Welcome to Blogaholics Anonymous

  Hi, my names Growlbert and I’m a blogaholic.

If, like me, you find it difficult to pry yourself away from your blog for even a moment, then this surely is the blog for you.

I am here to offer my assistance and to assure you that you do not need to face the battle against Blogaholism alone.

Let me be the first to publicly admit that I have a problem: I’m addicted to blogs.

By sharing the effects of a serious blog addiction it is my hope that I can help others to avoid making the same mistakes as I have.

Let me start off by saying that there is a strong chance that you may have a problem if you find yourself reading this at 2 o’clock (or later) in the morning. If this is the case then you likely suffer from some form of blog addiction. This could be blog dependency, blog abuse, or one of the most serious conditions of all: full-blown blogaholism.

Here are some definitions and criteria to help you better determine your status:

Blog Dependency and Abuse

The individual experiences repeated blog-related difficulties. For instance: an inability to control blogging, spending a large amount of time associated with blogging, continued blogging despite physical or psychological consequences, persistent desire or unsuccessful efforts to cut down or control blogging, and finally: withdrawal symptoms.

Blogaholism

Usually this is a two-phase problem.It frequently starts off as problem blogging. This involves the repeated act of blogging, quite often in an attempt to alleviate anxiety of some form.

The second phase is blog addiction. This is when the person is truly addicted to the repeated act of blogging.

Blogaholics may exhibit some or all of the following criteria:

1. Physiological dependence on blogs with evidence of withdrawal symptoms when blogging ability is interrupted. (Ex: Person becomes irate when mundane life tasks take them away from their blog and/or feels like they cannot get through the day without some form of blogging.) 
2. Tolerance to the effects of blogging, prompting the need for more and more blogging in order to achieve the desired effect. (Ex: Creating one blog a day is no longer satisfactory. Now the individual necessitates the creation of multiple blogs, sometimes 5 or more, each day. * Note that 5 or more blogs in one hour may indicate a separate, but related, problem known as binge blogging.)
3. Evidence of blog-associated difficulties such as the inability to concentrate (on anything other than blogs).
4. Continued blogging despite associated disruptions in ‘normal life’. (Ex: Blogging to the extent that your significant other considers leaving (or actually leaves) due to a lack of attention from you.)
5. Impairment in social and occupational functioning. (Ex: Being unable to converse with others about anything that is not blog related.)

If after reading this you feel that you or someone you know may suffer from blogaholism, you should consider taking this questionnaire for further clarity.

(Parts of this blog have been modified from Contemporary Nutrition, chapter 7)