Call the Betty Ford Clinic. Or Dr. Phil or Oprah

My name is Dr. Mike Stewart and I am a Chiropractor at Active Back to Health.

As we move more and more into a digital world, my wife, Geri Stewart wrote a blog on the addiction she has with her phone and being connected to the outside world.

I found it so authentic and real, that I am using her blog on our website. Full credit goes to Geri – and I want to thank her for being so open about this topic. This is the first of two blogs. Enjoy!

Part 1 of 2

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My name is Geri and I’m addicted. My addiction is not drugs or alcohol; it’s something much more socially acceptable and possibly undetectable to the outside world. I’m just sorting out whether I am addicted to social media or whether I am addicted to the device that perpetuates social media or both. When I am asleep at night my iPhone is always within hands reach (I even bought a lovely aqua colored 5-foot rope cord so I could peruse Pinterest under the covers while lying in bed which I know you are absolutely not supposed to do).

I am supposed to be sleeping but I am pinning. I can’t stop myself. Sometimes I look at my pins the next day and wonder ‘what was I thinking? I hate that”. That’s how I know this is addictive, I am pinning in my sleep.

I have read a million times (OK several) how that blue light inhibits true sleep. I also know about over stimulating your mind just before your appointed bedtime. However, I do not sleep with it touching my skin, arm, stomach, leg and I will definitely not put it under my pillow as I am terrified that the radiation or whatever will cause health issues or worse still, it will wipe my brain clean of any and all information.

I could argue that keeping my iPhone on the nightstand is prudent. If I heard a burglar in the house I could call 911. No more cutting the phone lines like the criminals in the old days used to do. Not to mention there is a flashlight on my phone and a Police alarm and a camera so I could take a picture of the intruder just before they smother me with my pillow.

I don’t go anywhere without my phone – nowhere. I panic if I can’t find it or if I leave it at home. I am not sure if the panic is related to the financial implications or if is related to withdrawal. I have been unsuccessfully trying to determine what is a reasonable distance from home to make going back to get it not insane.

Can I not go a day without a cell phone? Fifteen years ago I didn’t need it because it wasn’t available and somehow I managed to be able to make coffee dates with friends and be at appointments on time and make arrangements to pick kids up from school and get help for a flat tire and find out whatever I needed to know by other means.

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If I forgot my grocery list at home I just winged it. If I needed to talk to my husband I called him at work. Now I just text. I used to have dozens of phone numbers memorized which I am sure was great for keeping the brain sharp, but, even that has become irrelevant.

As a result, my brain has turned to jelly and I can’t remember anything. I walk into a room for something and cannot for the life of me remember what I came for and usually a trip back downstairs to the exact spot of the inception of the thought is required.

Even then, sometimes I still can’t remember so I leave for work and as I am standing in the pouring rain, juggling my purse, my Starbucks, my tote bag with my extra shoes, reading for my lunch break and lunch, I remember what I was looking for. My building pass. But it’s too late now.

If any of this resonates with you, you are not alone. Stay tuned as I give you some tips to overcome your addiction in next weeks blog.

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