Does binge-watching make you lonely and depressed, or do you binge watch because you are already feeling lonely and depressed?

In roughly two weeks time, oodles of people around the world (me included) will be glued to their televisions, binge-watching the new season of “House of Cards”. And while this whole binge-watching phenomenon might seem like a harmless habit – since, you know, everybody’s doing it – new research suggests it could be a sign of something more serious.

A recent study by researchers at the University of Texas at Austin found that the more lonely and depressed you are, the more likely you are to binge-watch.

Researchers asked 316 18- to 29-year-olds about their binge-watching habits: How often they watched TV, how often they had feelings of loneliness, depression and struggled with self-control (i.e. the ability to step away from the TV), and finally how often they have binge-watching sessions. They found the more lonely and depressed participants were, the more likely they were to use binge-watching as a way of avoiding negative feelings.

Seventy-five percent of participants admitted to binge-watching, with most watching an average of one to three hours of TV and 13.5 percent watching up to five hours. (Five people reported watching seven hours or more!) Researchers found participants who watched the most episodes at once were lonelier, sadder and had less self-control over clicking to the next episode than people who didn’t binge watch at all.

This doesn’t mean that binge-watching causes loneliness and depression, it just means there’s an association between the habit and the emotions that might trigger it. I totally understand this rut – you know, because I’ve experienced it myself – and it’s such a slippery slope. I struggled the most with it when I first learned I had severe adrenal fatigue, and was much more interested in what was going on with the characters on “Grey’s Anatomy” than in my own life. Mainly, because the characters were capable of functioning in a compelling, high-octane environment, and at the time it took me two hours to pep talk myself just to check the mail.

But the more you avoid the things that are bothering you in your life, the more likely you are to create an even bigger mess – and the more likely you are to avoid it by hanging out in Shondaland. Slippery. Slope.

Here are a few things that helped me get out of my binge-watching rut:

1. Take breaks between episodes

Instead of watching one episode right after the other, I’d take a break between episodes and tackle something in my life I was using binge-watching to avoid. I’d head into the next episode feeling as motivated as I was relieved, until before I knew it I wanted to tackle life more than I wanted to watch TV.

2. Don’t binge on workdays

I never binge watch during the week now – only on weekends (and not every weekend, obvi). For me, binge-watching after a busy week is a refreshing way to relax because I feel like I’ve “earned” the time to decompress. And I always take breaks between episodes to get things done around the apartment and catch up with the people in my life. It’s become more of a casual pastime than a borderline addiction.

3. Exercise while binge-watching

I bought a FitDesk specifically for the shows I still don’t trust myself with – mainly, anything from Shondaland. No matter how hard I try, there are certain shows I just can’t peel myself away from after one episode. My mind is still thinking about the show while my physical being is bumping into walls and tripping over things. So now, I exercise in a pathetic attempt to make up for it.

Do you have any quirky binge-watching habits?

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Feel a couch potato weekend coming on? Here’s how to master the wonderful world of binge-watching.

You’ve survived Christmas – barely – and now it’s time to recover… you know, just in time for your annual New Year’s bender. Now that you finally have some time to yourself, your recovery can be spent exactly how you’ve always dreamed: In the form of a weekend binge-watching extravaganza. Swoon.

Here’s how to barrel through that show you’ve been putting off because of… well, living, like a total champ:

1. Pick your poison

Which show will you binge-watch, and how much time will you need? Check out the infographics here and here from Neilsen to help you calculate. Even if the show you’ve decided on isn’t on the list, you can compare it to a listed show that’s punched out a similar number of episodes.

That being said, I recommend binge-watching a show that’s no longer on the air for two reasons: One, spoilers. Two, once you’ve annihilated all 30 episodes that have aired so far, waiting until the next episode – or season – is complete torture. Trust.

2. Have a shower

Like, one of those amazing showers where you don’t miss a nook or cranny. Snuggle into your favorite jammies since you’re going to be in them for a while. Chronic binge-watchers are two times as likely as casual bingers to skip showering because of their binge-watching – but a pro such as yourself plans accordingly.

3. Map out your territory

What will you need to make your binge-watching space as luxurious as possible? Make sure you have enough pillows and blankets to see you through – you don’t want to finish your bingey binge feeling like the Robaxacet puppet. You also want to make sure your laptop/tablet charger, remote, and modem user’s manual are within arm’s reach (that way, if an Internet kerfuffle occurs, you can MacGyver that shit stat).

4. Stock up on your essentials

The only times you want to get up are for bathroom breaks and post-episode stretches. Make sure you have all of your favorite snack foods on hand (since you never know which craving will strike), water (to stay hydrated) and Kleenex (for those particularly gut-wrenching scenes). And if something terrible happens to one of your characters, you’re going to want to keep takeout menus on hand for a serious case of the stress eats.

5. Silence your phone

Natch.

6. Press play

It’s going to be a long haul, but you’ve got this.

7. Between episodes…

Throw in some stretches and a potty chair break. Also, an occasional cat nap to keep your stamina in check never hurts. Binge-watching is a sport that can only be mastered through perseverance.

8. Cross the finish line

Of course, “finish line” is subjective – if your show is seven seasons long, you’re not going to get through the entire show in one weekend obvi. Stop where it makes sense to stop, such as at the end of a season, and pick up where you left off during your next binge-watching date. Just check with your couch to make sure it’s free that weekend.

What shows are you currently binge-watching?

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It’s a golden age of television, and these are the 7 of the best TV shows to prove it.

I love TV. I also enjoy NPR, macrobiotic teas, and Instragramming the ingredients on natural beauty products. By all accounts, shouldn’t my TV stand now be a planter for my indoor organic herbal garden? Instead, a large flat-screen remains. Except it now streams more TV than the East River floats Doritos bags.

So when people tell me they don’t watch TV, I want to drag them to my herbal-planter-TV-stand and sit them down until they understand. What exactly? That we’re living in the Golden Age of best TV shows. That Tony Soprano is more than just a thug. That Walter White’s ambiguous morality matters. That Carrie Mathison’s cryface really is epic.

Really, what I want to do is to introduce them to binge watching.

With the advent of Netflix streaming, Hulu, and multiple seasonal DVD releases of shows, binge watching has inevitably taken up a spot in our cultural lexicon. Sure, some people frown on the act of mass-consuming a TV show all at once. In the most first-world, fin de siècle fashion, Slate recently bemoaned that “we’re ruining TV.” They sniffed that the binge-watching bandwagon destroys the integrity of a single episode, alongside other horrible, unnamed, possibly kitten-murdering deeds.

But I’d argue that binge watching a brilliantly-written or entertaining show is no different from going to the movies. For the movies, factor in travel, popcorn pit stops and the time it takes to glare at the person texting right in front of you, you’re looking at a minimum three hour investment. All the while, you’re (hopefully) not thinking about work, not checking your phone, not worried about the state of all things.

Stay in for an evening and indulge in two or three episodes of any hour-long drama, and it’s the same experience. And best of all, you don’t have to deal with travel, popcorn pit stops and the time it takes to glare at the person texting right in front of you. Are they trying to land a plane with their cell phone light beacons? Who is really to say.

Binge watching has, in fact, become so popular that the more recent television shows are starting to structure their entire seasons around this undertaking. “Arrested Development”, “Orange is the New Black”, and “House of Cards” were all released new seasons this year on Netflix streaming—and “House of Cards” recently received nine Emmy nominations, which Netflix trumpeted as a “win” for all Internet television.

But not every television show out there is worthy of a binge. You need stellar characters, engaging episodic arches, and a general ability to glue an audience to his or her seats. So what to watch?

1. “Breaking Bad”

Set in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Walter White is a high school chemistry teacher recently diagnosed with cancer. He turns to producing and selling methamphetamines to provide a financial legacy for his family. Currently airing its fifth and final season, “Breaking Bad” is available online on Amazon Prime. 

2. “Orange is the New Black”

Piper Chapman is a wasp-y New Yorker who once, years ago, transported a suitcase filled with drugs for an ex-girlfriend. Now she’s sent to prison for 15 months in Litchfield, New York. Based on a true story, the show is hailed as a “barrier-breaking” dramedy which incorporates the narratives of black, white, and transgendered women. Produced by Netflix, it’s available through the site.

3. “Game of Thrones”

Winter might be coming, but HBO’s critically-acclaimed “Game of Thrones” shows no signs of cooling. Based on George R.R. Martin’s fantasy novels, the show incorporates multiple story lines roughly set in the kingdoms of Westeros and Essos at the end of a decade-long summer. Sex, violence, and mythical creatures combine to make this a standing hit for the cable network, now three seasons in. You can watch it online at HBO Go.

4. “Downton Abbey”

This Masterpiece Theatre phenom for PBS relays the saga of the post-Edwardian Crawley family and their staff at their Yorkshire country estate. The Titanic sinks, World War I rages, and the Spanish Flu decimates, while romance and tragedy throw around more suds around than a washing machine in this soapy classic. The series is gearing up for its fourth season. You can watch it online at Hulu.com.

5. “Orphan Black”

The BBC scores another hit with this sci-fi Canadian import depicting the lives of several identical women, who all turn out to be clones in (what else?) a deadly illegal cloning conspiracy. The show is centered on Sarah Manning, a tough British con-artist who assumes the life of fellow clone (and cop) Elizabeth Childs after Childs commits suicide. The first season, which recently wrapped, is currently available on DVD from Netflix.

6. “Homeland”

This series for Showtime takes us through the life of Carrie Mathison, a bipolar Central Intelligence Officer on a quest to capture Sergeant Nicolas Brody. Carries believes that Brody is a former prisoner-of-war for al-Qaeda who is now brainwashed and threatening national security. What could go wrong? The series, which is two seasons in, is available on Amazon Prime.

7. “Portlandia”

Why should you watch IFC’s sketch comedy show “Portlandia,” which is also available streaming on Netflix? See above.

Do you binge watch? Follow Katherine on Twitter and tell her what shows she missed. 

photo credit: Alba Soler Photography via photopin cc

For further reading:
5 Happy Endings We’d Like to See for Breaking Bad

The 5 Best Beauty Products for a Downton Abbey Look

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