I Must Leave, GAS Is Destroying My Life

Acknowledging the problem is a vital first step on the road to recovery. Wishing you all the best.

 

If you still make music, you'll do ok I think. You'll identify more with what you have, and it will replace the addiction. I have found, with addictions, that the supposedly most addictive things may not be the hardest ones to beat, but what they all have in common is a need to replace them. If you already have some strong idea of how you're going to move on, you're likely to make it, and fairly quickly, but then the trick is not to revert later when you feel safe. I found them to be like throwing a switch, and walking away for long enough that going near it again didn't motivate me to switch it back. Any such urge, I'd walk away again and give it a bit more time doing something else I could relate to more. Best of all is being able to forget the 'switch' is there, for long enough to feel free of any urges to do anything with it, then it stays put. I never lapsed more than once or twice on any, because I didn't want to have to blame anyone for not solving what I alone could solve, and because if I was getting any help, I didn't want to waste it.

One thing extra.. I found that sometimes an addiction needs distancing from, but sometimes it works better solving it without distancing at all, because that way can sometimes break its hold even better, because there is little risk that going back to the territory can restart the addiction if you're still in the territory. This can be tough but it can reduce a fear of failure.

EDIT:
One thing I quit was socialising via internet. I spent years alone, coding synthesiser software. TalkBass records that I was absent for twelve years! One reason I came back was that TB was stable, and works more like what I liked before. I'm lucky in a way, nearly immune to GAS, but that's because I found good and cheap ways to get the sound I wanted, and playing the basses that can do it (same type, one is backup for the other) worked so well for me that there is no urge to replace or add to it. Knowing I could learn to make it work better just by doing things that didn't cost more than picks and strings do, really helped.

 

TalkBass is an enabler. I had to put the parking brake on till next May 2023.

 

God bless and keep you during your struggle. I wish you nothing but the best.

 

Good call, sounds like you're doing the right thing. Family comes first.

 

Good luck! Totally understand. There have been a few people that I've wanted to say, "Dude, you okay?"

 

Best wishes.

 

There are 3 things I've heard that help me, so I'd like to share.

1) Contentment is when you are able to look back and remember getting exactly what you want has historically not brought you much happiness, or it was fleeting.

2) Think of gear as a business investment, and don't invest in things you aren't certain you'll make your money back on.

3) There is nothing better than the feeling of getting desired results with gear you already own!

 

Best of luck to you
Peace Out!

 

Selling gear is, of course, the real reason sites like this exist. Good on you for recognizing that it's a problem for you and taking steps to change things. Wishing you well!

 

If that was a criterion to quit Talkbass, Talkbass would cease to exist.

Take care!

 

You fell into the classic Talkbass trap. Getting GAS and not using the info here to get better at bass.

 

I thought GAS was only a joke that TBers bandied around until I read this.

Well done recognizing the problem and taking steps to correct it. Best of luck to you!

 

Good job for taking a difficult step. I get it. I'm still in denial.

 

Be honest before you go.

Have you seen the special edition Red Witch released today?

 

I knew a guy, a long-time TalkBasser, who drove himself into bankruptcy, at least once, largely on incessant bass flipping and trading. He always lost because when the switch in his head flipped, every two or three weeks, he absolutely had to have a different bass, and he would make stupid deals just because he needed it now.

Sick as ****. He borrowed money from his parents, who couldn't afford it, and never paid them back. He would go nuts because someone on TB said 18 mm. spacing was more comfortable for him than 19 mm. spacing, and flip his bass at a big loss. He lived in the classifieds. He put his family at risk, he put his children at risk, all over neck profiles and, believe it or not, posts on TalkBass!

I tried to talk to him about it many times, but he would come unglued at any suggestion that he was not doing exactly what he should be doing. I can recognize neuroses, and I tried to help but eventually he stopped communicating with me. No loss for me. I hope he found the right mental health professional because he was bound to do it again.

Hobbies can be expensive, but the overwhelming majority of folks manage just fine. The ones that don't can get in real trouble, in a hurry. Just over stupid basses!

Remember the part about putting his wife and children at risk, it is not an exaggeration.

 

As the other thread on "how many basses do you have?" indicates, lots of us have gone back and forth on this problem.

Good luck on beating this. The push-button, PayPal/credit card economy certainly makes it way too easy to spend money, and hard to resist.

But it's not worth losing the people you love. I truly hope this works out for you. I'm guessing getting away from the "triggers" like TB, Reverb, eBay, Amazon, etc. will be a huge help down that road.

-- Arte K.