I am the biggest cell phone addict you will ever find. Thirty minutes without it and I feel my life falling apart. A couple of weeks ago ago I realized that my relationship with my phone has become a problem. When you find yourself not being able to take a shower without taking the phone into the bathroom with you, thats when you need break the addiction.

Solution: My friend actually recommended this to me. I still haven't had the courage to do it but I'm going to try to do it soon. Call your cell phone provider and tell them that you temporarily want your service disconnected. Do this for AT LEAST TWO DAYS!! Learn to be without your phone. Turning your cell phone off doesn't really do anything because the moment you feel antsy, you're going to turn it back on and check your messages (if there even are any). Now that you've got your phone disconnected practice living without it. You will find that you don't really need it. Keep your land line around for emergencies and there's always your phone at work if your really need to make a call. But I think that your issue with your cell phone is that the waiting factor. This way, you can't expect anything because if someone did try to call you or text you, they would have no way of leaving you a message anyways.

SCARY...I KNOW!!!! Good Luck :-)

Betty

That's pretty drastic. Not sure when nor how I'd find the courage. I'd always feel as though I missed something. I've been cellular-less before and I made it for like a month, but I did feel plugged out and it sucked not having the instant gratification of connecting with another person. I think I'll take a look at my schedule these next two weeks and choose the best three days to temporarily disconnect myself. I might have to call those I hold dear to give them the heads up.

Great suggestion Betty, thanks, I never would have thought of that. I do wish I had the willpower to go cold-turkey, however, without the intervention of my provider. Oh well, sometimes one needs a team of support.

Amanda,

I'm so glad you posted something on this topic - "soft" addictions - you know that Judith coined that particular term over 15 years ago? I would strongly suggest reading her book "Soft Addiction Solution" - I sent Richman a copy- if you are serious about unlocking "addictions" to things like your cell phone and even more.

I would suggest a couple things instead of going cold-turkey given that you probably need your phone in your life.

1) Subtract the time you're on your phone: Pick a time of day or chunk of time where you turn your phone off - can be for 1-4 hours on a Saturday, or while you're on a lunch break. Promise yourself to not turn it back on as Betty suggests might happen.

2) Add in connection: Call people instead of waiting for them to call you. When I'm feeling lonely and checking email, I'll scroll down Even if you think they should call you, make it your responsibility to call them.

The bottom-line is that over-checking your phone distracts you from feelings that you might be having (and you mentioned wanting to know to you are not alone, so it might be feeling lonely or wanting some connection). Every time you go to check your phone, reframe it as an internal sign you are wanting connection.

Given that you certainly provide that a sense of belonging for other people here on PeopleJam it totally makes sense to me that you'd want that for yourself! Wouldn't that be cool if next year you are so filled with love, connection and belonging and people calling you and wanting to be with you that you actually forget to check your phone and then have to work through the "burden" of calling people back!!

Hope this is helpful,

Jillian

Over the holidays, I returned to New York where I spent time with friends in the city and time with my family, upstate. Upstate New York is beautiful, calm, a welcomed reprieve from the madness that is Manhattan. Jack Kerouc described the Hudson Valley region in his book, "On the Road," a book everyone should read because it teaches one to appreciate the little things in life and still derive pleasure and immense fun from the unknown.

Anyway, I guess my point is that while I was in upstate New York, I wasn't a cell-phone addict. When I was in Manhattan, my phone was glued to my hand. When I'm in Los Angeles or any city for that matter, there's a stronger urge to connect with others because packed cities tend to have higher degrees of isolation than your small, rural community, although the latter seems much more disconnected from the world.

I realized that my addiction is simply an effect of the environment and I think that I took the edge off this growing problem simply by acknowledging it and putting it out there so thanks for the feedback.