10 Guilty TV Pleasures ...

Perhaps your own reality stinks so you choose to live vicariously through the “reality” that television creates for other people. Whether it be “16 and Pregnant” or “Dancing With the Stars,” you somehow get so wrapped up in the lives of others that you forget about your own. Just remember that you will probably never sing on American Idol or be a contestant on Survivor—thinking otherwise may lead to a severe case of depression.

The Bachelor and The Bachelorette have completely changed the way some women look at dating. Now you can not only spend hours in front of the TV waiting to see who gets the last rose, there is even a PC game that allows you to create your very own Bachelor world. In the real world, very few of us have 15 men swooning over us an vying for our hand in marriage, but for a few hours we can step into the shoes of Ally, Meredith, or Trista. These women live the lives we all think we want to and we get a small dose without all the personal drama.

Buying pretty things while sitting at home on the couch in your pajamas; a guilty pleasure if there ever was one. Some women are so chronically addicted to the home shopping network that their credit cards are loaded with charges from purchases they forgot they even made. While buying things can definitely be great therapy, some discretion must also be used.

From Desperate Housewives to Sex and the City to Grey’s Anatomy, dramatic television has a way of sucking us in. Definitely another area where women are able to live vicariously through characters they feel they can relate to, drama TV does for us what video games do for men.

A show that has been around since 1979, antiques are still grabbing the attention of women everywhere. Somehow women feel that they can fill the voids in their lives with really old junk that may be worth some money if you keep it around long enough.

Whether you have your own legal drama going on or just find yourself sucked in by the courtroom, Court TV seems to satisfy the need for drama. Getting to meddle in other peoples’ lives and problems with no repercussions definitely does wonders for a woman’s ego. Do you think we just enjoy watching other people suffer?

Oprah, Dr. Phil, and the list goes on and on. Similar to the rush we get out of Court TV, talks shows give us some insight into the lives of people who are much worse off than we are. Perhaps we just enjoy the regular reminder that maybe our lives are not as bad as we think they are—after all, you’re not being taken on national television to be told that your grandma has cancer and your husband is sleeping with your sister.

The ultimate hangout for angry and depressed women; Army Wives, Woman Scorned, and The Balancing Act are a few favorites. These shows are supposed to give women something they can relate to and provide some sort of comfort. While we all run to Lifetime in our time of need, it generally only ends up in more tears and lots of chocolate ice cream.

Both thrilling and addicting, game shows can be a great way to unwind—and a relatively safe guilty pleasure compared to most of the others we’ve mentioned. Forgetting about your cares while you yell and scream at the television screen is a perfectly healthy way to end your day and allow yourself a momentary time out.

Ironically, most of us hate cooking in our own kitchens but enjoy watching other women cook up amazing things in theirs. While this guilty pleasure allows us to relax and learn a few new things, it often ends up in a destroyed meal and a kitchen that will take 10 hours to clean. While watching the shows may give you some peace of mind, actually putting what you learn into action may leave you switching to Lifetime.

These 10 guilty TV pleasures are too fun to resist. Whether you are in love with “Sex and the City” or obsessed with Dr. Phil, most of us do indulge in some television time a few times each week. What’s you favorite guilty TV pleasure?

Top photo credit: cleo_singapore