Rewilders Anonymous

It seems a lot of people are feeling the whole Addiction to Civilization thing. I wrote that “Addiction vs. Rewilding” and lots of people commented there, so I thought it was appropriate to create a space here for people to talk about their troubles with addiction to civilization.

I’ll start.

My name is Peter and I’m addicted to television shows. I can’t figure out why exactly. I have theories, but first… Anyone else want to share?

My name is Vicky and I’m addicted to reading. I can think of several reasons:

  1. Stories are more interesting than real life
  2. It’s easier to live vicariously through fictional characters than to have real relationships
  3. Stories usually have a happy ending.

It sounds pathetic, but there you go.

garth here I was addicted to world of warcrafth for about 2 years and over eating and snacking out of stress. Now I have changed my additions to things my body wants also, kung fu and eating organic veggies I feel way better.

TV for me too, specifically sitcoms. Also, Facebook to a certain extent.

My name is Austin, and along with cycling through waves of various forms of substance abuse, I would say I’m addicted to immaturity. Civilization stunts our development as human beings and in many ways keeps us from ever fully maturing. I have a strong tendency to make choices in the course of my life that amount to the easy way out, that prevent me from learning to take responsibility for my actions and stepping into the role I feel I am meant to play within my family and community.

it’s Simon,

addicted to: Information.

Also sugar and grain based diets.

My head’s spinning.

Civ turns everything grey & dull, stale & lifeless.

but life grows between the cracks

my name is Paolo and i am struggling with an addiction to hope and guilt.

Hi. I’m Aurora
I have an affliction for moving pictures (some movies and documentaries).
But more severly ( :wink: ) I have an interest in science. Reading about new knowledge on how things happened or things are happening fulfil my curiousity (mainly history, anthropology, earths history, earth- and planetary science, ecology). This is also my job.
Another addiction is a specific technology: hanggliding.
Maybe I also have a small addiction to online communication especially on the topics voiced here.

Hi everyone, I am incomplete and I am addicted to…
Chocolate and sweets used mostly as antidepressant drugs, as well as dairies, bread and food in general. I think the mix of bread, dairies and sweets reminds me of the breakfast at my parents.
And food, ooooooh food! any kind of, just getting my stomach full until dozing off and becoming unable to focus properly for one hour makes it worth to be one step closer to a stomach ulcer. There is one thing i am lucky with: i am this kind of guy who can only generate adipose tissue if sleeping no-stop for weeks.
Music, since years i am unable to be alone in a room without hearing some music. Yeah! music always helps feeling not so alone. Reggae for relaxing, and grotesque rock when in rage. Shiki no Uta when I’m feeling good or want to sink down completely. I can listen to this one for a hundred times in a row.
TV Series, I luuuuuv Dexter! And would love to be like him: unable to feel anything, i think it would help with a lot of problems. Samuray Champloo, One Piece, Ranma 1/2, the Ray Mears documentaries, Les Stroud…
Movies, any kind of, but mostly action movies and of course not sad.
Sleeping, the most basic kind of escaping. I should write a book with the weird dreams i use to have.
Research… about survival, bushcraft, primitive skills, surgery. From primitive plant poisons to how to make an appendectomy. Searching, finding and storing… so much i would need several lives to read it all. The good thing about it is that now I am able to find anything on the web. In some years I have amassed a really huge database.
Wasting the time, as a common habit since very small. The bad thing is that when small I was wasting the time against studying, but now i waste the time against practicing primitive skills. I live close to some kind of “forest”, in a place where i don’t need to pay rent or for food or internet, and still, despite having the whole day to practice everything i read about, i spend most of the time with a sad face, sinking down, not starting to do anything. Been an alone rewilder is not very productive :frowning:
New projects: every day I give birth to at least one new idea for practicing, experimenting or research … So my lists of unfinished (or unresolved?) tasks are hanging everywhere around my room.
Hating people… people who smoke, who waste energy or food, who think for a long time how to tell you what they think you want to hear, who follow the rules of civ and encourage others to do the same…

There are many more, but I have no time to write them all down ;). Anyway, i think most of my addictions end up every time i spend some weeks in the forest,… gotta get outta here

This is funny, I haven’t looked at this in a while.

I am still addicted to TV shows. I never explained my theories… I don’t even remember what I was going to say.

Probably that what I really crave are stories. Oral tradition, etc.

The older I get though, the less I care about most civilized stuff. I’m actually not sure if it has anything to do with my age, or with the rewilding community I’ve been building in Portland for a decade now. I don’t really have many friends these days who are not rewilding in some capacity. I have my family, and ooooold friends, but I don’t see them very often and I can always steer the conversation with them to interesting ground that relates to rewilding in some capacity (usually ancestral stuff).

What kinds of things are people still having problems with?

WEBCOMICS and webfiction serials. Mostly superhero stuff. Cause I crave stories and myths, duh :stuck_out_tongue:
If I were a superhero, I would be out stopping monsanto and halliburton and shit like that. OH, yea, and breaking dams. Lots of that.

Beer, guilt and junk food.
But I don’t sweat it too much.
Don’t want more guilt building up, that’s not gonna do anyone any good as Peter has mentioned.
It must be nice to have mostly rewilding friends, I have none.
But I don’t sweat that too much either
It is what it is.

Dude guilt is seriously the worst!

I can’t imagine what it would be like to not have rewilding friends anymore. You’ll make more here!

Also, I’m working on a how to run a rewild skillshare document that will be up soon at this site. That will definitely help! :slight_smile:

Books.

Recorded music (although I realize more people would play their own music if we didn’t have recorded albums)

Doctors who can save lives in urgent situations like childbirth complications.

The possibility of being able to visit (or even just keep in touch with) family on the other side of the planet.

Oh, and dark chocolate.

Im new here but not to the addictions … I am a book guy I really like books and have an extensive lieberry. Books become companions . When in te wild I mostly always have a book. My books range from “Skills”, to traditional skills to fiction in many genres. Books that are howto skills are not any good unless you learn those skills by doing.

I like a few TV shows. but as I have grown older have a low tolerance for crap. I like to go to the movies but go on off days so it is not crowded. Where I live that is not hard to.
I like chocolate chip cookies but not candy bars.

Books are my number one addiction. and sex… Im old not dead…
The net is not a big deal for me , hell Im lucky to be able to turn on a compuker. I check my email maybe if I think of it and hit 3 or 4 forums. If Im on a compuker in an hour Im done most of the time and might not use it for days. Contrary to popular belief everything is not on the internet. no addiction here…

Old school Dude

I’m Sam, and I’m addicted to the future. More aptly, to ideas, or ideas of possibilities. I don’t have ADHD or anything, but over time my attention does choose to move from what I am doing to what I COULD be doing, whether it’s in a few seconds, or a few years, past or present…

I get addicted to the possibilities of what someone could be texting me, of what someone could have posted in response to a post I make on here, of a drum-beat or guitar riff that I could master, if only I just sat down at a computer or instrument instead of focusing on the task at hand…

Its in my nature to want to be free, free of responsibilities or commitments or anything, but in many ways that has been my downfall. Living in civilization plays on this part of my nature, the awareness within, ever seeking something new, and causes my mind to be distracted. Fortunately, I have been working on this, and thru meditation, exercise, and just DOING what I gotta do, I’m losing my addiction to what could be, and becoming attached to what IS.

Beer, although I don’t drink as much as I used to.

Making music for people, although my ego is less tied to it than it used to be.

Travel …my itchy feet may be incurable.

Long hot baths…boy would I miss those.