Interesting post by Jebapafu1 to get a great discussion going.
Good post Dapanz1- Does your hobbying cause problems in any major are of your life? If so you may be a mongerholic.
Seriously though you raise some valid points-
Dapanz1 wrote:
The first thing we think about is, "When can I go back." I think that's a problem. When we organize our real lives around getting back to CR to do what we do, I think that is a problem.
I wouldn't consider those problems just symptoms.
Dapanz1 wrote:
When we spend more money and emotion than we can afford, that is a problem...guys who have missed so much work they have been terminated. Guys who have phucked up their real relationships... What is a concern is that despite the negative consequences some of us have experienced we still continue on hobbying. For me, this is the definition of destructive behavior.
Now we're talking problem, addictive behavior in spite of the consequences. I wonder about some of the new guys that come along and are soon in CR every few weeks living it up- are they still "in control"? I've said before not every man can handle all that comes with this hobby, it takes a certain mind-set, level of maturity and strong will to not only stay in control but to get away with it, especially us that live a double-life.
All things in moderation- something I took a hard look at last year, and decided to cut back from 6 trips last yr. to 4 trips this year, well it looks like I'll make 5 but hey

I'm still cutting down!

One big thing for me at that time was to decide how much I'd spend "vacationing" this year and stick to it, not allowing CR to interfere with other financial goals.
Funny sidenote, (to help justify my behavior) got a call from an old amigo last night who informed me he's getting divorced after 5 yrs. and she took him to the cleaners, he said he ended up with about 1/3 and is in an apartment. He had a 350k house on the water, so I'm guessing he paid roughly 100k/year to be married for 5 yrs, well looking at what I spend and what his wife looks like, by going to CR I'm getting a bargain at 1/10th the cost!
Anyway I'd never take lightly introducing someone to the hobby, it will change everything. I used to wish I'd discovered CR sooner but I now know I was not ready emotionally, mentally or financially 5-10 yrs. ago.
I see Jebapafu1 made a similar comment in another thread-
Jebapafu1 wrote:
There is always a price to pay when you separate love and sex. I think the pros and many who post here may be damaged goods.
I think he may have more to tell us about this, how about it Jebapafu1, what effects will hobbying do to the average man's psyche?
And Dapanz I think it was my tag-line you were referring to which came from my old "Warning Newbies" thread.
Warning: Partaking of these activities may be detrimental to your sanity.