A TEST- Am I a Fishing Addict!

[fishfight]

I was googling info to find out if I was a fishing addict. Here is one fun test to find out if we are one.

http://www.theimpracticalfishermen.com/2...ction.html

After doing the test, I was one point over normal............... an addict! Even if I was not fishing physically too often, I spend a lot of time a week on fishing related world.

Have fun!

Here are some stories of others being addicted to the sport as well.

http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gfo...ost=455035

What is the difference between a habit and an addiction?
Addiction - there is a psychological/physical component; the person is unable to control the aspects of the addiction without help because of the mental or physical conditions involved.
Habit - it is done by choice. The person with the habit can choose to stop, and will subsequently stop successfully if they want to. The psychological/physical component is not an issue as it is with an addiction.

Put simply - with a habit you are in control of your choices, with an addiction you are not in control of your choices.

A scientist, Phil newton, self admission on his fishing addiction : I cut and pasted his story:

I’m a scientist. I research addictions, trying to understand how the brain learns about drugs and alcohol. That’s when I’m not fishing, or thinking about fishing, or reading about fishing or buying fishing gear or talking about fishing. The National Institutes of Health defines addiction as “continued drug use in spite of adverse consequences”. Every few minutes my electronic calendar pops up with a list of ongoing work tasks and their due date. All are overdue. I have grant proposals and papers to write, experiments to plan and perform. But instead here I am, at work, writing about fishing. Eventually I’ll get back to my work. When I get stuck, or my mind goes blank, I know I’m going to check the online fishing reports. I checked them 2 minutes ago. I know I’ll check them again within 15 minutes. If there’s nothing new, I’ll check the fishing weather forecast, or a different fishing website. If there’s still nothing new then I’ll reply to the latest email I’ve received from another addict. There’s a lot of us out there. That’s why there’s always something to read about in the online forums and chatrooms.


One of the biggest mysteries in addiction science is why only some people develop drug and alcohol problems. Most people drink alcohol at least once in their lives. Over 40% of people (in the USA) will experiment with an illegal drug at some point as well. Yet “only” ~15% will develop a genuine problem. Some people can drink and abuse drugs for years and decide one day to just quit, without a problem. Others are doomed from their first drink. Most people have been fishing at least once in their lives. Many enjoyed the experience and, when my “hobby” comes up in conversation, they express a genuine interest in coming along. I’ve learned from experience to just cut to the chase; tell them how early they’ll have to get up, how long they’ll be sitting in the car, how cold they’ll be, how likely they are to vomit and how prevalent the Great White Shark is. Some make polite excuses. Most just don’t reply to the email.

Am I really addicted to fishing? More importantly, is it really a problem for me? Obviously a genuine addiction, especially to drugs or gambling, is completely debilitating. I am not trying to be flippant or make light of what is a real problem for millions of people whose lives are ruined every year. My life may be consumed by fishing but it is not in ruins. There are many theories about what happens to the brains of drug addicts. One prevalent theory is that the “motive circuit” of their brains becomes completely hijacked. This circuit processes environmental information and directs behavior accordingly. You see something in your environment that signals something good is available (eg: a krispy kreme logo) and your motive circuit will direct you towards it, performing a cost-benefit analysis as it does so. Everyone has this motive circuit, it contains elements with very scientific sounding names; nucleus accumbens, ventral tegmental area, prefrontal cortex. A conversation between those parts of the brain might sound something like this;

”ooo, there’s some food!”
“eat it!”
“no wait, pay for it first or you’ll got to jail”
“no wait, it’s a donut, you had one of those for breakfast and you’re getting fat, eat a salad.”
“Ok, I’ll get a Casear”.

What happens in the brains of drug addicts is that those parts of the brain who contribute the “wait” part to the conversation are completely overpowered, their voice is not heard, the results of cost-benefit analysis are not considered.

“ooo, there’s some cocaine!”
“take it!”
“OK!”

It’s currently not clear whether the “wait” voice of the conversation is gagged, or the “take cocaine” voice just shouts a lot louder.

I’m not addicted, I’m obsessed. Very, very obsessed. It’s my guess that the same parts of the brain are involved; in my brain and the brains of thousands of people like me, the “go fishing” voice is the loudest and sits at the head of the table, but still listens when it's told to shut up. My point is that the parts of my brain that are telling me to go fishing all the time are still answerable to those parts that tell me I really should go to work instead. But the fishing voice is really, really loud. And persistent. My wife is the same, except that she thinks about cooking. All the time. Thankfully fishing and cooking obsessions are very compatible

One of the most obvious signs of addiction is withdrawal. Fishing is governed by a myriad of rules and regulations, especially in California. The season for rockfish has just closed. Fishing for rockfish is easily my favorite type of fishing, it involves catching lots of tasty fish in beautiful surroundings. All summer I have planned my life around rockfishing. Now it is closed and I am in withdrawal. In keeping with the tolerance theme, all the other types of fishing I used to do, those that are not closed, well, they no longer seem so appealing, tho' I am trying them anyway to stave off the withdrawal. I have also entered into therapy; writing this essay. It has kept me occupied, allowing me to think about fishing for a while. Now it’s time for cold turkey.

[OldTimer]

Good stuff!

Try this quiz of 10 questions:

Do you keep worms in your main refrigerator regularly in the summer?

Do you own more than 4 rod/reel combinations?

Do you have more than 3 tackle boxes?

Do you take more pictures of fish than you do of your better half or family?

Do you carry a rod/reel setup and a bit of tackle in your vehicle "just-in-case"?

Do you have a bumper sticker or decal on your vehicle re fishing?

Do you own more than two "fishing" shirts with logos?

Do you own more than two "fishing" ball caps or toques?

Do most of your gloves and jackets smell of fish ……..just a bit?

Do you carry your Outdoors Card and Boaters Card with you all year long “just in case”?

*****
If you answered yes to more than half - you're obsessed and addicted...... Welcome to OSF.

Cheers,

OldTimer

[MuskieBait]

Phil Newton would be an awesome supervisor for me...he would "get it"...maybe he will even take the day off with me.

[oldbronteguy]

Thanks ff and OT now at least I know what to call it.
Hi my name is oldbronteguy, I am a fishoholic.
Actually that is what is on one of my shirts.

[tweedwolfscream]

(02-12-2014 05:18 PM)OldTimer Wrote:  Do you take more pictures of fish than you do of your better half or family?

I don't think I take more pictures of each individual fish than I do of my better half, so I'm okay, right?

(02-12-2014 05:18 PM)OldTimer Wrote:  Do you carry your Outdoors Card . . . with you all year long “just in case”?

I'm a definite yes on that, but it's "just in case" I can't remember where it is if I put it anywhere else, which is pretty likely.

[OldTimer]

(02-13-2014 10:47 AM)tweedwolfscream Wrote:  I don't think I take more pictures of each individual fish than I do of my better half, so I'm okay, right?

Of course you are..............grin.

OT

[MichaelAngelo]

I loved the blurb by Phil Newton! I need to find more about this guy. Ken, head on over to California and work for him.[/b]

I had a hoot answering your quiz there OT. Wonder how you though of all those questions...

(02-12-2014 05:18 PM)OldTimer Wrote:  Try this quiz of 10 questions:

Do you keep worms in your main refrigerator regularly in the summer?

YES

Do you own more than 4 rod/reel combinations?

YES

Do you have more than 3 tackle boxes?

YES

Do you take more pictures of fish than you do of your better half or family?

YES (there're other things to photograph?!?!)

Do you carry a rod/reel setup and a bit of tackle in your vehicle "just-in-case"?

YES

Do you have a bumper sticker or decal on your vehicle re fishing?

NO but anyone who peaks through my windows will know what the vehicle is for...

Do you own more than two "fishing" shirts with logos?

YES

Do you own more than two "fishing" ball caps or toques?

NOT YET, currently looking for such paraphernalia

Do most of your gloves and jackets smell of fish ……..just a bit?

YES!!!

Do you carry your Outdoors Card and Boaters Card with you all year long “just in case”?

YES