Another direction that ego can get stuck in its own shell is with addiction. Here I use some entries of Darren Allen's Apocalypedia,10 who describes addiction as the egoic self unable to soften to something outside of itself, and which only seeks more self: stimulation, power, status, distraction for instance.
There are many types of addictions, and some are far more socially acceptable than others, even rewarded for some of them. We can divide them into 4 categories,11 with some examples of specifics addictions:
Physical: indulgence in the pleasures of the body such as food, sex, but also ways to numb yourself, such as alcohol, certain drugs, and distractions like loud noise and social media
Emotional: being hooked on drama, arguing all the time (even if they pretend they don't like it), the obsession with being right, seeking attention, clingy attachment, outrage porn and complaining
Mental: mental masturbation of course, which relieves intellectual people from having to do anything difficult, getting stuck in fantasies about what your life could be, constant worrying and replaying situations in your head, and social distractions like gossiping and groupthink
Volitional (related to will): constantly working, or pretending to do so by being busy, constantly exercising, being obsessed with winning, chasing superiority and acquiring status trinkets
The first person experience of addiction is one of utter unconscious behavior. It's almost like you're seeing someone else get hooked on video games, or porn, or anxious thinking, or social media, but you can't seem to do anything about it.
It might seem odd that indulgence in pleasure and numbing yourself are both seen as addictive, but in fact, the up—pleasure—and the down—boredom or apathy—are part of the same egoic cycle. It is precisely after you binge on your favourite addiction that you feel down, apathetic to everything. But often, the delay between the up and the down is long enough that you cannot easily make the connection, but it is there.
Outside of that up-and-down cycle we find a vast vivid, non-egoic, inner landscape. Being at peace does not lead to a down, neither does following your childlike curiosity, or doing work you genuinely find meaningful, or being with someone you love, just for the sake of the relationship, and not because you expect anything from them.
Footnotes
6 It might in fact be identical, I have never read Nietzsche and am simply using the terms that feel more natural to me.