Prior to surgery I was not addicted to any drugs or alcohol. However, I would comfortably assume I was “addicted” to food. Now that I’m not eating anywhere close to as much as I used to, I fear I am seeking to fill that void with an odd replacement…professional sports. I am an avid baseball fan and my team has a really good chance at making the playoffs this year. When they win, I’m in a great mood, nothing could be better. However, when they lose, I go into a tailspin and get very depressed, instantly having little to no interest in doing anything or finding joy in anything.

I am speaking with a psychiatrist in a week, so hopefully that will help begin the coping process.

Has anyone else had a personal experience with transfer addiction, and if so, how did you/are you dealing with it?

On the right track seeing a psychiatrist. Looks like you need another distractions outside of baseball. I am a huge sports fan as well and I know the feeling when your team lets you down. Since my surgery I am really into bicycle riding which helps with my anxiety and gets my head in the right space, not to mention makes me trimmer and in better shape all around.

On 9/13/2022 at 11:12 PM, Muffinman1119 said:

Prior to surgery I was not addicted to any drugs or alcohol. However, I would comfortably assume I was “addicted” to food. Now that I’m not eating anywhere close to as much as I used to, I fear I am seeking to fill that void with an odd replacement…professional sports. I am an avid baseball fan and my team has a really good chance at making the playoffs this year. When they win, I’m in a great mood, nothing could be better. However, when they lose, I go into a tailspin and get very depressed, instantly having little to no interest in doing anything or finding joy in anything.

I am speaking with a psychiatrist in a week, so hopefully that will help begin the coping process.

Has anyone else had a personal experience with transfer addiction, and if so, how did you/are you dealing with it?

Have you considered channeling the energy into a sport for yourself? I have definitely been more into my hobbies than I used to be. And I think now I am going to start training Jiu Jitsu.

I have had a few dalliances with what could be "transfer addiction" both good and bad...I definitely have overindulged in cannabis a few times since my surgery to a point where my fiance was asking me if i was "self medicating", and I also feel like I am somewhat dependent on riding my motorcycle as a dopamine fix...which isn't bad, it works out my shoulders/hips/core and gets me some sunshine.

i think awareness is the key. If you check in with yourself regularly and are honest about your patterns and internal pain, you can keep from going down a bad rabbit hole.

Food was my transfer addiction. My family has a strong genetic disposition for alcoholism, so i was always paranoid and over cautious when it came to alcohol. Instead I was blind to how i was binging on food instead of alcohol. Making that connection along with some other circumstances has helped me be in “remission” with binging. There are still urges, but I can be in control. I am aware now and regularly look at my life if anything is going down an unwanted path.

I also have family members with alcohol dependence, so I keep a very close eye on my alcohol intake. That being said, I have had to keep an eye on other offshoots like shopping. It will try to sneak up on you, I swear! No great advice other than it’s great that you are aware and being proactive.

Great thread. People talk about transfer addiction to alcohol and drugs (and maybe sex), but rarely other things. Many people have "addictions/obsessions" that never had surgery and don't realize their hyper-focus on those things. So it's great that you're willing to take another look at your situation to discern if it has become an unhealthy focus in your life.

I didn't experience transfer addiction. I think I will always be a food addict. Hoping to be a "recovered" food addict for the remainder of my life. I am always aware, at any given moment, I could go back to it if I don't stay focused. Unfortunately, food has always been my thing. I have memories of eating my favorite things or the first time I tried a certain food. Even now, I still buy way too much food even though I don't eat it. I have been working to stop doing that as much. My refrigerator, freezer, pantry, foods bins are stuffed. For years now, I have been eating a cup of food at a time but why or why do I keep buying so much food? lol I still think of food most of the time. It's so hardwired...

But addiction is addiction. My heart goes go to anyone who has addiction problems. I can totally relate to anyone who is addicted to anything, whether it is food, drugs, alcohol.

16 hours ago, Tomo said:

I still buy way too much food even though I don't eat it. I have been working to stop doing that as much. My refrigerator, freezer, pantry, foods bins are stuffed.

I'm a food hoarder as well.

IMO I need it to create an "abundance mindset" which prevents a feeling of deprivation for me and I doubt that will ever change. The decades of (mental) restriction in the past haven't stopped taking their toll and I've accepted that.

I'm a food hoarder as well.
IMO I need it to create an "abundance mindset" which prevents a feeling of deprivation for me and I doubt that will ever change. The decades of (mental) restriction in the past haven't stopped taking their toll and I've accepted that.

I am the same way. I hoard food and don't eat it now that im post op because I felt like I couldn't have it around in the past/grew up with caretakers locking food away from me and hiding it on a daily basis. Definitely a result of that for me. It feels good to open my pantry and see everything and get to pick and not feel like I have to hide or its the only chance I'll get to eat something. I would like to stop food hoarding because things go to waste.

2 hours ago, fourmonthspreop said:

I couldn't have it around in the past/grew up with caretakers locking food away from me and hiding it on a daily basis. Definitely a result of that for me. It feels good to open my pantry and see everything and get to pick and not feel like I have to hide or its the only chance I'll get to eat something.

So much this.

I know many people are afraid to keep "the evil foods in the house" because they trigger binges/overeating for them. However, others need the opposite: knowing that they can have it anytime they want it to prevent binges/overeating.

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I would like to stop food hoarding because things go to waste. 

In the beginning a lot has gone to waste, indeed. With time I refined the technique so to say. Now I have a freezer brimming with food and many shelf-stable items. When it comes to highly perishable items that don't freeze well I still sometimes have to throw out something but usually the permission to get it when I want/can get it is enough (thinking e. g. about that vegan croissant I can only get when I'm home on weekends and they need to be eaten the same day or they're no longer tasting good).

From time to time I bring an open package to work before it goes bad (or one that's reached the BB date) and people are happy about the goody.