I've been a registered member of this forum and Chaturbate for approximately one month. I was an anonymous CB viewer for years prior to this. Once I registered, bought tokens, and began tipping, my dopamine levels and addictiveness to the site skyrocketed. Early on I sampled lots of rooms, did a few privates, and explored my newfound tipping ability. Ultimately I became a fan of a specific studio which features a variety of models. They follow a schedule which I quickly learned, as well as what type of shows occur at each shift. For about a two-week span within the last month I was in the room every day, often multiple times based on my availability and who/what the room focus was. I developed a cordial relationship with the regular models and was always eager to meet new faces. They greeted me when I entered the room and they provided a good product that I was happy to tip for.
So what is the issue? My entire life became consumed with this experience. When I was at work I wondered who would be online when I got home and signed in. Since the models rotate it was always a surprise. When I'd wake up I'd check to see who was doing what, even if I didn't enter the room. I'd get home on my lunch break and do the same. Every time I got the chance I'd sign in to chat and tip, even if I had no sexual desire at all. When I was in the mood I had no issue requesting privates, sometimes thrice in one day.
As I quickly discovered the toll this was taking on my mental, emotional, and financial health, last weekend I committed to taking one week off. During this week I developed a plan for returning, including a set budget, time limits for privates, and other general rules I need to follow if I want to continue supporting my favorite room. Last night I returned to the site and saw some of my favorites models, including my newest favorite, and man is it so hard to not fall back. I did a private, but I had planned that from the beginning. I was happy to see my virtual friends again and they expressed the same about me (and my tokens).
I can see how easily one can become incredibly addicted to tipping sites to where it becomes unhealthy. Having models respond directly to your (tip) requests is quite a rush and hopefully you get a good show out of it. The system reminds me a bit of Vegas- token tip sounds, spin the wheel, lights and noises that respond to your actions, etc., and they make it so easy to buy more tokens in mere seconds.
As for me, had I not taken that week off I might have headed into a downward spiral of multiple facets. As of today, all is well so long as I stick to my plan. The purpose of this post is more or less to serve as a PSA from the viewer's perspective to beware of negative addictive aspects of camsites that can take control of your life. I'm a proponent of and supporter of these sites so long as all involved ensure their personal health (esp. physical, emotional, financial) isn't jeopardized in the process.
This does sound like it was heading into an unhealthy pattern. You are right in using the term addictive because it sounds like the compulsion was starting to negatively impact your life, and even though you have only been a viewer for a month you found it difficult to stop this pattern.
This could of course be simply discovering a new toy. Like I don't have a gaming addiction, but when I start a new game it can temporarily become a complete obsession where I cannot stop. Same with books, if I find something good I have a tendency to essentially drop all other aspects of life temporarily. But I am not addicted because it is only temporary, though problematic enough that I won't start games unless I have free time. With cam models it could be almost akin to meeting a new partner, falling in lust/love and wanting to be with them 24/7, where eventually that feeling calms down and you can manage it in a healthy sense. This may be what's happening with you.
I think you are very right to be cautious, as camming can become addictive for some people. Some people will say it's not a real addiction because it isn't a substance, but while substance addiction has additional factors, neuropsychological evidence of addiction suggests that anything that's hitting your dopamine system can be genuinely addictive.
When it comes to psychological addictions the main questions you should ask yourself are focused around why this is so exciting for you. What in your life are you missing? Camgirls can provide a lot, attention, sexual stimulation, beauty, variety/choice, power, entertainment, company, excitement/fun. So you need to ask yourself what it is that's the main draw, and why this is so interesting to you you're becoming obsessive? You've got a situation suddenly where all of these beautiful women are just waiting for you to show up, all you need to do is give them tokens and they'll warmly greet you, make you feel special, wanted, needed. I can imagine if you're lonely, sexually frustrated, or don't usually get attention from multiple women, or maybe these women are more beautiful than those you're used to then this is going to be a huge thrill. If you really want to control this habit while still enjoying cam models maybe look into your real life and think of where/if you could gain some of this, it might ease off some of the dependency element.
You are also focusing on a studio which might not help. There's a reason men are forever falling for and being scammed by Romanian camgirls, studio culture is big there and these rooms are notoriously run in a way which draws men in on a deeper emotional level. They know exactly what they're doing to maximise the studio's sales, and being honest with your tendency towards getting obsessive it might be worth moving over to independent models. Some models are more ethical than others, most models who I've met on this forum for example do not engage in practices which encourage obsession or overspending. However, in my experience, the kind of members who get scammed/over spend are drawn like a moth to a flame for those who'll say/do just about anything to make you part with your cash. You warn them, they know the perils, but people are stupid when someone tells them what they want to hear. So I guess be careful, I've seen perfectly decent men spending hundreds of grand and ruining their lives because they so desperately wanted to believe what they were being fed was real. It's rare, but if you have those tendencies you need to be careful.
Having a plan is a good idea, I hope it goes well for you. Fingers crossed it's just the excitement of finding a site you like and it'll calm down naturally.