On a TV Binge

We've all been here before. Glued to the TV, depriving ourselves of sleep, social interaction, and fresh air. The black hole of the addiction has literally taken over every aspect of your life and you aren't even sure how you got here. 

TV binges start out so innocently, seeming like a casual way to pass a little bit of time. But suddenly, it's a death trap that can lead to your eventual downfall. I myself have binge watched a lot of different shows - Ghost Whisperer, New Girl, and Supernatural being just a few of them. 

Who doesn't love binge-watching their favorite show/s? It's the perfect way to escape the world for a few hours, days, or sometimes weeks. And what better way to leave the horrid responsibilities of the real world than by pretending you exist on an entirely different plane? 

It took me a few days to figure out where exactly I was taking this post - there were so many ways I could have gone, and I am THE WORST at making decisions. And don't tell me, "You could just cover everything instead of having to pick." because, with a mind like mine, my little rant would turn into a book itself. So I finally figured out my topic: The process of becoming a TV/Netflix obsessed person who binges on episodes like they're going out of style. 

*For the sake of not having an overly lengthy post, the next one I will write will cover: signs the outside world may identify you as a TV/Netflix obsessed person (so they can help you, of course), and how to break the binge.*

How to Become a TV/Netflix Obsessed Person

**DISCLAIMER**

It all starts out harmlessly. 

In my case, my two best friends from college (Diana and Nate) suggested I start watching New Girl, and conveniently, my roommate, Ariana watched that show every time she got the chance, so to say the least, I was blindly surrounded by weird references I didn't understand. Of course I had to figure out what the big deal was, so I started watching it. (If you haven't noticed by the pictures already in this post... I've been sucked in to that show.) The other two of my favorite TV shows, Ghost Whisperer and Supernatural, were introduced to me by simply scrolling through channels on the TV when I was bored, looking for anything that would kill the tedious task of being productive. Naturally, because I came across these shows halfway through them, I of course had to watch another episode so that I could properly judge whether or not it was a good show. And so the addictions began.    

Stage 1: Curiosity Becomes A Habit

The constant question of what might happen is becoming a comfortable thought in your mind. What will the next episode bring? I wonder if this show gets weirder than it already is... Guess I'll have to check out the next episode to find out...

Stage 2: Questioning Your Habit

At this point, you're probably almost done with the first season. With a few more episodes, you start wondering if it's worth it to let your life be slowly taken over by this show. You've watched almost a whole season, so you can at least talk about the show to some extent. Where do you take your life from here?

Stage 3: Dive Full Force Into Show

If you aren't an avid Ghost Whisperer watcher:
This picture is from the episode, Leap of Faith (See the connection??)
 Long story short - deep water, and Eli can't swim,
but he wants to jump in anyways. (This spoils nothing, I promise)

You submerge yourself in the show. Watch it without stopping. All of those questions you were just asking yourself moments earlier are all just trivial things now running in the back of your mind. Besides, the first season of most shows don't always encompass the entirety of the show's point anyways. Now you can properly judge the show and understand every reference all of your friends and the internet have made and finally understand them.

Stage 4: Avoiding Any And All Social Interaction With Thinly Veiled Excuses

Look, going out sounds fun, and I know it's been a month,
but if I stay home tonight, I have a chance of finishing
seaso-- *cough* I mean, I might have a chance of catching a cold...

You have finally gotten through a few seasons without interruption. Your new life goal is to set a personal record for the amount of episodes you can cram into a 24 hour period. Your friends keep bothering you to go out, but they don't understand that you are a go-getter, a persevering person, who will not give up on this show until it is finished. In fact, you begin wondering why they don't have the same outlook on life that you do. I mean, what are they dedicated to? Making up plans on a whim? Please.

Stage 5: Believing The Show Is Reality, And The "Real World" Is A Lie (Trust No One)

Because you've spent so long on a different plane of existence than your average person, suddenly the "Real World" is less and less lived in. Therefore, the show has become your new reality. This stage is a huge contributor to your obsession if you are watching anything involving folklore, like Supernatural, or any drama shows in general. This "Real World" has no idea about what really goes on around them. Everyone has secret motives. I mean, have you seen the latest drama on TV? And are people dumb enough to believe that they're the top of the food chain? Watch one episode of Supernatural, and you'll be convinced otherwise. There are waaaaay more than ghosts out there. How do I know?  Well, if it's on this show, it's definitely real.

Stage 6: Trying To Convince Those Around You of Stage 5's Honest Truth

To the few friends you have left at this point, you try with all your heart to convince them that you should trust no one. With these secret motives you are learning about more and more throughout the show, you know you have to save who you can before it's too late. The only reason you're warning people is because you care about them and love them. You just don't want to see them get hurt.

Stage 7: Not Being Able To Connect In A Conversation Without Using A Reference To "Your" Show

To the rest of the world, you're weird jokes and commentary during regular conversations are disturbing. (Unless they binge watch the same shows) No matter how hard you try, you can't seem to stop talking about how something relates to "your" show. If someone talks about pie, you will go on a rant of how exactly it appeared in the most comical of ways (Or perhaps pineapples for Psych fans). Or, you might try to compliment someone's outfit by saying, "That is so something Jess would wear. I love it!" But if the person you're talking to hasn't seen New Girl, she might just think you're accusing her of stealing some girl's outfit. 

Stage 8: Forget Trusting The World, You've Got Your Real Friends 

By real friends, I mean, the characters, the very real existing people in your show. (If you look hard enough around the world, you know sooner or later you will find them.) After scaring away most people with your quirky connections to your show, you figure that you're probably better off with the people who really care, the people you have formed a bond with and sacrificed time away from your friends to be with them: the people on your show. This is usually where the obsessive buying of nerdy merchandise comes into play...

Stage 9: You're screwed.

If you've survived this far, and gotten to this unnerving stage of addiction and unhealthy obsession, congratulations on your perseverance and dedication. Sadly, this is kind of the end of every road. That is, until you've caught up with everything and don't have any more seasons to watch. I mean, I guess you could try and find a new show, but nothing could beat the moments you just shared with those incredible characters... Sorry, not sorry. You'll just have to wait and pray that something will come up and be half as good as what you just watched, and hope it lasts a while. At this point, you're lucky if you remember how to live outside of Netflix, On Demand, Amazon Prime, or that illegal website you found to calm your nerves when the next episode didn't come soon enough on a legal site.

Part Two is soon to come! Comment if you have any other ideas of things I could write about related to TV Binges! Hope you enjoyed it :)

Love Always,

Amber <3