Addiction versus not enough social connection?

[Alta Morden]

Hi all,

This came up in my Facebook news feed, not sure why.  I have long thought of MDD as an addiction and from knowing myself and reading many posts here, MDDers do tend to be socially isolated.  Now I admit that is a "chicken or egg" question, does the MDD cause the social isolation or does the social isolation cause the MDD?

Now this article is about drug addiction (and she mentions gambling addiction) but I thought other members might find it interesting and I would love to hear comments.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/johann-hari/the-real-cause-of-addicti...

xx Alta

[Alta Morden]

I was thinking about your replies.   A long time ago the phrase "The solution becomes the problem over time" got stuck in my head.  The DDing starts as a solution to the personal and family issues we face, but over time the 'solution', that is, the daydreaming, because the problem in itself, sometimes even after the other issues have gone away.  As Helen Douglas (for one) describes, and I assume that her father is no longer a factor in her life. I am quite sure that is the case for me anyway.

[Helen Douglas]

Yes Alta you have summed it up. My father is dead but I still daydream. Because that "coping mechanism" worked I apply it to all other situations.I could not stop it. My dream world is so much nicer. I am more beautiful (although I am still me, only an enhanced me e.g. I have my best features and improved on worse. I am smarter and kinder) However, I am determined to break it. Every day  I notice five things about the weather, hearing, smelling, feeling etc. I am shoving myself out into the real world. I have brought myself a bright pink watch and everytime I look at it I stop day dreaming. Too much time and energy has been wasted.