To see each Oscar movie nominated in 24 Academy Awards categories, I watched:

37 feature films 5 documentaries 15 short films (<40 mins each)

It took eighty-eight hours.

And as I sit here on Academy Award Sunday, I’m reminded of the healing power of naming in therapy. Naming your emotions. Admitting your transgressions. Recognizing guilt and shame. And so on. Putting words to your experiences makes them real. Telling someone like your shrink, your friends and family creates an outlet for understanding and accountability.

But of all the things I’ve shared with my therapist (and the Internet) over the years as a client with an addictive personality, for some reason telling her I just spent 5,285 minutes staring at a theater, television, laptop, tablet or smart phone screen might be the one thing I’m most afraid to admit.

For awhile I thought about all of the things I missed out on during this time. Like, ya know how sometimes you Googlemaps something far away and accidentally have it on the “walk” setting and you’re like “It takes 88 hours to get there?” Turns out I could leave it on that setting, walk out of my apartment located near U.S. Bank Stadium, home of the Minnesota Vikings, and head due east towards Green Bay and hit up a Packer game at Lambeau Field in that time. (Ok, provided I didn’t stop, kept the same pace and ultimately had any interest in watching the Packers.)

But then I thought, “hey, people online don’t judge.”

And maybe there’s someone else out there like, “I have an addictive personality too and need a new obsession!” that I could reach?

Or, maybe all of those folks boycotting the NFL for a litany of reasons are desperately looking to fill a void of about 12 hours per week for two months a year?

Whatever your rationale, I highly suggest bookmarking this article and pulling it back out around November to get a jump start on Hollywood’s biggest night in 2019.