EITM: Addicts Hypothesis 4/9/24

There are no healthy addictions.

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Steve, name for me an addictionthat is seen as completely normal by society.
Exercise, you know what, that'sgood. I am going to put
that down under working out. Goodfor you. Good for you. You
did better than I thought you would. You did much better than I thought

(00:22):
you would. Absolutely, you're avery smart man, Steve. Diane backhanded
compliment. What do you mean yousaid it better than I thought you would?
Just catching him cold like that.I didn't know what he was going
to come with. Dianne. Namefor me an addiction that we would all
agree is bad vodka? Okay,well, what did you give me the

(00:49):
look for? We're all drinking Americanmules now right? The uh right?
The no? Why should Moscow haveall the mules? It's weatly sometimes get
neatly. I almost ran out Saturday. You want to talk about how marketing
works? I almost ran out duringthe pre show of WrestleMania to buy a
bottle of Wheatley. The oh mygod, the Diane name for me now

(01:14):
that Tyler has stalled for you,name for me now, an addiction that
is seen as completely normal by society. Lip bumb you know what that is.
That's a great one. Chapstick righthere. That is a great one.
You know what, Diane, youdid better than I expected you to.

(01:36):
That's not a backhanded compliment. Theuh, what are you ripping out
of your face? There is like, sir hair, there's some hair that
This is what I get for washingmy hair. And why don't you just
like smooth it out of your offyour forehead? Why yanking it out a
hat on or something? I can'twear a hat, I have headphones on.
I don't know. It's just Igot a wisp. The No,

(01:57):
you did much better than I thoughtyou would. Thank you. Where are
you going to Kristen next? Orme? Oh, Kristin, She's gonna
say mine, Hi, Kristin morning. Name for me. By the way,
I don't have to do a badone. Everybody knows a bad one
because then I'm going whiskey beer smoking. Good answer, Thank you? Answer,

(02:28):
name for me, Kristen. Anaddiction that is seen as completely normal
by society. Drinking coffee cafe.Yeah, that's big on the list.
That comes up a lot, thatcomes up a lot, by the way,
why would why? But is itbad? Too much? Caffeine?

(02:50):
Doctors will tell you you shouldn't havetoo much caffeine. And I know that
you're going to tell me that I'mthat I'm I'm not right. But there
there's a lot of studies that don'tthat don't know that. We did just
talk a lot about caffeine. Yeah, there's a lot of studies that don't
know. That is an addiction toworking out bad? Some people, you
can hurt yourself. Okay, Soare all of the So is any addiction

(03:15):
good bad? Well? I thinkthe ones that society thinks are good are
bad. I think all addiction isbad. Any addiction is bad. That's
who I thought. But we alwaysgo to heroin. Well we don't always,
but I mean that one came up. I mean drugs and alcohol obviously,
and smoking is a good one.I thought of sex as a bad

(03:37):
one and for a good one.Who are sex addicts? The that's never
a positive spin No. But youknow what, as somebody who knows somebody
who who was a was a sexaddict, they will tell you it wasn't
the It wasn't the sex that wasthe problem. It was everything around getting

(04:01):
it or the environment that was aproblem. Like it was putting them in
unsafe places. It was either puttingthem in unsafe places, or it was
putting them into scenarios where it wasFor example, I'll give you an example
that he would tell me is hewas addicted to sex, but a lot

(04:24):
of times it was easier to findsomebody to have sex with if you were
both like messed up on drugs,So he would he he wasn't addicted to
drugs, but he did a lotof drugs because he was doing them with
women that he could then have sexwith. You know what I mean?
Yeah, Like does that make sense? I don't hope I'm explaining that,
but it sounds like the sex addictionis bad then, but it put he

(04:47):
was like being addicted to sex,didn't do anything. It was no,
no, no, I mean youknow what I'm addicted to bre even good
answer. So yeah, I don'tknow. I mean, listen, could
it again? Could it put you? Could it put you in a bad
I don't know if it's bad foryour health. It is like if you're

(05:11):
addicted to sex and you're cheating onyour spouse, but then then you have
a problem, then that you've createda problem or in general neglect, but
oftentimes with addiction, it's you're neglectingother important parts of your life because that's
all you care about, because yourtunnel vision. Okay, but if you're
okay, so you're addicted to lipon, what are you neglecting that?

(05:32):
That's that's a harmless one. Laughat that one because I thought it was
a stupid answer. But is it? But but Diane is addicted to it?
I use it a lot. You'readdicted to all the time. You're
addicted to it? Yeah, Iremember you've dropped it at Blue October.
You dove on it like you wereyou were covering up on your name.
The bouncer knew it wasn't his becausehe doesn't use that flavor and I don't

(05:55):
use pink lemonade. But he's gothim. But if you're going to say
all addiction is bad just because it'snormalized, is it still bad? I
don't think Diane is addicted to lipbam. Diana, are you addicted to lippom?
I use it a lot? Okay? That then is was my buddy?
Did he just use it a lot? Or was he addicted to sex?
He was without a shadow of aDoPT Yeah me, okay, So

(06:16):
me using lip bom isn't going toruin my marriage. You don't know that.
What if you're spending so much moneyon lipbam and Scott's like, enough
with the spending. Okay, lipbum is a isn't achievable luxury. Would
you put porn in sex together?I would not, but they're very similar,
and an addiction to porn can bebad. An addiction to anything can

(06:39):
be bad. Yeah, I'm somesaying that. I thought you were going
to defend porn for seconds. Iwas just getting ahead of it. Some
people could say, just like endless, like instagram surfing is an addiction for
them number one, But I mean, is it harming anybody? Not really,
Diane, that's your your neglect.You're neglecting life. Okay, if

(07:01):
you're spending powers, you're spending hourson Instagram and it can affect you.
I live alone mentally, mental health. Yeah, like my life sucks.
Like how they're great? There's isOkay, you could say that about anything.
You could say that about anything.I feel like social media it kind
of takes the but it can alsobe great. It could also be great.
Well, yeah, I mean whereI'm also am I going to find

(07:23):
funny memes? There you go?Yeah exactly. Yeah, that made me
laugh. Yeah, made you feelgood, right, made you feel better
than the lip bomb. I havea friend who said it doesn't feel as
good as sex, but yeah,I don't, and that's why. Well,
never mind. So, so isthis a list of the top harmless
that really are not harmless? Wherethey were going through? Well, you

(07:46):
tell me whether they're harmless or not. Okay, endless scrolling I think can
be harmful. Okay, it soundslike these are addictions that are not so
it's it's drugs and alcohol. No, no, no, don't say or
just accept it as being completely normal. Yeah, but they should be there
with drugs, alcohol, sex,no smoking, Chris, No, I

(08:07):
would rather. I would rather.I would rather my kid be addicted to
Instagram than heroin. Okay, Ithink everyone every day. Okay, so,
but that's why I can't say itshould be as bad. I'd rather
that I'd rather my kid be addictedto lipbalm than heroin. There's heroin addicts
that go on to overcome and live. There are people addicted to Instagram that

(08:31):
die by suicide. Okay, wellyou could flip that for any of them.
There are people that kick Instagram addictionbut die from lipbalm. Nobody nobody's
dying from lip bam. Yes youare. You have to have I just
like it and I like the flavors. What if you have to have it

(08:52):
so badly but you don't have money, you go shoplifted. On the way
out of shoplifting at a vigilante gunsyou down. Okay, thank you.
Well, you know you can alwayscreate that scenario. It's a third situation.
But yes, any addiction could beovercome. Any addiction could be overcome.
It's hard work, it's not wellyou said, like nobody's saying it
is. Are you like, weknow you could overcome Heroin, you could

(09:15):
overcome Instagram, you could overcome blipball. We've definitely talked to people who are
addicted to soda, diet soda.Does that fall under the caffeine coffee umbrella
or is that sugar's yeah, no, it's not. No, it's not
It gets its own category. Softdrinks. I mean, we've talked to
people who'll drink like a twelve packa day like it's nothing. Oh yeah,
are you saying society doesn't view thatproperly. Society just looks at people

(09:43):
who drink a lot of soda.As society does, has just normalized it.
Wow, just like, oh,that person just drinks a lot of
soda because I think caffeine does skirtthat. Oh absolutely that criticism, but
but for for coffee and other waysand of getting a caffeine hit. But
I feel like soda, especially ina last decade or so. Yeah,

(10:05):
there's been so many studies, hasgotten destroyed. Here's where I'll argue with
you. I think it has forkids, and I think it's what you
look like as an adult. Whatdo you mean what you look like?
If somebody if you're skinny, andyou're skinny, you fit like you're together,
and you walk around, but you'reyou're that guy that always has a

(10:26):
diet coke in your hand, right, then nobody, nobody looks at it
and goes like, oh man,that's a problem. But if you're and
I mean this with no disrespect,but if you're a big fat pig with
bad teeth and you look unkempt andyou've always got a sowda in your hand,
then you get looked at a differentway. I was telling the kids
at my daughter's birthday party last month. It's like I have never seen anyone

(10:50):
serve coke or pepsi at a children'sbirthday party anymore, you'll see sprite occasionally,
you'll thank you beer, thank youcoke and pepsi because of the caffeine
way. Yeah yeah, and thatwas everywhere growing up. Yeah yeah,
but as an adult, you're anadult. You make your own decisions.
Now, what is it like waterand like gatorade at parties? Yeah?

(11:13):
No, just no caffeine. Youdo not see coker PEPs right, we
did? Where am i? Yeah? Hi Ellie in the morning. Hi,
yes, ma'am so talking about addictions. Actually, me and my husband,
one of the readers we're getting adivorce is because he's addicted to reading

(11:37):
reading what books? Porn? Readingbooks, reading books? Wait a minute,
you're getting divorced because you're because hewas reading. He was just reading
too much. Yeah, well,when you read too much, you become
neglectibles to things like children. Sowhen you did you guys go to therapy

(12:00):
just out of curiosity? No,we probably should have, but there was
other things like That's why I said. It's one of the things and the
other things are not like debatable though, no, no, no, But
it's interesting to me that you're ableto identify reading. I don't know that
I've ever heard of somebody that's gettingdivorced. Now if you told me that
they're reading, like you know,I can't even something horrible, Like I

(12:24):
don't know what he was reading,but you said books like was isis involved
the perfect example. Yeah, Likeif you're reading like manifestos and hate speech
and all that, then it wouldbe like that's a problem. But yeah,
no, like if you're just readinglike good Night Moon, like what
is the what's the problem? Butthat gets into neglect. That's like Diane
with her lipball. I've never heardthat one. I never had either.

(12:46):
Yeah, So, like the housecould be burning down around him and he's
still reading on this like Pablo withthem. It's crazy. So would you
try to, like, like atnight, why, like why you guys
are going to bed? Is healways reading? Yeah? Always? So
would you like reach over and tryto play with his worm? And he

(13:07):
would be like, uh no,what do you mean? No? No,
I just wouldn't do it. Youknow, he was too interested in
the book. But early on,what I gotta know what his favorite authors
are? Meltzer. I never wantto date somebody that reads ever. Again,

(13:28):
I don't want to be like Ilove you, I love you.
Yes, it would be bad,Like our kids would ask for dinner and
he would just keep reading. I'mlike, are you going to do that?
And he would ignore, like noteven hear me? Wow, And
he was just reading regular what likedid he have a genre? No,
he just reads whatever. I've neverheard that. I have never heard that

(13:54):
neither. By the way, Ialso love that you will rule out dating
anybody that reads. No. No, I get it right, I get
it. I totally get it.You live and learn. Did you ever
did you ever confront him about yourreading too much? Oh? My god?
Yeah. He even went on Amazonand bought like this thing where it
would lock his phone away for acertain amount of time and it wouldn't let

(14:16):
him in it until like he couldn'thave the password to it. Basically it
was for people addicted to their phone. But he reads on his phone.
But he only used it for liketwo days and then he was done.
I wish, I wish somebody,at any point in life would go,
oh, there's Elliot. He reads, so his reading, his volume of

(14:39):
reading is starting to take a toll. Never, that'll never be said about
me. Hey, that's a greatone though. I appreciate it. Thank
you, ma'am, thank you.Sorry about you getting a divorce. No,
it's great, it's good for me. Yeah, no, it is.
It is. No, I justlearned that. That's two people in
two days. I learned or gettinga divorce. I didn't have that one

(15:01):
down. But I've thought that's noton the list here, I've thought of
one, and then there's one comingthrough in social media. Give me the
social media one shopping. Oh that'son the list. Yeah, that's on
That to me is not harmless becauseyou can like like make your family go
broke, okay, but society doesn'tvilify it. Is it is it.
We can rip every one of theseapart. But if you if you told

(15:24):
somebody, well, that truck's showingup at the house again, nobody looks
at you and go, you knowwhat, I think you have a problem,
right, or does it take toolong for people to recognize that?
Well, that could be also,that could be. But yeah, any
one of these, if we reallydug into it, of course you could
rip it apart and find the bad. But just on its surface, nobody
goes on the surface, nobody goeswell, he's doing heroin a lot like

(15:46):
nobody nobody doesn't vilify that. Butif somebody goes like, oh, there
goes Diane another Amazon box. Yeah, what was your record a few weeks
ago? But I had like thirtyeight boxes in like three months, right?
Is that is that she one dayat her doorstep have a ridiculous I
think that was. That was whenwe were ordering a bunch of stuff for

(16:07):
around around the holidays and there werelike ten packages. Yes, okay,
like back in the day, you'dthink the helme owner passed away. I
know that society delivery normal or theysteal it. One of the two what's
the what was the other one?The one I had for the original question
of bad of again, they're allbad, right, but but society is

(16:33):
not as hard on work. Ohnumber, You know what, It's funny
they they split them. That workis on here, there's there's two,
there's just work in general was inthere. But then they subseted it work
at a job you don't like.That's odd, that's doubly bad. The

(16:56):
yeah, but I think but Ilooked at him, so I tried to
separate them. In my own headis yes, people who work too much.
Right, So that's number one.But I think the other one of
people who work. It may notbe volume of work, but just the
I worked at this job. Ididn't like it where they just they just

(17:17):
settle and go and it's unhealthy.I'm just gonna work this job. I
don't like whatever, screw it effort? Who cares? So is that person
addicted to settling? Maybe? Idon't know, but they did separate them
out, which I thought was interesting. Line five, Hi, Jolliah the
morning. Hi, Yes, Hi? Who is this? Is this Camilla

(17:38):
in University Park? Yes, thisis Elliott in Rockville. I called you
because my husband, my ex husband, divorced me because of my shopping.
He called it an addiction. Twothings Number one Number one was it It

(18:02):
was getting to be defined, gettingto be like how much shopping were you
doing? I accumulated like eight thousanddollars in credit card debt. Jesus H.
Christ, I know that's a problem. Hey, Also, can I

(18:23):
I want to ask you a personalquestion, and I'm using this based on
two things, just to be fullytransparent. Your shopping addiction and I can
hear an accent? Are you Brazilian? I am? How do you shopping
addiction. Shopping addiction. Absolutely,I bet if there there's got to be
a map. If you look ata map of countries with no offense man

(18:48):
women with the highest percentage of shoppingaddiction Brazil, how do you come up?
Thank you? Thank you? Yeah, my mom, like, now
that I look at it, mymom has the same issue. Generational Absolutely,
yeah, absolutely, Diane, Iknew it. I knew it.

(19:10):
I knew. Have you had Brazilianwomen that you've known over your past that
are all shopping at it? Yes, every Brazilian woman I know, like
maybe there's been one that I justcan't think of. Every Brazilian woman I
know her husband no offense, ma'am. Husband hates her because of how much
money they spend on shopping. LikeBrazilian women, there's no endgame. There's

(19:30):
no amount of money that you won'tspend on shopping. How about I just
nailed that, nailed that. Yeah, I'm better now, I'm much more
controlled and I'm much more careful.But my mummy isn't. It's been an
issue her whole life. So yeah, no, I'm sorry to hear that.

(19:51):
All right, very good, verygood, Okay, grossius, I
appreciate it. Thank you, ma'am, thank you. Wow. I just
blew people's mind. There's one obviousone that's missing. Uh is it TV?
You know what TV is on there? Thank you, thank you.
Now this will be a subset ofTV streaming. No, that counts as

(20:15):
TV movies, No, that countsas TV. What is it gaming?
Oh? Yeah, gaming? Gaming? That's a big one. You know
which one is made the list?Which shocked me. Vaping? I mean,
you're smoking, umbrella? No,because smoking, people will say is

(20:36):
bad. Smoking gets vilified and peopleare like, oh, vap you've never
seen the commercials the no no,But they don't for whatever reason, they
put smoking on the bad side,but they leave vaping on the good side.
I flip them. It smells likeCaptain Crunch. I flip them.
I put smoking on the good side. It's very social. I put vaping
on the bad side. And thenthere's one here and it is a well

(21:00):
known addiction, but the take onit is very interesting. Celebrity lives that
made the list. That's funny.Celebrity lives, Bravo celebrity lives, so
not even celebrities, brav celebrities.Well, I'm just I added the Bravo
celebrities. But yeah, celebrity livesis a is a very harmful addiction that

(21:22):
we just normalize. Yes from snapchat. This used to be viewed as bad,
but now society is trying to convinceus that it's okay to have an
addiction to gambling. Oh, becauseof all the that MGM and I totally
agree with that. But you knowwhat, gambling did make the list though,
gambling a bad gambling did make thelist of it is bad. No,

(21:45):
not always, no, not ineveryay. Let's speed up the voice
and put in a disclaimer at theYeah that fixes it. No, no,
no, but if if if,if, if done under well,
then it's not an addiction. I'mgonna say, if done under control,
it's fine. But I like that. It does feel like that is a
good point. You've had something that'straditionally been viewed as sort of shady and

(22:07):
under the cover of night and witha bookie. Yeah, smoky casino,
and now it's in the open right, well, you know what, it
was just and I wanted to arguethat while you were going on, because
I always felt weird if I didn't. There were three places that if I
went gambling I didn't feel like Iwas doing anything weird, so like Atlantic

(22:30):
City, yeah, Vegas and Montrealokay, but like if I strolled onto
a reservation somewhere and gambled, Ifelt like like dirty, not dirty,
but just like I'm not supposed tobe doing this. Yeah. And then
once I got a bookie, Ifelt no, no, seriously, once

(22:51):
I got a booking, I waslike, ugh, I'm not But now
you're right, it doesn't matter.Yeah, not at all. Ask every
kid with a flip account. Nobodycares. That's a good one. That's
a good one. And you knowwhat, I'm glad that it's like that.
I'm glad that it's like that.