My name is John and I’m a poll-aholic.

I’ve been addicted to this affliction for some time now, going back maybe to 1980, when Ronald Reagan defeated Jimmy Carter in a landslide.

I recall then that the polls had the race basically tied heading into the final week. But a danger sign loomed for President Carter: that big bloc of undecided voters. In the end, most of the undecided voters swung to Reagan and the Gipper won in a landslide.

No need to watch the polls in 1984, when President Reagan won in a 49-state landslide over Walter Mondale. The ‘88 polls were interesting, as Michael Dukakis squandered a 17-point lead over George H.W. Bush and lost big to the then-vice president. 1992? Go figure that one. Ross Perot at one point was actually leading in a three-way race with Bush and Bill Clinton; Clinton won with a 43-percent plurality and Bush never has forgiven Perot for stealing the election from him. Clinton’s re-election was in the bag four years later. Then came 2000 and that wild ride to the finish, with Vice President Al Gore and Texas Gov. George W. Bush battling it out to the wire in a photo finish. 2004 ended up right about where it began, with President Bush being re-elected by a slim margin over John Kerry. And 2008 was a bit of a roller-coaster as well, with John McCain leading right up until the time he decided to suspend his campaign during the financial meltdown – to what end no one knows to this day.

Here we are now. President Obama and Mitt Romney are see-sawing. One is up one week, then down. I’m getting dizzy watching these polls. The average of all those surveys, as of this morning, had the two men in a dead heat.

Why not fixate more on the issues? Well, my mind is made up. I know where these guys stand on the big issues. I’ve been in the “decided” category of voter for a long while. With my mind made up, I’m ready to cast my vote. But until then, I’m addicted to these polls.

I think I need help.