There often comes a time in life when you can not live, function, or move on with your day until you have fulfilled an activity. Whether that activity is making smoothies, reading books, blogging, vlogging or even jogging, you have to do it at some point in your day, otherwise you are left with an emptiness; a bottomless void that can only be filled by this one activity.

I am the type of person who will get so invested in a TV show or series that if I don’t watch an episode (or more accurately a whole season) in a day, I feel like I missed the opportunity to make that day a great one, or greater than it already was by powering through to finish something.

For example, I began watching “Parks and Recreation” in 2012.. This show had already been running for a couple of years, and with a cast filled with credited actors and comedians such as featuring Amy Poehler (Leslie Knope), Nick Offerman (Ron Swanson), Aziz Ansari (Tom Haverford), and Chris Pratt (Andy Dywer). Knowing this, I had high hopes.

This show builds strong characters, who rarely just drop off the show completely. So naturally, I became emotionally attached to some (all) of the regular characters. New characters were always good news and would bring a new spin to an already blooming series.

That was my first fatal mistake: building relationships with the characters. I knew going into this ordeal that in the end, I would be left heartbroken and in demand of another season. Currently, fruitless, and lonely, I am sitting on my couch regretting all of my decisions that led me to this point.

Why did I watch this in the first place?

I knew it was a good show, I should have been more careful…

There is an inevitable end, I cannot escape it…

My second mistake came later: assuming my life didn’t depend on the continuation of this show. This is where the obsession begins. Its jokes resonate with you, soon you see traits from your favorite characters appear in your favorite people. Even that event later is realized as a mistake. Then you continue to watch the show only to hear a story that tears down all similarities between your friend and this character… sulking as you scroll through past messages, soon to find the message you sent on that fateful day, saying, “that’s so funny, that reminds me of a character from a show I’m watching…. come to think of it you’re so much like them!” or however you happened to break the news.

This crucial, but not fatal mistake, still does not dent the gleaming shield that protects your show. It remains a much needed accessory in your life and so you continue you’re brave journey into the deep and demonic cavern that is Netflix. Minutes pass as the cursor hovers over your show title reading, “Finale” and you wait. You wait to think back on the fantastic stories shared, all the tears shed, all the hours wasted… then your finger slips and the episode begins along with a 40-minute episode of you crying with a hint of sobbing uncontrollably.

Credits roll and then the screen goes dark; this only lasts seconds before Netflix, your culture-ruling overlord, suggests a show with visibly no similarities to the show you just finished, but somehow the same cycle begins again. This new show soon captivates your attention quite aggressively, and then you find yourself sitting on your coach, but it feels like all your emotions and feelings are being swept up in a sand storm and you are left mentally breaking down in the dust and remnants that follow this storm.

Yet, the dusty storm of heartbreak soon passes with the flood of emotions you feel once the first episode is over. “3…2…1…” fades onto your screen and the vicious cycle continues to flow on, diving you deeper and deeper back into this relentless succession of obsession.