Learn More About Reading Addiction
Reading Addiction is arguably a real phenomenon. A person can, in fact, be addicted to reading.
This is not so much like chemical addictions, however, in which the body becomes physically dependent on a particular drug or substance. Nor is it like gambling or food addiction, either, where chemical processes occur in the brain when people engage in the addictive behavior.
No, reading is an addiction when it is used as a mechanism to avoid reality. A person can avoid facing life by reading all day. A person can also avoid facing themselves by reading all day. This is the only time that reading really becomes a problem.
The idea of being addicted to books is tricky, because reading is generally considered to be a good thing. But we all know that too much of a good thing can be bad for you as well. Therefore, we should take a closer look at the concept of reading addiction.
When does Heavy Reading Become an Addiction?
It all boils down to a person’s motives. If you are reading for pleasure, that’s great. If you are reading for knowledge or learning, that’s great too. Both activities are healthy, even when practiced in abundance. But if your true motive for reading is to escape reality, then you might be using reading in an addictive manner.
There have been times in my own life when I was reading books for over 8 hours a day. Since then I have achieved a great deal more balance.
This leads to us to the ultimate solution for a reading addiction. The cure is not to quit reading. The solution is not to “cut down” on the time you spend reading, either. “Cutting down” has such a negative vibe to it, and will probably lead you to resent the fact that you have to “cut down” on your reading at all.
So instead of cutting down, the key is to broaden your horizons and bring balance into your life through other activities. If you just sit on the couch and stare at the wall and focus on how you wish you were reading, it’s going to be awfully hard not to be miserable.
How Can I Help Someone Who Won’t Stop Reading?
People who are comfortable with their reading addiction do not want to hear about it. It is an escape mechanism for them and they use heavy reading in order to deal with reality. Typically, a person who is addicted to books has also justified their reading to themselves. That means that they have talked it over in their own mind and decided that their heavy reading is not unhealthy.
This is called denial.
Helping someone to break through this kind of denial is not an easy task, regardless of what type of addiction you are dealing with. People tend to cling to what they are comfortable with and what they understand. Change of this kind never comes easy. In order to best help a person who is clearly using books as an escape from reality, here are some things you might try:
* Engage them in alternate activities. This is a simple enough strategy, but it can be very discouraging to keep trying and offering new things if a person simply doesn’t respond and take the bait. Get creative and use everything you know about the person’s potential interests.
* Plan a vacation with a demanding schedule. The idea here is that they won’t have time to lounge around and read. Think survival camping adventure or a trip to Disneyworld. Anything that is action-packed will be a powerful distraction from reading.
* Draw them out of themselves by enlisting their help with something. People like to feel needed. Get your bookworm to feel important by helping you to do something genuinely important and significant.
Remember that people with reading addiction don’t want to hear you say that they shouldn’t read so much. Keep focusing on the pro-active approach and try to restore balance to their life. If they start to enjoy other activities, then your efforts in helping them will be proven successful!
Photo by lorenz3474909367 and ckaroli
People who have successfully overcome an addiction to reading do not necessarily quit reading altogether. Instead, they achieve balance in their life and no longer use reading as a way to escape into a fantasy world and avoid dealing with their own life.
CatherineL Says:
Great post Pat. You don’t hear a lot about reading addiction but it can be a problem.
As a child I used to escape the real world by pretending I was a character in Alice in Wonderland, The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, or whatever I was reading at the time.
At the time, I didn’t see it as a problem, but looking back, it was, as I spent far more of my time reading, or taking part in the adventures of these books than I did in the real world.
samir Says:
Thank you for this great article. I’ve been reading for almost 6 to 8 hours a day and I couldn’t explain what was happening.
I think you should post your article to wikipedia to let more people know about reading addiction.
jarta Says:
I’m addicted to reading online stories or fanfictions that I sometimes spend 10 hours in front of the computer surfing the net for more. It’s actually disturbing and I can’t stop. Everytime, I try to cut down my computer usage and book reading but I just can’t seem to stop. It seems that I don’t have resolve enough to quit or to lessen it somewhat. Its disturbing.
Vegan Momma Says:
This is an excellent post. I love reading, but I don’t think I ever used it as an escape from the real world. Occasionally I will take a day to read for example when the latest Harry Potter book came out. I read it in one day. That’s something I haven’t done in a long time. I rarely have that type of free time.
As much as I wanted to do that with Lord of the Rings I could not accomplish that in one sitting. That took e a few weeks. I read two hours nightly. Thankfully I’m a fast reader.
janelle Says:
I definitely had this problem when as a child and adolescent. I would read through all my classes in middle school and high school. I was escaping from unpleasant emotions and depression. As an adult I struggle with heroin, alcohol and cocaine. When I quit alcohol about 50 days ago I noticed my reading skyrocketed.
indy Says:
No people, I’m talking about a real adiction,not an escape from reality. I don;t even like to read, for me it is not pleasureable, but I can’t stop myself. If it is there it must be read. It doesn’t matter if it is a phone book or dictionary or a piece of litature. A trip to the market to buy a carton of milk turns into a 2hr project because as I go down an asile something will catch my eye and the next thing I know I am reading everything, all the little signs and cans and boxes and magizine covers, Its so bad when i go to a friends house and am enjoying their company if there is anything to read I will start to read it and soon I will be trying to do both listen or playing a game and read and I don’t even like to read. I pick up discarded newspapers at mcdonalds and other places thinking I will read that and I can’t throw them away until I do. I have newsppapers that are 2weeks old I am still trying to read.This is not an escape. I don’t know what to do.
Jenny Says:
Both me and my son are addicted to reading. My son reads everything he can get his hand on. From coupon paper, my old magazines to a mail a flyer. If I got library books for him, he would like finish all of books in a very short days before doing anything else. He reads books during school resess when other kids play. I am addicted to online reading and read almost every night. Somtimes, I cut my own sleep to three and four hours in order to finish a story. I tried to cut my computer time and everything, but it didn’t work either. I tried new activities – drawing class, exercise, etc.. It helps a little, but not solve the whole problem. I just feel really happy and content when I read, it’s like I am living inside books and explore different words and experience differnt lifes.
Patrick Says:
I think it’s worth pointing out again the difference between “escape through fantasy” versus “obsession with consuming printed words.” There is a real difference there, and if you are escaping your life or your reality through reading, I think there is potential there for other addictions as well…such as drug, food, sex, or gambling addiction.
On the other hand, it sounds like there are some folks out there who are genuinely addicted to the process of reading itself…not for the sake of the story, not for the sake of fantasy and escape from reality, but just for the scanning of pages and the consumption of written words. If that addiction actually exists, I have no idea what classification of mental disorder it actually is, nor what a person should try to do to remedy the condition….
Any thoughts on that?
Jill Says:
I need HELP! But not for myself, my 17 year old son who will not be graduating from high school as he should in a few weeks because he has spent most of his entire life engrossed in books. Mostly fantasy fiction. I truly woul appreciate any suggestion/help that anyone has to offer. It has been a strain on our family for years. I could go on for pages and pages here…
Thanks!
Patrick Says:
I can somewhat relate to your son, Jill, because I went through a brief period in late middle school and early high school when I read a TON of sci/fi and fantasy books. I was reading like one book each day almost, and it consumed my life for a while. This was enjoyable, obsessive, and quite comfortable. It was an escape. I don’t really know how or why I quit reading so much then, but I eventually later found drug addiction, so I guess this doesn’t really tell us much.
I think the key is to encourage balance with someone, and if they stay obsessed, the best you can do sometimes is get out of their way and let them screw up for a while. Like I said, reading addiction was but a phase for me, and it only lasted for about a year or so….
Anyway, good luck to you and your son, Jill.
smc Says:
I spend at least 5 to 8 hours a day reading on the computer reading blogs, news sites, newspapers, foreign newspapers, magazine archives, etc. I also love to watch newsworthy videos on youtube and read the comments and reply on the comments. It’s really hard to stop. It’s definately addictive. I don’t really read fantasy, mostly informational and geo-politics.
Gi-Gi Says:
My husband reads upwards of 10-15 substantial books each week. Sometimes, on vacation weeks, he can devour over 3 a day. This does not include the 4 magazine, 3-4 newspapers, and countless online readings.
It so happens that I really liked that when we were dating… he is very smart and knowledgeable with a seemingly unquenchable thirst for more.I love a smart man! He has recently taken to downloading blogs for our iPod too. He will keep one ear piece in his ear while driving, cooking, or whatever he is doing – even having conversation with others. He seems to get very moody though and b/c we have FOUR children, I need him to put the G-D books down and do some work around the house or at least engage with us on a deeper level. I think his is a combination of a real need to read for knowledge and pleasure and a true escape. I think it makes him depressed when he has to join reality. Should he see someone… I have brought it up, and like your post says, he definitely sees his reading as a gift, not a thorn. He is fine with his level of reading – no, let me restate, he would love to be alone in a deserted library for an undetermined amount of days. HELP – before I start wanting to burn books and ban the library.
waqi Says:
For those of you who like reading, here is a little addition:
In my dream last night, beside my bed, I encountered a funny species that look like a spider when it first crawled towards me, very thin body (abdomen, head) and extremely elongated limbs. I tried to kill it, but when I hit its body, it winded its limbs around the instrument I was using for killing (was I using stick or shoes?); I hit it many times, when finally the spider changed its shape and become a spring like creature and jumped in the air, like a compressed spring does when released; I was now scared, moved back a little and watched this unusual creature; the creature kept coming towards me, it touched my trousers and started moving up my legs, I tried to tear it away from my legs, worse, the creature could subdivide and kept on growing, these time like a fungus that grows on trees (the fungus that has tiny but long and intermingling stems, like algae), so these creature started to grow and expand on both my legs (my trousers); holy shit… I struggled to clean myself of this creature from my trousers, or tried to tear it away, and finally I peeled it from my left foot (I don’t remember what I did with the other part on my right foot, I presume I simply tore my trouser, the part that contains the creature’s body), lots of fungus that look like fluffy sponge, there it was on the ground with all its might, calm, like a fallen tree, I was scared that it would raise again, I was relieved to walk up.
dan Says:
Since people are going to avoid reality, I’d much prefer that they read books than smoke meth or play video games. I wish “reading addiction” was an epidemic. The world would be a better place for it.
Joules Says:
I think I am a reading addict, and it’s starting to affect my studies. I usually read minimum 10 hours per day and it’s too hard for me to control myself.
Great post by the way. Thank you for the information
Renae Says:
I have a younger sister who is definitely addicted to reading. Every day, for hours on end, she’ll either sit in front of a computer reading fan fiction or sit in her room reading a novel.
Books have become an absolutely unhealthy life line for her. Her addiction runs so deep that she’s stopped attending school, period. doesn’t see her friends, and doesn’t participate in any extra curricular activities.
She’s a fourteen year old who seems to be on shaky ground lately, and any help we try to get seems to be leading to walls. Passed on from counselor to counselor, even psychiatric help. Medications, all of it. Of course, as said, she wants none of it. No help, because to her, everything is just fine the way it is. She likes the fantasy outside of reality she’s created for herself.
I live two hours away from my sleepy home town, where my family lives, and it’s extremely difficult for me to influence the situation from the outside.
What I’m getting at is that these sort of addictions really do need to be taken seriously. It’s taken over her entire life, and I’m so relieved to finally find some answers for questions that have been consuming my family’s lives for about a year now. Maybe now I can pass down some of this information and get some real plans for getting her on the right track.
This article is greatly appreciated
Sam Says:
I have been addicted over the last weeks too, but I noticed it happening. I could think of nothing else at work, I did nothing else then reading and I didn’t have contact with some of my friends anymore.
I now talked it over with some people, and this makes me feeling better, as like some pressure went of my shoulders.
I’m now starting to do other things too, drawing, sporting and this helped me to keep the reading time down.
If you feel that you are addicted, try to lay the book away and start doing something else, just to see if it interests you.
Thank you for this article
Bean Says:
erm…I read novels in about two days. If I finish one and there is nothing else for me to read I will re-read some of my favorites (i have ruined the bindings on several books this way). And if I’m reading and someone interrupts me I tend to get very angry and snap at them. However I do not read as an “escape mechanism” but rather because I enjoy reading. Would I still be considered addicted to reading despite this?
Jorja Says:
I love to read. I always considered myself addicted to it…like a drug, but a good one, and only jokingly. But I never, in a million years, until I googled “reading addiction”, would have thought that it was something that actually existed. I can fly through an interesting book in 1 day if that’s all I did, probably less than a day. I just always attributed it to whether it was a good book to me. I could have read the last Harry Potter book in 1 day, that’s what a lot of people did, and what I wanted to do, but that book came out in the dead of Summer and my friends had other things on their minds,lol. Although I feel like I am in the book while I’m reading, seeing the things they describe, wishing that I was a part of the book, I don’t escape reality, I try to do that in my dreams. Not sure if that’s working though…i can never remember my dreams
Jorja Says:
BTW, Bean, I totally agree with you on that, i get irritable when the phone rings, restless when i have nothing to read, so i also re-read, im crazy with it
Rosie Says:
Hi,
I’m glad to have found this site. I have a major reading problem. I can spend up to 8 hours a day reading novels, crime novels, human interest, Harry Potter type novels, serious literature. The more problems I have in life, the more I escape into books. But the main problem is my reading at night in bed. I do this nearly every night and rarely get enough sleep. This really affects my job and my health. I have tried to control the problem with the help of a psychologist (who I was seeing for other reasons) , but am still struggling. Does anyone know of a 12 step program for reading addicts online? I am deadly serious!I am afraid I am wasting my life away. Help!
Delane Burow Says:
Hi, Yes I’m a reading addict. I am almost 50 and I can say I have seen dozens of reading addicts. One thing I am sure of is if you know one then you will have to think back and agree that reading addiction is TEMPORARY. Yes the addiction may last a couple of years but there is always a life event that forces us to become addicts and a life event that makes us stop,if only for a while. Reading addiction is a very good alternative to pain medication or a very good way to cope with depression both TEMPORARY life events. More studies should be done and I think they will prove this is true.
Inga Says:
Hi, I am addicted to reading. If I don’t have a new book before I finish the one that I am reading I actually go into a panic. I have no real reason why I started. And so far I see no end to the tunnel. I have tried several times to stop reading because my husband asked me to, however if I am given free rain I will pick up a book and read without stopping. I even went as far as reading behind his back ie: while he was at work or during the night while he slept.
I don’t use it as a tool to escape my reality, I have a great family and am an all around happy person. But I have this need to read. The easiest way I can explain it is by saying, when I read a book I don’t so much see the words but rather like I am watching a movie. I have found myself several times already where I got too tired to read and felt sad, thinking if I put the book down I would miss the rest of the story. Just like you would turn off a TV before going to sleep. I hope I can find a way to get away from that. I know I have to.
Hema Gandhi Says:
hey,
i dont know why i jus read all the time, i read novels… romance,crime etc. but no one knows i read all the time. i’m supposed to be a geek or a nerd or watever doing an electronics major in college. so when i download books and read on th pc no one thinks i,m reading and i cant seem to tell anyone. all my student life i’v been good, so i wanted to rebel.. so i guess i started this, but i cant seem to stop it. now its started affecting my grades what do i do… its stupid really i know wat to do.. stop reading… but i simply cant… can you suggest something
Patrick Says:
Hi there Hema
I would suggest that you force yourself to work outdoors. Get a full time job in an outdoor setting and this will really cut down on your reading time. Also, force yourself to do an hour of walking or light exercise 3 or 4 days each week. This will bring back a healthy balance to your life.
Patrick Says:
Yeah people who are staying up late into the night with reading, that is a serious problem and you need to put a quick stop to it. The only way to do so is to pull the plug on this behavior and not allow yourself to go there. Make a cutoff time and stick to it. Obviously you have to come up with the motivation to do this for yourself.
Sarah Says:
I was very addicted to reading throughout elementary and middle school – I only recently became aware of my problem. I also had a computer addiction, which I broke now. I’ve stopped reading so much, and see the problem that reading was for me – I was really using it as an escape from reality. The world of books is too often a much easier placer than the real world. But now that I stopped, things are worse. Without my books, I fall into a greater depression – the only other things that interest me are drawing and the outdoors.
I find myself asking – is it a good thing that I separated myself from the world of books? Or maybe it is better to be in a fake world, escaping from reality, but happy.
Any suggestions on what I can do to fill up my time with things that would make me happy?
Jess Says:
I don’t have so much the need to read, until I begin a book or a series of books. Then it feels like a sort of frenzy begins. I can’t put it down. I read Twilight and New Moon in 4 days. I was too anxious to sleep. I would wake up with an urge to read more, to know what was going to happen in the book. Looking back, I can’t remember anything that happened these past 4 days. It was like I was a zombie. What’s wrong with me? It’s not really an escape. I love to read, but when I begin reading a new book (and reading used to be an escape for me when I was younger), it’s hard to not wish it was more reality. I feel really stupid to even think this, let alone write it.
noelani Says:
well, i’m addicted to reading. in the past i’ve had reading bouts that lasted for a month or so. that’s happend off and on forever. but it’s different now. for a year and a half things have changed. i don’t agree w/it not triggering chemicals in the body, like as in gambling. i found that i am mostly addicted to the intense emotions that the reading evokes. that is a very chemical process for me. i don’t feel the need to read what is not pleasing to me (ie food labels, though i do read those b/c i’m a health nut, or the phone book) but i glut on what is pleasing (i carry at least one book with me at all times so i’ll have something i like and books scattered at every possible stopping point in the house–by the stove, by phones, on the kitchen table, on the coffee table, on the kids side tables in their room, on the dryer–and they’re all opened to where i left off last time i was there). i read and reread over and over and over again. my books are marked for emotions (for when i want to cry, feel like i’m falling in love, be depressed, feel the adrenaline of an action scene, etc). maybe b/c i feel i have to keep my emotions under wraps when interracting with others, that when i read i can feel emotions “on-demand”. i don’t really know why. i could be way off base.
yes, it is miles better than being addicted to meth, but tell that to my children who can see i prefer time with a book to time with them, or to my family as i escape every chance i get to read, or to my husband who no matter how amazing i think he is i would rather read a book than wind down the night with him, or who finds a bank statement with tons spent on books. as for it being “temporary”, i can’t really afford the years b/c my kids depend on me now. the guilt is awful, but i keep going back. i spend tons of money not budgeted on books b/c when i want a book i can’t wait for it to get returned to the library.
it’s true that balance is good, but telling someone to pull up their bootstraps and exercise self-discipline seems a bit naive, insensitive and ignorant. isn’t the whole point of the article to lay out info for reading as an “addiction”? that’s like telling gambling addicts they just need to stick to a budget. i’ve been battling back and forth with seeking counseling. i just feel stupid asking for it for this. and i’m afraid i’ll be asked to give it up and be left with nothing which is a terrifying thought. i know it’s illogical, b/c i’ve lived without it before, but i just can’t handle the thought of not having it now.
Patrick Says:
Hi Noelani
I think you have a real addiction, quite possibly. Have you considered seeking professional help? My guess is that it might be abstinence based for someone like yourself, but life can be awesome without reading. It is not the death sentence that it sounds like. I was reading a book each day for a while there, but I have learned to find balance in my life.
Yes, it will suck at first. There is no way around this. Addiction is tough.
Seek help. Good luck.
rania Says:
I’ve known there is something wrong with me a month ago but I couldn’t put my finger on the issue . i stopped watching tv or sitting with my family or going out with my friend or even doing exercise .but today when I opened a folder in my computer where i keep the books that i’ve read,i found out that i’ve read over 100 books in a month . i have to admit that i’m a reading addict, i’ve never thought that the only thing that gives me comfort could be my addiction. no one in my country will even believe that there is something called “reading addiction” they will think i’m a liar or a lunatic so i think i have to depend on my own if i want to be cured, it’s hard to depend on yourself when you are that young i’m only 18 years old. so wish me luck i want to be cured because i love reading, i don’t want the thing that i love to be a burden on me.
thanks for the article and the advice.
Jack Says:
That is something worth to read. Hats of to you for this kind of post. Thanks for sharing.
Genelle Says:
Hi. I just wanted to say that I’ve noticed when my life has been at it’s roughest, I’ve gone through an addictive phase with reading. When my P.O.S. ex-husband was leaving practically in the middle of the night to cheat on me, I couldn’t sleep and would pull out Stephen King novels to read. Our daughter was a baby at the time and I could read one of these books in about a day. After we were divorced, the need to read seemed to fade a bit, but it’s always there and when I get sick of what’s going on in my life, I can’t help but think back to the time when I used to live my life in a book. I’d much rather be enveloped in a character’s mess than my own. Nowadays, much has changed. That daughter is a sophomore in high school, and my husband and I have a fifth grade son. There’s not a lot of time now to read, but we do give Weekends for married couples, and I find that as I read my part for the presentations, I rush through, leaving most of the participants wondering what happened. I’ve been told I need to slow down. Do any of my fellow reading addicts have the issue with reading so fast, that if you read out loud, you sound almost like the guy from the old Micro-Machines toy car commercial in the 80′s, where he’s talkling so fast,it’s amazing?
Emily Says:
“I think it’s worth pointing out again the difference between “escape through fantasy” versus “obsession with consuming printed words.” There is a real difference there, and if you are escaping your life or your reality through reading, I think there is potential there for other addictions as well…such as drug, food, sex, or gambling addiction”- Patrick
“I believe that someone that has an obsession to consume written words, rather than reading to escape reality is definitely along the line of having OCD or obsessive compulsive disorder…
Lai Says:
Hi
I know exactly what everyone’s talking about. I’m afraid that I am addicted to reading. I’ve suspected it for a while now, and I’m only 16 years old! In 4th grade, I used to read books that were at least 500 pages long! I just can’t seem to stop. Recently, my parents have gotten fed up with me reading all the time and actually don’t allow me to read as a punishment. I was sooo miserable, I couldn’t think right at times bcz I could feel the books calling to me. Usually once a month, I find out that I have nothing to read and I go slightly crazy. I raid my bookshelf and reread books I’ve already read 14 times. Once, I actually started reading an Encyclopedia. I get real pleasure from reading about fiction, but also things that teach me. I can’t decide if I read to escape or just for pleasure? Can someone help me?
FG Says:
I have a problem similar to Jarta (Comment # 3). Once distracted by a print book or internet material, I keep going for hours ignoring other obligations. When I finally stop I feeling guilty and depressed dealing with the aftermath. This bad habit has cost me dearly in my professional and personal life and I have spent years trying to find some strategy to resolve it, without success.
I really can’t explain exactly why I do it in any way that would make sense to others. I agree with the author of this article that escaping reality has a lot to do with it (as with most addictions), but his/her recommendation to “broaden your interests” and “find balance in your life” is overly simplistic. I have plenty of interests and opportunities in my life, but my bad habit is preventing me from fully realizing them. And I certainly don’t read because I have “nothing else to do” – far from it.
I am painfully aware that I have a problem, but unable to break myself of it, despite wanting to very much. I value books and would like reading to be just a pleasant hobby to me as it is to most people rather than an obsession and grief. I cannot find help or support because no-one I try to talk about this takes it seriously. In some ways, I wish I had a “recognized” addiction like alcohol or gambling because then I could join a support group and at least have some source of encouragement. Maybe it would make the difference.
Does anyone know of a support group or want to start one? reply here and I will check back (I dont’ want to leave my email in this post but if there is sincere interest from fellow addicts we’ll figure something out – maybe a facebook group). I’m so tired of struggling alone with this.
Please understand I am not just talking about “Oh I love reading soooo much” ;I am talking about compulsive behaviour that impacts your life in a negative way. Sadly, that criteria definitely qualifies for me.
Ed Shimidtz Says:
I love reading–it’s enjoyable and stimulating.
I learn lots from it too. It has wonderful
upsides besides learning. Through reading we get to self examine through reading about people’s lives, we may reduce stress through reading humour and upbeat material, we may travel abroad and visit other cultures, solve mysteries, sprout new brain cells though reading mental activity, hey read about reading addiction like we’re doing here, overcome ADD and build our attention through reading.
However there can be a downside to any positive activity because the brain will find distractions
in compulsions and addictions to keep us away from
emotional pain, “reality”, unfelt and unexpressed emotions, and what seems overwhelming. People get addicted to exercise and its endorphins, shopping, TV and the Internet, gambling, cleaning–you name it.
Is reading keeping you from work, relationships, your family, education, responsibilities, and friendships? Is it sucking up a lot of time and you feel imprisoned by it? Does it seem like you can’t put it down–you need it? Are you reading too much frivilous stuff or romances that give you excitement and great feelings? (This can give you endorphins galore our natural pain killing opiates which in turn can make reading physically addictive as well as psychological) Reading also turns off our critical thinking with “ludic trance”–that can lead more easily to escapism and addiction. I read about various kinds of hidden addictions
like reading, loveaholism, internet, exercise and so forth at Http://www.Self-Helpapedia.com and some of the methods to get someone more in connection with their emotions and what they avoid through compulsions and addictions.
It’s ashame that something so good as reading can be abused to avoid emotions, reality, and unexpressed stuff. I just have to be alert when something is taking over my life like workaholism
once did. Life in balance.
cristy Says:
I am a stay at home mother of two, 3yrs and 11 months. I dont ignore my kids persay but I dont play much with them, they get fed and changed. I wake up at 6 and feed them then read till lunch and feed them then read till 30 mins before hubby gets home then I rush and clean and do things that make him think i didnt things,lol. but tabout 2 hours later after dinner and hearing about his day i start reading again. I do my best not to get gurmpy when i am interupted. We have shows we watch but i havent seen them in months so i dont know whats going on. we all go to bed at 8pm the little one sleeps with us and the big one wont sleep if the tv in the living room is on. but after the little one is asleep i will start reading again. and the whole time i am not reading i am thinking of the people in the books. when a book is finished i cry. its like my bestfriend moved away. i wont know anymore about their life and it hurts me. when they die i morn and it really bothers hubby. i believe its to excape reality. my life isnt horrible but i need something more and since i am nothing like the people int he books i have to settle with reading. i am not a people person. i dont leave the house much. i would spend the rest of my life reading if it was a choice. hubby says i have an addictive personality. i smoked pot for 13 years and i dabbled in meth for 2. when i was young i would play tetris for days. and when i worked i would try to organize things into tretis lines and blocks. when i have nothing to read i can spend hours like 18 hours online looking at nothing. i feel like im losing my mind and i need help. i dont know where to find it tho.
thanks for giving me a chance to vent.
EmilyJJ Says:
I just wanted to put down thanks for this article – reading noelani’s post especially as I very much feel the same – I feel massive guilt as sometimes I’m not even aware of what is happening with my husband – he now says he just tries not to tell me things when I’m reading, but that means never really being able to tell me things!
My daughter is 2 and I have another one on the way and I really want to get things under control. When she was younger it wasn’t so much of a problem as I was nursing for so long I had a lot of time where I didn’t have much else to do but I’ve been addicted to reading for 15 years now and trying to quit for 10. I have no friends at all and always feel very distant to other people, I fear that my daughter will start seeing me as distant and I can’t stand this thought, but it will happen as I spend the majority of my day reading.
I’m not sure why I do it, the only reason I can see that I cannot stop is that it must be some kind of addiction. I’ve tried talking to other people about it and they laugh saying that I’ve always liked books. I’ve tried using my daughter as a motivation and getting my husbands support (who does not laugh as he’s seen how I am with books and fully understands) and all I end up doing is sneaking off to read once everyone is asleep or sitting on the bathroom floor reading so no one will know what I’m up to.
When I don’t have a book I’m reading I feel so so lonely and cut off, I read a book a day and rush through them feeling mentally and physically drained at the end of it then get angry at myself as I end up missing the characters! And yes I know that sounds crazy, I am actually aware that they’re not real!!!!
I don’t know why I’m like this but am thinking of going to the doctor’s to talk about it as feel I need to get it under control asap for the sake of myself and my family. The guilt is breaking my heart and everytime I fail I feel like such an awful and pathetic person. My fear is that the doctor will laugh at me, I’m scared of not having books there, of feeling lonely and depressed but I can see this isn’t right and I believe that if I can get through it I won’t miss them – or maybe be able to read every now and then and actually be able to put the book down.
bookaddict Says:
It Is REAL. Last year is when it got the worst for me. I’d read 46 books. I’m in highschool too… So, it really affected my studies. I would hide out in my closet and read on my phone’s ebook reader for hours. I would pretend that I’d gone to school for weeks and read in my closet. But, I was smart and I caught up and I got A’s. They eventually found out within a little over a month but I never really realized I was addicted. I figured I was just lazy at the time and stressed out. That’s what I told them anyway… It blew over because I was a good kid… I am a good kid… It’s today, about a year later that I find myself doing the same exact thing. I haven’t been to school in a week, but I can’t stop. I feel empty without words to read. I also feel crazy. And, I also write a lot more. I hate it. I hate it and yet I feel as if I’d crumble without it. It helps me escape reality and yet every time I finish a book and every time I move on to another, I feel even more pathetic than before. And so I read again to escape that. It’s overwhelming.
Patrick Says:
Bookaddict, and anyone else who’s life is negatively affected by excessive reading–I think you should seek professional help.
If it is not a problem, then it is not a problem. But I am seeing more and more comments from people who are “escaping” through reading in a very hard core way. If it is ruining your life, then it is not worth it. Seek professional help. There is no shame in doing so. Find a counselor, a therapist, someone who can help. If they do not understand the gravity of your situation, then tell them to do some more research……
Crystal Says:
I’ve always loved reading, but now that I have Amazon Kindle on my I-phone reading has started taking over my life. If I’m not reading I actually have chest pain and can’t focus on tasks. New books are only a click away and always with me. It’s like a iv drug user having a pick line or a port-a-cath, with an endless supply of heroin. I read every spare moment, while eating,driving,facebooking,working etc. While all the other mom’s are watching their little ballarina’s at dance class I’m on the bench absorbed in a book. I hope I can get a handle on this.
rosary Says:
i am 16 and i am addicted to reading. i’ll admit that reading has provoked my low gpa. im still a softmore though. when i read the comment about someones son not graduationg cause of reading, i suddenly realized the danger im in. that is not what my future will look like because i like being the one in control. i have a natural need to succeed and win. reading the end of a book is a sort of accomplishment for me. i like it. i’ll also admit that i do escape reality through books, i’m obsessed with stories especially when they give me that feeling where i think: “this story is great! this proves i’m not the only one experiencing these types of things! I’m inspired!” And as we all know, there are many of great stories out there that strike that chord. i will do my best to study on school now, and my friends for that matter. thank you for the inspiration, let’s just hope it doesn’t wear off.. because i’d have to read another book to get inspired all over again ;]
hass Says:
i think my reading started when i was 11 i read tolkeins books at such a young age and i understood them completely and for my vocabulary many people thought i was genius and people were either envious of or made fun of me so i generaly stopped i became involved in sports video games messing around est i managed to keep my grades afloat so my parents wouldn’t complain im 18 now and i decided to start reading some novels i haven’t seen any of my old friends and i feel i have little in common with most friends my tastes have radically changed and i feel lost as too who i am. am i a sports jock a football fanatic or a book worm?
to very different people in one.
reading too much affects my life and i can’t stop when im reading a good story i can hardly talk to my mates about how great this book is. lol.
im going to force myself to 2 hours a day max rather than the 5 hours i have been doing. i found the chapter a day thing to be bad because some chapters are 2 pages ad i feel cheated.
2 hours max remember!
bkrdr63 Says:
Heaven for me would be a cabin out in the woods,no phone, lots of wood aready cut and stacked,food stocked and wall to wall books-history,classics, and popular fiction. Oh yeah, and no one around to bother me.Definately no computer or tv.Just books, glorious books!I would choose reading over sex any day!I know that it is an addiction(it runs in the family- my 2 year old great niece is book obsessed already-even takes them to bed with her and has to be read to before she will get up in the mornings)but I really don’t want to stop. I used to have chemical dependencies and this won’t kill me at least and is alot more socially acceptable(and legal).I guess I just have the “addiction” gene.I read alot growing up but now that I have changed my lifestyle and cut out the illicit substances I find that I cannot read enough!In fact,it really bothers me that when I die there will still be books that I haven’t had a chance to read yet!
Sam Says:
My wife has been reading so much the last year, she stays up late thru the night and every time I see her during the day she has a book or the computer reading. She ignores calls she doesn’t keep up on the house work, I looked on the bank statement and she had ordered 45 online books the last month. I have printed stuff out on reading addiction and she’ll throw it down like it’s not an issue. She comes from a family that has all struggled with addiction, and I really thought that she was different. it’s getting harder to handle, I will tell her at night that she is reading to much and she’ll blatently ignore me and continue on like she doesn’t care. I feel like she would be fine with a book and would rather not deal with me or our three children. The kids always tell me all mom does is read and I am coming to an end of dealing with this. Are reading addicts willing to throw away family and reality to fall into a fantasy land to ignore reality? to me I think that staring at a damn book all day and night would be pretty depressing. Will it ever end?
Kindle Addict Says:
Great post and even better comments! My particular area of interest at this point is how additional convenience of ebooks (such as Amazon’s Kindle) will cause even more individuals to become addicted to reading (I’m calling it kindicted, but kindleholic is used frequently as well). Most Kindle users surveyed have no issue admitting that they are kindicted, but they have no desire to stop. If anyone has any further insight, please post here or visit kindicted.com
Jean Says:
I seem to share pretty much all the symptoms of reading addiction that everyone else has! I discovered the Kindle app for iPhone and read 36 books on it in one month. On my iPhone. My husband bought me a Kindle for my birthday and was ecstatic when I started donating all my paperback books from the basement. I’ve been a reading addict since I was about 3 years old and learned to read. I would go through periods of time when I would save up all my allowance as a kid and spend it all at Waldenbooks buying entire series of books at a time. When I started running out of money, I’d start buying books based on the number of pages! I would compulsively work my way through authors’ entire bodies of work (although Azimov broke me – I gave up after about 10 of his reference books). Even if the book was absolutely awful I would feel compelled to finish reading it and even then I’d go on to buy subsequent books by the same author. I can’t start a new book in the evening because I will not sleep until I’ve finished it, and I get seriously angry when the next book in a series is not available for kindle when I want to download it immediately.
The saving grace for my Kindle is all the free and $1 books available for it. I’ve been downloading all the classics to reread just to keep myself from going broke. It is WAY too easy to buy ebooks since you don’t even have to leave the house. At times it seriously becomes an issue. My husband nags me for always reading and I’ve even gone on “errands” only to hunker down in a parking lot to read in peace. Yikes!
Alicea Says:
I do have this problem right now my life is very hard so I looked it up… I realize that I do have this issue and I’m trying HARD to try and get into other things but when I woke up this morning the first thing I thought about was were my book was and what happened last time I was reading I then got out of bed and started reading… I read from when I wake up to when I go to sleep only sometimes breaking to get out the car or to go to school… this is a very hard thing to try and break but I am realizing that its something I really should break and that I need to face reality and that I cant just hide in the world and plots of my books.
haris muzaffar Says:
a point comes when you have to balance reading with writing. reading is like eating and writing is like exercise. but what about rest…? well, doing nothing much (lyming) is a sort of spaced out situation where you enter a meditative zone. it is not very different from a vacay on a far off island in the carribean. all work and no play makes jack a dead, dull and boring man (and jill a rich widow). and come on, i mean, lets face it, even the most inveterate intellectual comes to a point in his life where he doesn’t want to look at a book, far less read it. this is called supersaturation and requires a moratorium. a break from reality doesn’t necessarily have to be fantasy-based. rather it is an incubation period that allows breathing space to the unconscious to perform its intricate operations unhindered.
Jal153 Says:
I believe that i might have a reading addiction. The first book i picked up and read was Twilight. It was my senior year (last year) and i thought i needed something to do during my study halls and reading was it. I am now in my first year at college and I have more down time and more issues i have to deal with. and my room mates actually brought it up to me that all i ever do is sit in my room and read. i don’t hangout with them anymore and they had stopped asking me to do things with them because I just end up turning them down anyways. It really hurt me for them to say this. But at the time i was dealing with a lot of issues and i read to escape them. But there has to be a worse addiction then reading…
Silent Fox Says:
I never really thought I had an addiction till my computer died one day. I decided to look through my books, even counting as I went. After getting to a hundered, I started to wonder…is there something wrong? My entire days had been spent on the internet, reading anything from online manga, to fanfiction. 100,000 wordstorys would be gone in hours, as I soon forget what it had even been about. I can never seem to go online without reading a story, and if I’m away, a nice fiction book helped me. Now that I think back, I know it’s true…and feel terrible. My new look on life is helping me, I now go out more often.
dong mae sika dowa Says:
im, addicticted to reading!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YAYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
its good for my brain.
dong mae sika dowa Says:
im addicticted to reading!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YAYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
its good for my brain.
dong mae sika dowa Says:
i’m addicticted to reading!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YAYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
its good for my brain.
dong mae sika dowa Says:
hi
im addicted to reading.
i need help
dong mae sika dowa Says:
I’m addicted. hi hi hi hi
dc Says:
One can be addicted to partying, praying, donating time to a worthy cause, helping out one’s neighbor, petting the cat, saying “I love you” to a spouse, etc etc etc. Where are the blogs for these? The word “addiction” is so loaded and carries negative connotations. Yes I am a reading addict. Guilty as charged.
Nose and Ear Hair Trimmer Says:
I’ve been an avid reader for over 50 years, but i don’t think I’ve been addicted all that time. I do believe that I’ve used reading at many times as a form of procrastination.
The thing is I really enjoy reading and learning new things although it can be a struggle to stay focused on other things that need to be done.
Ola Says:
Too bad this very valuable advice has been spammed with comments by people who are so very obviously in denial.
I’ve been struggling for a while to replace voracious and undiscriminating reading with more active pursuits, and was excited to find this helpful page. I was over 50 years old by the time I realized reading wasn’t always a positive use of one’s leisure time!
Dave Says:
My wife and I retire a little over one year ago. She now spends over 10 hours a day reading romance books. She often forgets important appointments and even when we drive hundreds of miles to visit our grandkids she spends much of the valuable visit time with her nose in a book. I have pleaded with her to cut her reading time back and be more a part of our life togeather but she just pouts and starts back again when I stop complaining. I go to be at 11:30 PM while she stays up reading until as late as 4 AM. I am at wits end??
Dave Says:
My wife and I retired a little over one year ago. She now spends over 10 hours a day reading romance books. She often forgets important appointments and even when we drive hundreds of miles to visit our grandkids she spends much of the valuable visit time with her nose in a book. I have pleaded with her to cut her reading time back and be more a part of our life togeather but she just pouts and starts back again when I stop complaining. I go to be at 11:30 PM while she stays up reading until as late as 4 AM. I am at wits end??
youngmom Says:
well its nice to confirm that i am addicted to reading. which like the post says its not a good thing. I love going into another world and just leaving behind the boring existence we humans have…i need to get out more and do more activities…easy to read hard to do. wish me luck because reading that husbands’ post i realise that other people are affected by my reading and i need to focus on them. for the person who liked the twilight books try “Vampire academy” series it rocks! but don’t read them in one sitting….not healthy. Wish me luck in breaking my bad habit.
youngmom Says:
And i am sure if you follow the sites advice your wives might leave there adventurous romances…to make one of their own with their husbands or maybe she could read out loud to you for an hour a day…only.. i dunno some ideas i wanted to share.
Jennatonic Says:
I Hadn’t thought this was real. I Asked a Co Worker and she of course thinks there is an Addiction or medical reason for everything.
WELL I was wrong. It’s so weird to have it put in front of me like this. I Read every spare second I get. I Read a Book a day on Average! It’s only been in the last two years Ive really picked up reading but Now I Don’t go out I Don’t pick up my Phone, Don’t Do Anything but read from the Second I get Home from work till I Go to bed. When Im Alone in my office I Read. when I’m NOT reading I feel Like I should be and my Book is ALWAYS in reach just in case I get a Spare Moment…
Wow.
John D Says:
My wife reads all of the time I guess you could say she has an addictive personality. It started with shopping then when the money was gone it went to eating then to online games and now books! She reads so much that my kids have a hard time getting her attention and she rarely plays with them. One day for her goes something like this- (wake up and read, eat, read, eat, read,eat, read,sleep) I have tried to talk to her about this and have told her that it is a problem and she is addicted but of course she denies it. So if you think you may have this problem please stop be for it to late and your kids are all grown up, or your youth is gone and have no idea where it went, or your husband leaves you and you still think he just went to the store 2 years ago! I am hoping it is not to late for my wife and I but I too am at wits end
Casseh Says:
I’m only 14 and I’m a reading addict. All I want to do is read. I dont even like to go out anywhere or really do anything. When I go for a long car drive I bring a book with me. When I’m in school all I think about is a book I’ve read. And when I’m home i quickly do my home work then go to my room and read. Sometimes I stay up late on school nights to read. I wont go to bed till around one on school days and then I’m tired in school and cant think right….I try not to read as much but I cant help it sometimes D:
Mrs. Jacob Black Says:
I was reading today and my step mother came in and “caught me”. She said that I was addicted and I had to stop reading so often, that it was getting unhealthy, but my whole life I was told that reading was good for you, that it broadened one’s horizons and vocabulary . I learn things when I read. I wouldve never known that the human eye could only dialate to 9 mm of I hadn’t read it somewhere. I wouldn’t have learned the multitude of new words that friends of mine have never even heard of if I had never read. My step mom doesn’t get it. I’m happy when I read, when I’m reading, all my problems disappear. Is that so bad? I enjoy reading about other people’s problems because somehow all of them go away in the end and the good guys always win. I rely on that constant fact. That while the people I know around me change and things in my life get a little too hard to handle right away, my books are always there for me. They won’t ever change on me or leave me hanging (hypothetically). Is that so terrible? I know she’d rather me be addicted to reading whilst others are addicted to meth or other controlled substances. Reading cannot be a bad addiction. As long as I’m getting my homework done and I still have a great social life, I don’t see the problem with reading 2-4 hours a day.
I’m not stopping, whatever she says, even if she has to drag me to booklovers anonymous.
crazy6 Says:
I am addicted to reading. I read at least 8 hours a day and ignore all around me. I get into a book and I can’t put it down. If I don’t have a book to read when the book I am reading is done, I get anxious. When I am not reading I almost don’t know what to do with myself. I started as a teenager and have continued on and off since. I have 4 children and have told myself that it’s good for them to see me love books and read, but know that I do it waaaay tooooo much. To the point that my daughter told me last night that all I do is read. I realize now that it is an escape from reality. How to stop is the question.
Bruno Says:
I’m really sorry for people that are addict to reading… TWILLIGHT.
Noelani612 Says:
I am in such a different place now than when I commented previously. I think there is some confusion In the comments between being out-of-balance and an addiction. To those that say, I’m a reading addict-yay, I say you either don’t get what an addiction is (would you ever say I’m a meth addict-yay) or else are in denial. I am a reading addict and read hundreds of books last yr. My reading was out of control and try as I might I couldn’t stop. My house started to look like the house of an addict b/c everything I did I had to have a book in hand. Family relations suffered, relationship with friends suffered. The need to read and the accompanying guilt of what was getting left undone were my daily existence. I thought, “but reading is good, I should just cut down” again missing the point that I couldn’t stop. I finally was pointed to an open 12 step addiction recovery program and my life is so different now. Instead of getting a fix from my reading I am out enjoying life, confident in my ability to handle reality w/o my books. I don’t need to avoid all reading, but I am aware of my addiction reads. After all, an alcoholic doesn’t need to give up drinking altogether, just the drinking of alcohol. I have been sober for three months now and so grateful for the support I’ve been given. I’m confident that if I stay on my path I will be able to remain sober, not just for my family, but for me. Good luck to those of you who feel your life is out of control w/books. Things can get better.