Experience with transfer addiction

[Muffinman1119 84]

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?

[Tony B - NJ 644]

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.

[SuziDavis 549]

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.

[pintsizedmallrat 475]

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.

[KimA-GA 540]

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.

[blackcatsandbaddecisions 854]

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.

[You Are My Sunshine 85]

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.

[Tomo 1,196]

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.

[summerset 5,265]

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.

[fourmonthspreop 525]

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.

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[summerset 5,265]

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.

Quote

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.