Hmm, you really put it into perspective here. Never really thought about how keeping up with artists so well might be a big drain on your time, and now hoping I didn't enable an addiction.
It's an addiction that would take some explaining as well if you decided to get some outside help, which could be uncomfortable.
If you are willing to take significant steps to cut down, I can share what I've heard mental health professionals say about how disciplined people use (or don't use) willpower: They create obstacles requiring a lot of effort to overcome, to the access to the thing they are trying to avoid. So let's say you want to eat healthier, instead of just sitting there going nuts thinking about "I want a cookie so bad and there's a bunch in the jar in the kitchen", you would not even buy those kind of foods, so that you would have to force yourself to REALLY go out of your way to obtain those foods.
If you're addicted to browsing your submission inbox in FA, you could create obstacles by setting your password to a bunch of random stuff then logging out, get a browser plugin or something that you can use to block specific websites, etc., that kind of stuff.
I understand that kind of stuff would be pretty difficult especially at first, but it might be the most effective idea I would have.
Just want to be clear by the way, don't feel like I'm trying to say I want you to not be around, I appreciate it every time you fave my art as I'm sure the others that actually notice you do, but if you think this is unhealthy you gotta look after yourself. You'll be missed, if you're here a lot less often and don't get to check your entire inbox everytime but we'll survive!
Edit: one more thing, you might want to do a search relating to how people get over fear of missing out/FOMO

true true.
i know i can stop doing it at any time, but i just feel bad for doing it.
cause pretty arts and want to make everyone feel appreciated.
ill add to this as a side note that i used to comment alot to but i stopped doing that long ago because
it slowed me down but mainly cause it lost the meaning for me honestly cause im more or less saying the
same thing to everyone, like sure it means alot to the person, but to me just lost the meaning, soo to counter act that,
i just +fav it and only comment if it really jumps out at me to make it feel that more special to me xD
but yea, if ignore it ill feel bad for a few days then probably get over it and still leave it.
but the issue there is, the moment i come back ill be back in the goddam loop again...
sure i could look at 1 or 2 pages then ignore the rest.. but i'd still feel bad for not getting to everyone xD
this is a very difficult loop to fix...
almost like stick with it and deal with it or ignore it all all the time.
i had this couple times honestly and those times is when i went on holidays with family.
one time i came back to 5k to sift trhough, my better judgement said to nuke it, but for a solid week i went through it all xD
so yeah i dont know... such is life i guess?


aaah fomo... yeah fomo also sucks, i have more fomo on a game i play haha it sucks xD

I collect images as well and put them into folders thinking "uuh this is very beautiful, I will sure use this for reference," but in the end - don't use any of them and they all just sit there on my hard drive collecting dust. Once I thought I'd even delete some of them, but there were too many to even start organizing them.

exactly how i am and i dont want to delete any of them xD