by Bhavya Dabas

Created on: October 26, 2009   Last Updated: October 27, 2009

Most certainly. It is very possible to become addicted to writing. I maintain a personal blog, and towards the end of 2008 and the beginning of 2009, I was writing at least one post a day and I couldn't wait to get home from work and get down to writing. Sometimes I would get home quite late in the evening, tired and sleepy, but my mind would simply refuse to let me sleep until I wrote down what I was thinking about. For the last few days, I have been writing at least half a dozen articles a day on Helium and my mind doesn't rest until I write at least that many.

Anything that you really like doing, like writing, can lead to the release of endorphins. That gives you a natural high. This kind of thing is more commonly seen as a result of strenuous exercise, but it can happen, on a smaller scale, with something as simple as eating chocolate. And your passion for writing can be your chocolate. It can be the oxygen that you inhale. It can help you celebrate the little things in life worth celebrating, and vent your feelings about something sad or unpleasant that you came across. What do you need alcohol for, if you can write?

Of course, people can become addicted to something that they do, without actually having a passion for it. Those are the people we call workaholics. But it is certainly more likely to be addicted to something that you really like doing and that you are actually good at doing. The sense of achievement that you get when people appreciate your writing spurs you on. It sends a fresh batch of endorphins your way. That keeps you going, and makes you want to do it even more passionately.

It is only natural to want to spend more time doing something that gives you pleasure while you are doing it, and gives you even more pleasure when people appreciate you for it later on. This forms a cycle, you write, people appreciate you, you write more, people appreciate you all the more for it. That keeps you happy, and it keeps your readers happy and entertained. Why would you not be addicted to something that brings so much pleasure to so many people, all in one go? Without any ill effects on your health, to top it all.

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