How to Get Over a Harry Potter Obsession

An online survey ranked the Bible as the most popular book in America and Harry Potter books as number two. Millions of Americans have read the collection, some saying it is for enjoyment and others saying they don't know why they can't put the book down. Some people have even become obsessed with the books. Here is how to get over a Harry Potter obsession.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

1. Substitute Harry Potter books and movies with something else. Determine what part of Harry Potter you really enjoy. Choose a similar story. Broaden your horizons.
2. Get support from loved ones. Ask a friend to let you know when you are carrying on about Harry Potter. Ask them to point it out. Eventually this will become annoying, so let them know up front when you want them to stop. Have several people in different areas of your life help you. That way there will be no way of escaping and secretly picking up Harry Potter.
3. Get support from those who hate Harry Potter material. There are many out there who love Harry Potter and there are many out there who hate Harry Potter. You don't need the ones who love Harry Potter because they will encourage you to continue to obsess the books and movies. Find people who deplore the books and talk to them. Find out the down side to obsessing over Harry Potter. Visit the I Hate Harry Potter website and see what others have to say.
4. Consult a psychiatrist about Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). Ask the doctor to start Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) with you. Begin by bringing Harry Potter material to your sessions. Have the exposure right there and then withhold from partaking in any obsession to read, touch, or think about Harry Potter. Do this over and over with your doctor and eventually the anxiety and compulsion will lessen.
5. Realize the lack of supernatural power of the Harry Potter series. Look for instances in the book where the mechanical spells do not lead to contact with the supernatural world. Watch how turning something into an animal does not further one's life beyond this world as many fantasy novels do.
6. Reread the many tangents in a Potter book. Reread the parts that seem to drone on. Find out what the critics are reading and hating and read those parts. Keep an open mind and hear what they are saying.

Tips & Warnings

• Take OCD seriously. There are many who have joked about "obsessing," but OCD is real and can rob you of life's enjoyments.