how you can keep your gray matter from declining and prevent age-related memory loss from getting worse.

Recent studies show that midlife memory fading is really not about memory at all. It is more about your ability to retrieve information and filter out unnecessary, irrelevant material. Because there’s so much information bogging you down, it becomes difficult to shut off the noise long enough to remember what you want to remember. That makes you feel forgetful and susceptible to those numerous senior moments.

There is hope, though, and here’s what you can do:

Try associating what you want to remember with a particular piece of instrumental music that you enjoy. It seems that music triggers the feel good chemical, dopamine, which promotes a positive frame of mind for storing memories.

Another thing to do is have an active lifestyle. Apparently, sedentary lifestyles reduce your cognitive abilities and put you at a higher risk for depression, Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia. A lifestyle that includes aerobic exercise boosts brainpower, including your ability to pay attention to things and to process information. Regular exercise, however, needs to be done for three years for your memory to reap the benefits. So, start now making your lifestyle changes.

Finally, search the web. Researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles, found that the key centers in the brain involved in decision-making and complex reasoning light up, even more so, than when you read a book. So, keep your mind alert and active by exploring the Internet and challenging your thinking skills.

No one wants to feel out of control or helpless to the aging process. Therefore, you can control the spiral of brain decline by taking command of your life. The brain wants to learn new things, so flex your brain neurons, avoid boredom and a sedentary lifestyle and strengthen your mind with exercise.