Do You Cease When Sated?

I read this passage in The Plug-In Drug by Marie Winn and thought I'd share it with you.

And yet television does not satisfy, else why would the viewer continue to watch hour after hour, day after day? "The measure of health," wrote the psychiatrist Lawrence Kubie, "is flexibility... and especially the freedom to cease when sated." But heavy television viewers can never be sated with their television experiences. These do not provide the true nourishment that satiation requires, and thus they find that they cannot stop watching. (p. 33)

Besides the obvious fact that television is a major enemy of physical health, I thought I'd quote this passage for another reason: because of the power and truth of Lawrence Kubie's observation.

His statement that, "The measure of health is [...] the freedom to cease when sated," applies not only to television viewing, but a whole host of addictive and habit-forming activities.

Take a look at this list. Are you "enslaved" by any of these things?

1. Television
2. Junk food
3. Pornography
4. Video games
5. Forums and chat rooms
6. Alcohol

Just about everybody is heavily involved in something. But taking something to excess is not necessarily a sign of poor health or addiction. Rather, it's the inability to "cease when sated" that indicates an unhealthy attachment.

If you cannot stop when you'd like... if you feel driven for more, more, more... if you find yourself captive to any thing, activity, or thought... you, my friend, have a problem. And I'd strongly advise you to break the habit, break the addiction, and experience the healthy air of freedom.