A Fun Look at eMail and Mental Health

If you send excessive emails and texts, you may have a mental illness. According to study in the American Journal of Psychiatry, addiction to texting and emailing could be another form of mental sickness.

Dr Jerald Block, the author of this study, states there are four indicators of this kind of addiction:

1. Withdraw symptoms if a computer cannot be accessed. Which I would think is followed by howling at the moon and delusions of all buttons being “send/recieve” buttons.
2. An increased need for better equipment. No comment.
3. An intense need for more time to text or email. If it feels like your life is similar to the maniacal flurry of a Nascar pit crew, you’ve got a problem.
4. And, experiencing the negative repercussions of your addiction. Repercussions like skipping bathing for a week or two, channeling Bill Gates or phantom vibrations in your pocket every 3.2 seconds.

Instead of expensive medication, hours of psychotherapy or a lifetime of twelve step meetings, (“Hi, I’m Vince and I’m an email-aholic. Hi Vince!”) let’s find the solutions on our own.

First, recognize that the gadgets and computers that you hold so dear are designed to work for you not control you. This may sound simple but rethink the purpose of your Blackberry. It is designed to save you time. Emails were invented to improve connectivity. If you feel a disintegration of your time or the value of connectivity you must take steps to get back to basics.

Second, as the saying goes, Tony Roma’s wasn’t built in a day. Undoing years of disintegration is a process. Reverse your addiction one step at a time. The cornerstone of AA (Alcoholics Anonymous) is, “One day at a time.” (Not to be confused with the other AA - American Airlines. Theirs is, “One delay at a time.”)

Third, seek an outside perspective. Ask friends and family to keep you accountable. If you slip and need to sneak a gadget peak at a movie, show or child’s play, give them license to remind you of your commitment.

The Age of Speed is about managing our time for the significant things in life.

If you have read this far and don’t feel you have an issue. Remember that denial is the first sign of a problem ;-)