The Psychology Behind The Phatmass Addiction

[phatcatholic]

phatpham,

i figured we might as well give some structure for this PhatAddicts Anonymous group we all seem to be a part of. and, since i'm a counselor at my school, i might as well take the initiative and moderate. so, below will be the structure for the remainder of our sessions.

1. Intro. State your name and tell the group how long you have been addicted to Phatmass. Example:

Hi. My name is ____. I've been addicted to Phatmass for ____ months now.

2. Background Information. Tell us a little bit about who you are, where you are from, and why you decided to be a part of the group. What was the final determining factor that made you realize that you were an addict?

3. Psychoanalysis. Tell us why you are addicted to Phatmass. What is it about the group that keeps you coming back? What deep, subconscious need does this fulfill for you? Why do you turn to Phatmass, to the exclusion of family, friends, school, or work-related responsibilities?

4. Closing. Provide any final questions or comments you have concerning the group and what we can do to help.

hopefully, this will be a therapeutic and edifying experience for us all. i thank you for coming and for sharing.

Yours in Christ,

nick

ps: btw, i'm only half joking about this! ;)

[Kiddkapps]

1. Intro. State your name and tell the group how long you have been addicted to Phatmass. Example:

Hi. My name is ____. I've been addicted to Phatmass for ____ months now.

Hi. My name is Kiddkapps. I've been addicted to PM for ...........huh? wha? OH SORRY I was posting on another post on PM and chatting in the room! LOLOL.

2. Background Information. Tell us a little bit about who you are, where you are from, and why you decided to be a part of the group. What was the final determining factor that made you realize that you were an addict?

I am Kiddkapps from the Great North...I removed white because I'm not white and that GWN makes me feel like I'm not from here. I am a GUM (Gospel Urban Music) advocate. I am a balloon twisting, vinyl juggling, dancehall lovin', rhymes spittin'. poetry writing, bible reading, Church going, studying, gospel magic doer, philosophizing, procrastinating, coke drinking, chicken and beef loving, dancehall chatting, jungle loving, analyitical, critical, beat experimenting, transforming, growing Katholik. As Kiddkapps I've been a radio deejay and producer in my younger years. "Bringing you nothing but the best in CHRISTian Urban music...everything from Hip Hop to Reggae, Soca, Jungle Electronica.....*ahem* sorry flashback." I am a reviewer for Lion of Zion Entertainment's online Gospel Reggae store as well as a feature columnist for Huge Entertainment. Both Christian ministries promoting Gospel Urban Music. I am a radio host for the Highlight Zone Radio Show produced by Be Heard Management(also a Gospel Urban Music ministry).....and I have been a journalist/reviewer and writer for FEED Magazine (your SOURCE for Holy Hip Hop and Christian Urban Music for quite some time now. I am a columnist and Editorial Director for 2 of the 4 columns on Phatmass dot com. I was formerly the Editor for the Music Section here at Phatmass and hopefully I will be in-house counsel for PM when I graduate. I joined PM to make dUSt the webmaster mad. I stumbled on Phatmass as I was promoting FEED Magazine of my own accord and dUSt thinking that I was a non-Catholic attempting to spam the message boards decided to harp on me. In retaliation I decided to stay and make him even more upset. Which was of course unChrist-like of me but I did it nonetheless. Somewhere down the line GOD kept making us bump heads until I was told to stay here and help out. I began to slowly help out with the Music Section and progressed to the Home Page columns. So that's what made me decide to stay - - getting dUSt mad. Oh yeah and to also get on the Phatmass compilation

3. Psychoanalysis. Tell us why you are addicted to Phatmass. What is it about the group that keeps you coming back? What deep, subconscious need does this fulfill for you? Why do you turn to Phatmass, to the exclusion of family, friends, school, or work-related responsibilities?

I keep coming back because I like to make dUSt mad. It makes him change colours when I post on the boards. I also like to keep my membership so I can make more posts about FEED Magazine and other projects that I am currently blessed to be involved in.

I am also tired and frustrated at how unethical many are in the profession of law and the judicial system. Thus, coming to PM helps me relieve some of that by taking it out on dUSt.

4. Closing. Provide any final questions or comments you have concerning the group and what we can do to help.

I'm not sure, how you can help except. If you subscribe to FEED Magazine or pick one up at your local Barnes and Noble /Chapters and Indigo to the CDN Khats then I will no longer have a real purpose to post on Phatmass as my self-made duty is done.

I hope to one day break free from the chains of bondage which are keeping me here in this perpetual place of posting. I long for the days when I no longer need to try and upset dUSt. Help me out will ya?

Regards - Phatmass' Thugstress fi CHRIST,

Kiddkapps. :angry:

[Spiritual_Arsonist]

Hello. My name is SPRITUAL_ARSONIST. I have beeen addicted to PhatMass for about 2 months now.

I come from Michigan where it is cold all the time so I spend a lot of time on the internet. I found PhatMass at newadvent,org and decided I must join this PHAT PHORUM. I am an addict becasue I love the Faith.

I keep on coming back for MORE AND MORE because I am high on the Faith and need it MORE AND MORE. I even log on at school while I am supposed to be doing homework.

All I can ask for from my PHAMILY is CAN YOU guys GIVE ME MORE?!?!

[sista2b]

Hi my name is Ali, ive been adicted since i got a computer that handle the net again...2months i think. I'm 17, from Indiana, where the weather likes to be different everyday. 60-70 degree christmasses and snow on easter. although right now its quite cold. I found it through Fr. Pontifex, but never had a lot of access until recently. And currently i should be studying algebra, or at least praying the liturgy of the hours or something, but i have this hunger for community. And not just any but a solid Catholic one, so here i am.

[Spiritual_Arsonist]

Hi my name is Ali, ive been adicted since i got a computer that handle the net again...2months i think.  I'm 17, from Indiana, where the weather likes to be different everyday.  60-70 degree christmasses and snow on easter.  although right now its quite cold.  I found it through Fr. Pontifex, but never had a lot of access until recently.  And currently i should be studying algebra, or at least praying the liturgy of the hours or something, but i have this hunger for community.  And not just any but a solid Catholic one, so here i am.

You pray the Liturgy of the Hours? So do I! I love it a lot.

[phatcatholic]

i'll go....here comes the brutal honesty.....

Intro

Hi. My name is Nicholas Hardesty. I've been addicted to Phatmass for a month now.

Background Information

I've been a catholic all my life. but only w/in the last year and ahalf have i learned more about it and subsequently learned to appreciate it. i'm from owensboro, ky which has a large catholic presence. but, i go to school in columbia, ky (lindsey wilson college) which has a large "bible-christian" presence. so i am a definite minority......which is why i first came to this group. i came b/c the more i successfully defend my faith, and the more i witness it being successfully defended by others, the stronger my faith becomes. when i started putting off my homework and checking this site like 50 times a day, i knew i was addicted.

Psychoanalysis

for one, i see this need to show people that i am at least marginally competent at discussing my faith w/ others. i see myself wanting, to a degree, the approval of the other members here. i think that's b/c i respect this group so much and b/c i realize that there are so many people here who are more skilled then i am. when those people affirm my actions here (when someone compliments a post or a thread i start does well), it kinda makes me feel good.

i also see w/in myself the need to feel accepted, or to feel like i belong. at school, i am the oddball when it comes to my faith. no one here is as fervent about catholicism as i am (this doesn't say anything about ME. instead, it speaks volumes about my environment.) so, its good to be here and know that the one thing that usually isolates me at school is the one thing that unites me here.

furthermore, i realize that i have always gained affirmation and validation through excelling in intelectual pursuits. and i think apologetics is an intellectual pursuit. so basically, the more i learn and the more i successfully apply what i learn, the better i feel about myself.

i'm also addicted b/c i am constantly compelled to share this excitement i feel about my faith w/ others. this has been such an amazing and amesome experience for me, that i just want eveyrone to know about it. i want them to feel that same excitement too! along w/ that, i want to expel all the crazy myths that are out there about catholicism and i want to share the TRUTH of the matter. oh, how the truth does set one freeeeee!!! i hope my excitement never goes away. sure, it may wax and wane, but may it never diminsh. i want to cultivate it and nurture it so that it stays w/ me forever.

finally, i just have a thrist for learning everything i can about catholicism. i read all this valuable info and i just soak it all up. i hunger and thrist for knowledge. i am dying to learn as much as i possibly can. and you guys know ur stuff! plus, i love how if i ever have a question i can just post it here. its like i have my own apologetics staff just waiting to help me. that is so amesome!

SSOOOoooo, that's why i'm addicted (yea, when i said "psychoanalysis" i wasn't joking!)

Closing

in closing, i guess i would just ask that everyone be patient w/ me. right now i am probably more sensitive to how people respond to my posts then i probably should be---but at least i realize that. but, as soon as i feel certain that i belong here and that you guys still accept me even when u don't agree w/ me, then all of that initial sensitivity will pass.

i also ask for your patience b/c i still have alot to learn. you may have to repeat things or state things to me that seem elementary. often times my opinion probably isn't as educated as it should be. so, just bear w/ me, kindly correct me, and i will do my best to become as informed as possible.

thanks phatpham.......and i hope this doesn't freak anyone out.

nick

[Colleen]

Things that go bump in the night.

[Colleen]

[b]Intro[/b]
Hi, My name is Colleen. I've been addicted to Phatmass for almost four months now.

[b]Background[/b]
I've been a Catholic all my life, though it was not until I was about seven years old that my family began taking the faith very seriously. I'm 19 years old, and I just finished my first year of college. I'm the oldest of 7 kids. I'm from Packer Territory, USA. I decided to join PM because I liked being able to share my faith with others. Sometimes it's difficult to remember that I'm not alone. Phatmass helps me to remember that. I realized that I was addicted when I stayed up till 3 one night posting in the complaining thread.

[b]Psychoanalysis.[/b]
I think I'm addicted to Phatmass because of all the cool stuff I learn about my faith every day. It's the people that keep me coming back. Everyone's nice and friendly and understanding. Umm, PM fulfills a need to share my faith and not be shy about it.
[quote]Why do you turn to Phatmass, to the exclusion of family, friends, school, or work-related responsibilities?[/quote]
Umm, er, because I can? Hehe.

[b]Closing.[/b]
I love Phatmass. That is all.

[Thy Geekdom Come]

Hi. My name is Micah. I've been addicted to Phatmass for 2 months now.

I'm from Omaha, NE. I have two brothers and I'm the middle boy, but I have no sisters. I have an Irish Setter, Flanagan. I wasn't always an active Catholic. Out of ignorance and bad catechesis, I didn't believe in the Real Presence until about 3 years ago. I first came to Phatmass at the beginning of my freshman year at seminary, but was uninterested. I returned in March and became very, very addicted. I was made admin of Flyfree forums as well, for a reason only Bro. Adam and God know, and this has strengthened my overall Catholic Website Addiction (CWA). I may now be withdrawing from seminary formation, after beginning to discern a call to family live with the help of some PMers and their advice.

I return to phatmass perhaps because I've never had many friends. Most of my friends were either for pity or because they wanted something from me. My first true friends have come from Phatmass. On a deeper level, it may have something to do with how my PM phriends are mostly of anonymous ages to me. I feel like all of them are mature adults, regardless of age. This is important because, due to events in preschool, I have always been able to chat better with adults (for the history of these events, please ask specifically).

I don't want help with my PM addiction...I love it...but I do neglect my chores because of it. If someone would buy me some brain implants with some Wi-Fi internet connectivity and sunglasses with computer screen imagery projected on them, then I could work and PM at the same time and thus would be able to do my chores. That would be even better than whistling while I work.

[homeschoolmom]

My name is homeschoolmom and I'm a pm addict. I've been a serious addict for over three months now.

The nature of my addiction... well, fortunately, I have a lot of down time-- baby nursing, baby holding etc. that requires that I don't do much else... And happily, I can type pretty well with my arms full. You can pretty much distinguish my posts to three types:
1. Fairly legible and well thought out (these are rare. These happen when homeschoolbaby is sound asleep)
2. medium legible, sometimes make sense (these are when baby is nursing or sleeping in my arms.)
3. No caps, no punctuation, no sense. (These are when baby is bucking like a broncho and I am trying to type with one hand. I use a lot of elipses then too..... )

Who don't I just attend to business? I'm an addict, I tell you...

I love the deep discussions and getting to know people. I don't have that level of deepness with Catholics yet. (Although I do with my Protestant friends)... I agree with Raphael that people seem without age here... (for the most part anyway...)

That is all...

[azaelia]

Hi. My name is Amy. I've been addicted to Phatmass for 5 days now. :bugeyes:

I'm a homeschooled graduate, Tolkien freak, poetry writing, coffee-guzzling, internet junkie. I joined the group when I commented on one of my friend's pro-life buddy icons and she directed me here (I don't know if she's on the message boards...Jill, where are you??). I received such a warm welcome that I kept coming back. I don't usually get on on message boards because the group is already so tightly knit that they forget to let others in. I felt like part of the group the moment I posted here.

The reason I'm addicted? There are many reasons. Not the least of which being that I spend alot of time on the computer, and I enjoy posting here because I don't have to wait hours to get a response. I was so psyched to find a thoroughly Catholic environment to escape to, so I latched on.

I like my addiction. w00t for phatmass!

[dUSt]

Hi. I'm dUSt.

I'm not addicted to phatmass but am morally obligated to keep coming back, because, well... I run the place. The choice is easy. Hell, phatmass. Hell, phatmass. Hell..... I don't know. They got tacos, so very tasty and good for you, down there?

[Pyrite]

[b]Intro[/b]
Hi. My name is Pyrite. I've been addicted to Phatmass for two months now.

[b]Background Information[/b]
I was raised Missouri Synod Lutheran, and went with it until I turned 18 and left for college in Wyoming. The two major religions I was exposed to down there was LDS and Catholicism. I ended up getting confused, rejecting everything from MSL to God and continuing merrily on my way. It wasn't an easy time, and in December of 2003 I realized that I couldn't 'get by' anymore. I came back to God, and have put myself in His hands as to what to do in terms of religion. I ended learning a lot about other religions, LDS, Methodist, Baptist, etc; but have been feeling drawn to Catholicism. I believe this is where I'm supposed to belong, but am taking my time before jumping into RCIA and the like.

I'm currently in Montana, attending University; and I like pina coladas, and getting caught in the rain.

Wait...

[b]Psychoanalysis[/b]
I'm an addict because I don't know any Catholics in my University's town ... everyone's gone for the summer so it's hard to find people my age who are practicing Catholics. My friends are agnostic, so that doesn't help. I'm somewhat solitary - go to Mass alone, that sorta thing. Having PM in my life gives me information and a comfy place to hang out when I'm feeling lonely.

[b]Closing[/b]
Hurrah for Phatmass! It's helped me out immensely.

[phatcatholic]

awesome! i was surprised to see this thread resurrected. its one of the first ones i ever posted, so it was also cool to read my comments again and see how much i've changed and become more a part of the pham. it was also cool to read about other members here, and what's behind their addictions.

anyone else? (counseling available if necessary )

[dUSt]

Oh.