I’ve both blamed myself and I’ve been blamed by others for following my own white rabbit down many a rabbit hole, leaving me in a place of emotional and logical nonsense. Well, guilty as charged! But I know I’m not alone.

The term rabbit hole originated with Lewis Carroll’s 1865 classic, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, in which Alice follows the White Rabbit into his burrow, which transports her to the nonsensical world of Wonderland. Over much of the 20th century, falling down the rabbit hole has been used to characterize irrational, magical and challenging experiences.

The use of the term has evolved to take on other meanings. During the crazy 60’s, tripping down the rabbit hole referred to taking hallucinogenic drugs and exploring existential thinking. It is often used as a way of explaining the process of getting from Point A to Point B with no clear route (and often no recollection) as to how one got there. I often find myself in a mini version of this when I don’t know why or how I entered a room. I just stand motionless, like an empty-headed statue, trying to remember. This behavior can be a subset of the hallucinogenic tripping above—but not always.

On the Internet, a rabbit hole refers to an engrossing and time-consuming topic. While doing legitimate research, I’ve acquired habits that are spectacularly addictive: scary stories, obscure conspiracy theories, or famous last meals. (I actually fell down the famous last meals one—typical of my tendency toward the dark side. 😀) When Facebook and Twitter first arrived on the scene, I spent too much time with them. However, they soon lost my attention and, while I still maintain them, I climbed out of that one.

These days, the term rabbit hole is also showing increasing use as a modifier, e.g., a rabbit hole question or phenomenon. An example question might be something like, “We’re not having this for dinner, are we?”

I have many rabbit holes. I love occasionally binge-watching a favorite TV show. Netflix and Amazon Prime make it easier to get addicted. Once, Randy and I made permanent sags in our couch while we binge-watched 24 with Kiefer Sutherland for 3 days running. “What are we doing here?” we asked. “Are we nuts?” Occasionally we questioned, “Don’t we have a life?” while we laughed at ourselves the whole time. However, we kept falling down that hole until Monday, when we had to go to work. Thank goodness this is only an occasional rabbit hole.

When I want to avoid writing, I search for work to do around the house. The smell of PineSol and shine from lemon-oiled wood make me feel good about myself—and look good to others—while I am neglecting my responsibilities and my internal critic. In the winter months, the heat from my iron warms the hand that doesn’t want to write. Other ways to escape writing time (or anything else I might try to avoid) is by perusing emails, reading, playing games online, etc.

Randy and I sometimes watch a good historical movie or program while I keep my over-heated computer on my lap in order to fact check the writers and point out when some small event or statement is historically incorrect. I LOVE this rabbit hole! I get to be a critical nerd and learn obscure trivia at the same time.

Okay, most rabbit holes are not worth the time spent in them. But I’m particularly fond of mine, and it’s hard to let go. Some result in benefits, like cleaning house and ironing. As misery loves company, I hope I am not alone while sitting at the bottom of any one of my dark rabbit holes. Perhaps you can recommend some new ones.