When we’re feeling fundamentally lost, afflicted by purposelessness, foul moods, and bad jobs, anything that stimulates the brain’s pleasure centers can become an addiction. Some of the most common, aside from the dynamic duo of drugs and alcohol, are gambling, sex, intense relationship drama, shopping, binge eating, and staring at the internet day and night without pausing to sleep, eat, or pee. I myself have been known to spend hours solving urgent problems that existed only as pixels of colorful light on my smartphone. (Though, in my defense, all that candy wasn’t going to crush itself.)
