How to break an obsession

In the internet era, it is easy to get obsessed with things. These can be positive aspects of being involved in a fan community or a community centered on a common goal or common values. Even then, you may find yourself wanting to step back. Here are some tips on how to do it:

Try a temporary break
Take a day or a week off from engaging with whatever you are obsessed with. Treat this as an experiment. Notice what you end up doing with the time and see what you like about the person that you experience when you are focused and engaged with other topics.

You do not need to announce this, just do it. Breaks allow you to reassess your involvement with a fresh perspective without acting based on autopilot and inertia. 

Change your routine
It is difficult to change one’s behaviour if the rest of your environment and routines stay the same. For example, starting an exercise plan can be a good way to change up your routine. Starting exercise can make you automatically change other things such as your eating and sleeping routines. One deliberate change can cause other subtle shifts in your routine.

Eliminate triggers
Consider unsubscribing from YouTube channels or podcasts. Take related apps off your phone. Change your news service settings to not show you stories about that topic. If you get ads about your obsession, use an ad blocker or other method to reduce how much you see those.You can do this in more or less extreme ways, depending on what you’re willing to do. 

Understand what psychological needs the obsession is fulfilling.
Obsessive interests can be fuelled by various psychological payoffs. These include providing:
●Distraction from the news.
●Distraction from aspects of life that stress you out (such as challenging work tasks).
●Distraction from relationship difficulties.

When you understand the payoffs you are getting, you can look at alternative ways to experience those payoffs or ways you could reduce those needs. For example, better anxiety management skills might relieve your need to distract yourself from challenging work.

Whatever the issue is, and whether you see it as a big problem or a small one, you can try these tips to experiment with different behaviour. 

Source: 
psychologytoday.com