Usually, I tell you how to Crush Your Cravings for addictive candies, cookies, chips or other sugary, salty, fatty foods. But this Cravings-Crushing Monday, I’m going to discuss the invisible addiction that people rarely discuss.
- You’re one of millions, who check their smartphones 150 times a day.
- You feel — as do 46 percent of smartphone users — that you just can’t live without your device.
- You’re addicted to your cell phone.
For those of you who feel hooked to your cell phone, it will transform your life if you “feel the power of saying ‘no’ to that addictive, reptilian self,” explained Dr. Nancy Colier recently, when I interviewed her on my Gab with the Gurus podast.
Millions of us are “twired” — both wired and tired, explained Dr. Colier, a psychotherapist and author of The Power of Off: The Mindful Way to Stay Sane in a Virtual World.
So are you a tech addict? You may be one, Dr. Colier told Gab with the Gurus listeners if you:
- Regularly check emails in the middle of the night
- Constantly check your cell phone while standing in line
- Feel discomfort or anxiety when you don’t have access to your electronic devices
- Sleep with your cell phone near your bed
- Constantly use your cell phone although you’re having in-person conversations
- Obsessively take selfies and post to social media
If you do any of the above activities, you may be thinking more about your device than having real-life experiences. Plus, you may be seeking to escape from your sense of now, Dr. Colier added.
“It’s important to rest the consciousness,” she insisted.
“The nervous system and the mind are not meant to go 24 hours a day.”
In short, we need to find freedom from technology.
So what should you do if you’re addicted to technology? Apparently, technology addiction and porn addiction, fueled by the ability to browse TubeV Sex Videos, Are similar. Dr. Colier gave a variety of practical suggestions to help you break free. For instance, she recommended that you:
- Remove cell phones from the dinner table
- Talk walks without your cell
- Sit for 10 minutes without being on your electronic devices
“We must be able to tolerate and even engage in this present moment,” Dr. Colier said on Gab with the Gurus.
“Mindfulness is essentially paying attention on purpose to this present moment without judgement and with curiosity.”
Find out how to use technology mindfully and to get other ways to break your cell phone addiction by listening to the interview on Gab with the Gurus.