I'm addicted to stimulation ,Any advice?

[Someone here]

 Through mindfulness & meditation, I've become aware of many behavioral habits I've developed subconsciously since birth... my Ego is one to be reckoned with... one of these habits is my addiction to stimulation. Allow me to define:

I am unable to be satisfied with the current moment, regardless of what I’m doing. I have this habit of projecting myself into the future in hopes that a different moment in time will provide me more than what the current moment has to offer... and it never stops.

It occurred to me this weekend while enjoying the National Park (one of my absolute passions) that i was still not pleased or at peace while doing something i have come to thoroughly enjoy... Even on the side of the park I  was projecting myself someplace else because i felt "this wasn't good enough"...

These emotions cause me to carry out an array of random acts in hopes of satisfying my craving for a new form of stimulation... anything from checking my phone every 5 minutes for social media updates, to engaging in smoking cigarettes , channel surfing for hours without deciding on a program. My brain always finds away to become distracted from the current moment and seek a way out of it.

The fact that im aware of this behavior does motivate me to continue to open this new level of consciousness… but I’m hoping someone might have some advice as to how I might correct my issue. Does anyone out there know of an approach to take with meditation to counter this behavior? Or how I can bring the underlying source to attention so i can learn to correct my behavior?

Im tired of always wanting something, of craving stimulation and often not even knowing what it is that I desire. Nothing seems to satisfy the craving... I’m experiencing what the Buddha identified in the 4 noble truths... desire (in many forms) is certainly the cause of my suffering... I just want to overcome it!!

Thoughts welcome; Namaste

[Salvijus]

29 minutes ago, Someone here said:

I’m experiencing what the Buddha identified in the 4 noble truths... desire (in many forms) is certainly the cause of my suffering... I just want to overcome it!!

Buddha gave the answer already i think.

? Purify your mind ?

It's funny how such a simple answer and solution never sinks in for many people.

 

Edited February 24, 2022 by Salvijus

[Someone here]

4 hours ago, Salvijus said:

Buddha gave the answer already i think.

? Purify your mind ?

It's funny how such a simple answer and solution never sinks in for many people.

 

How ?

[Salvijus]

I guess there are many ways of doing it. Each system of spirituality has its own way. Not all spiritual systems aim at purifying the mind tho. Some paths adress it more and some less. The buddhism is probably the most fixated system on purification of the mind. A classic vippasana retreat is a good example of that. Vippasana itself is a practice to become 100% free from cravings at the root level of the mind. Few traditions ever focus that much on purification of the mind as vippasana does imo.

Edited February 24, 2022 by Salvijus

[Someone here]

17 minutes ago, Salvijus said:

I guess there are many ways of doing it. Each system of spirituality has its own way. Not all spiritual systems aim at purifying the mind tho. Some paths adress it more and some less. The buddhism is probably the most fixated system on purification of the mind. A classic vippasana retreat is a good example of that. Vippasana itself is a practice to become 100% free from cravings at the root level of the mind. Few traditions ever focus that much on purification of the mind as vippasana does imo.

Im driven. I push myself, i set standards & goals and see them through regardless of the obstacle, even if the obstacle is myself. I have a level of aggression inside of me that pushes me to reach my goals by any means necessary.. often times the motivation is misplaced as well, where i find myself pushing my limits in order to promote an image of myself for others to view. The source of motivation is what bothers me most, i do things to please others or to fulfill my need for stimulation when deep down i know i should be doing them to please myself.

I dont think that i was ever told to behave this way, but something registered with me early in life to "be better" than everyone else, to be the best at everything i do.. i think its a fear of judgement from others, but im still working on that...

Meditation works very well for me. im just now learning to adopt the role of "the watcher" in attempt to view my thoughts in meditation, however i tend to latch on to them more often than not and they lead me to a day dream state instead of that of the observer.

How can i observe more and direct myself towards mindfulness during meditation? I try to follow my breath throughout the day to practice a waking meditation as i perform day to day tasks, but often this inst enough on its own.

Thanks for your attention to this, i really appreciate your input.

[Salvijus]

Ayayai.. I don't know what to say. I'm really moved by your determination and passion for self-improvement tho. Some of those questions are beyond my capacity to answer i believe. I could try to give u an amateur opinion of mine if it helps.

I also maintain constant awareness whereever i go during the day and night. Staying as the watcher is my number 1 practice lol. I've been doing that for a few years now. It's my favorite practice really.

Ironicly im not able to think of something to say that would be of significant help to you. The only things that come into my mind are very cliche, like, "keep putting your awareness back when u notice it's gone" and a.... yea, that's it ? see not much advice. You probably knew that already anyways.

I do resonate and know how it feels to get lost in mind during meditation and then getting upset about it, haha. Somehow it is possible to go beyond that into a space of natural effortless state of pure witness with practice. Perhaps "keep putting the attention back when you notice it drift" is the only advice lol. Or maybe im just a bad advice giver, idk.  ? 

 

 

Edited February 24, 2022 by Salvijus

[Cathal]

dont worry man this society is built off of distracting ourselves from reality, but that's when we must think for ourselves truly, question the shit out of everything, is this good for me? is this bad for me? this feels good, but later I will suffer ---- you know?

truuuuuuuuly listen to what the present moment experience is trying to communicate to you, like truly listen. with your ears perked up, your heart open, your willingness to understand, what is it about your life that is creating this feeling?

[BipolarGrowth]

The way to fix this with meditation, in my opinion, would be to develop the ability to be satisfied. Sukha or satisfaction is the opposite of dukkha which is sometimes called dukkha nirodha or the cessation of dissatisfaction. 
 

In the Ānāpānasati Sutta, which is the only formal mediation we have record of the Buddha ever teaching in any depth, it has a key element of introducing wholesome thoughts into the equation. In a circumstance where you’re at a national park doing something you enjoy, your dissatisfaction is likely caused by a chain of thoughts that this is somehow not the best or that experience over there at another time is better. 
 

In such an instance, you can discard those thoughts born of hindrances to think thoughts which are in accord with satisfaction such as “wow, that’s a beautiful tree”, “the weather is great today”, and “that’s a pretty bird”. 
 

Dhammarato has many hours of discussing this type of practice on his YouTube channel. The way to stop desire is to be satisfied. If you really look into your experience, you’ll see that the only times desire has not been there even slightly is when you are in deep satisfaction. Thoughts of satisfaction support further satisfaction. Thoughts of dissatisfaction support more dissatisfaction. 
 

You can literally think your way to satisfaction, and this is a key part of Buddhism which gets overlooked rather commonly. 
 

The main part of practicing Ānāpānasati is to keep attention on the breath as it is a wholesome object. The breath does not cause suffering unless you have some lung condition. Focusing your mind on things which are good will result in overall feelings of deep satisfaction when practiced consistently and properly. 

Edited February 24, 2022 by BipolarGrowth

[Husseinisdoingfine]

Join the 21st century Gen Z club. 

[kag101]

do you have friends? i notice in myself that when i'm overstimulating myself is due to lack of bonding with others.

[Cathal]

10 minutes ago, kag101 said:

do you have friends? i notice in myself that when i'm overstimulating myself is due to lack of bonding with others.

Quote

truuuuuuuuly listen to what the present moment experience is trying to communicate to you

that's a good example, i mean, it's about  listentining and understanding yourself and what you need emotionally, when you listen deeply and reflect on your life it may be because you are lacking something fundamental to your human needs, intimacy, relationships and so on

so much suffering comes about, it feels needless and creates a lot of need to distract ourselves but with understanding your emotional needs and how you may have some dysfunctional way of getting needs met, much of the noise is reduced and the actual grasp and craving to avoid this now seemingly disappears

[Raze]

https://www.shinzen.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/art_urges.pdf

[Someone here]

Thanks guys for the great helpful responses.

this exact thing today while hiking in some beautiful scenery. Restlessness and higher expectations for something that I, based on past experience, should be loving every second of. On longer hiking trips (3+ days) I noticed this is pretty much non-existent. I've also noticed this sensation disappearing after long bouts of drawing, reading, converstation, cuddling, etc. which leads me to the conclusion that it's due to our short attention span.

If i want to counter this, i gotta teach my brain to disregard instant gratification and relearn the value of a delayed reward. These things would be great ways to rewire my eward system: -Draw a huge, detailed drawing. It doesn't matter if it looks like shit, I'm  keeping my mind on a single task long enough to complete something 

This is my take on the sensation, and some things that may help my brain rewire itself to move away from my short attention span that is likely causing it. Hope it helps!

Thanks again. 

 

[Someone here]

 I used to be in a constant state of dissatisfaction... I never truly enjoyed the things i supposedly enjoy doing because they were never as good as i imagined them to be and while i was doing them i'd be thinking if what could be better... As a simple example... When i listen to a song i love while travelling or whatever, i never actually finish it and experience the whole track. Instead im skipping through large parts of great songs in the hope that i'll enjoy the next one even more... Since ive started meditating and incorporating mindfulness into my life this is slowly changing... I recently went on holiday with an old friend and i made and effort to experience every moment of that trip... I got so much more out of it that way. This would not have been possible without mindfulness...

[Mu_]

@Someone here Another way to tackle and experiment with this issue is to relax into noticing whats being noticed.  Some may call this being the awareness in the body.  Basically the rules of this practice is as follows.  If you notice a desire, or your mind, or your thoughts or emotions about this or that (your desire for something greater or better in the future for example) just relax into being aware of such.  Oh a desire you might say, or oh a craving, oh a thought about wanting more, or oh a emotion of wanting more.  Just let it be there and happen.  Don't take ownership of being the creator of such thoughts.  Don't blame yourself as though its a problem that such emotions/thoughts/desires/cravings/whatever happened, just let it be there, since it already is there and happened before any intention *but you may need to look into this subtlety more, to realize that what I'm saying is true or not*

Does that make sense?

You may feel like, but ya ok, I see those things there, but I don't want them there, I dont like the way they feel, I want them to change or be different, I don't want to crave, or feel craving.  Sure, let those happen to and just notice and as others have pointed to, notice how nice it is that day or how beautiful the clouds are or the ground or your breath.  Or just smile and be the happy you want to be in that moment, changing your mood as they say.

[Breakingthewall]

meditating for 40 minutes non stop, even if it is a noisy meditation, greatly reduces the compulsion to seek stimulation at every moment. it is a matter of accustoming the mind. the phone does the opposite of meditation, it makes you addicted. It's not a profound matter, just mechanical

[Loba]

I have the same problem and the only thing I have found to work is meditation.

[John Paul]

you are avoiding - your symptoms of poor health, your unprocessed or "not okay" (by your bullshit created standard of how you're allowed to feel) emotions (acknowledge your pain), or the fact that you need to take many actions that you don't want to take ("lazy"-self-esteem problem) in order to change your life to be rewarding, or the fact that you have addiction (doesn't matter to what imo, like addiction is more of an energy by my definition i have addict energy and you do too) and you need to just start saying no and embracing the pain underneath little by little, avoiding sacrificing your current ambitions you mentioned are for societal perception to ambitions of joy-hiking example, 

I think to change your expectations of the emotions you "should" or "should not" feel and to stop living for us and start living for you, most important (at least that's how i feel about myself, and that's all i can really see right now)

 

Edited March 2, 2022 by John Paul

[UDT]

@Someone here Work more

[thisintegrated]

Might I suggest.. meditation?

 

Trust me, it gets addicting after you do it enough.  It's the only way of generating dopamine without some sort of stimulus.  You feel good without developing any kind of tolerance to anything.

Judging by your post count, you really need this.

Edited March 19, 2022 by thisintegrated