Addictive behavior: Difference between revisions

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Addictive behavior is any activity, substance, object, or behavior that has become the major focus of a person's life to the exclusion of other activities, or that has begun to harm the individual or others physically, mentally, or socially.

A person can become addicted, dependent, or compulsively obsessed with anything. Some researchers imply that there are similarities between physical addiction to various chemicals, such as alcohol and heroin, and psychological dependence to activities such as compulsive gambling, sex, work, running, shopping, or eating disorders.

Compulsive behaviors are rooted in a need to reduce tension caused by inner feelings a person wants to avoid or control. Compulsive behaviors are repetitive and seemingly purposeful and are often performed in a ritualistic manner.

These behaviors may involve sex, food, caffeine, nicotine, gambling, spending, TV watching, Internet surfing, reading, cleaning, washing, drugs or alcohol. The key point is that the activity is not connected to the purpose it appears to be directed to, and is likely to be excessive. Examples could be a person who is afraid of bonding with a partner choosing to zone out with the TV, or a person who has never had enough love filling up on a gallon of ice cream.

It is thought that these behavior activities may produce beta-endorphins (see Neurobiological basis of addiction) in the brain, which makes the person feel "high." Some experts suggest that if a person continues to engage in the activity to achieve this feeling of well-being and euphoria, he/she may get into an addictive cycle.

In so doing, he/she becomes physically addicted to his/her own brain chemicals, thus leading to continuation of the behavior even though it may have negative health or social consequences. Others feel that these are just bad habits.

Addiction differs from compulsion in that it inevitably escalates. A web of deceit , cover-ups, and detachment from a sense of self escalate. Harmful consequences can be external, e.g. loss of job, car crashes – or internal , e.g.. detachment, depression, lack of ability to feel or concentrate. There may also be physical consequences such as illness, hypertension and memory loss.

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+{{mergefrom|"Behavioral Addiction"}}
-'''Addictive behavior''' is any activity, substance, object, or behavior that has become the major focus of a person's life to the exclusion of other activities, or that has begun to harm the individual or others physically, mentally, or socially.  Unlike simple bad habits or compulsions, "behavioral addiction" complies with the DSM IV criteria for "addiction/alcoholism" which includes tolerance, withdrawal, excessive amounts and durations, and continued use despite adverse consequences on self and others. <ref>http://www.tcnj.edu/~sa/adep/factsheets/dsm2.htm</ref>
+'''Addictive behavior''' is any activity, substance, object, or behavior that has become the major focus of a person's life to the exclusion of other activities, or that has begun to harm the individual or others physically, mentally, or socially.
-The proper use of the words "addiction" and "dependence" remains controversial, even among medical professionals.<ref>http://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/content/full/163/5/764, paragraph 3</ref>. For the purpose of this article, the terms "addiction" and "dependence" will be treated as functionally equivalent. A person can become [[addiction|addicted]], dependent, or compulsively obsessed with anything.  Some researchers imply that there are similarities between [[physical addiction]] to various chemicals, such as alcohol and heroin, and [[Addiction#Psychological_addiction|psychological dependence]] on activities.
+A person can become [[addiction|addicted]], dependent, or compulsively obsessed with anything.  Some researchers imply that there are similarities between [[physical addiction]] to various chemicals, such as alcohol and heroin, and [[Addiction#Psychological_addiction|psychological dependence]] to activities such as [[compulsive gambling]], [[sex addiction|sex]], work, running, shopping, or eating disorders.
-The list of presumed behavioral addictions is extensive. Activities typical of behavior addiction include relatively common pursuits such as sex, shopping, computer use<ref>http://www.slais.ubc.ca/COURSES/libr500/02-03-wt1/www/S_Kaye/real.htm</ref>, television watching, suntanning<ref>http://health.dailynewscentral.com/content/view/0001505/62/</ref>, collecting, exercise, etc. Other behaviors are less ordinary, such as hair-plucking, self-cutting<ref>http://www.cnn.com/CNN/Programs/anderson.cooper.360/blog/2006/04/cutting-themselves-for-comfort.html</ref>, stealing, stalking, etc. Although food is a substance, the habitual overconsumption or purging of food is treated as a form of behavior addiction<ref>://www.answers.com/topic/addiction?cat=health</ref>.
 Compulsive behaviors are rooted in a need to reduce tension caused by inner feelings a person wants to avoid or control. Compulsive behaviors are repetitive and seemingly purposeful and are often performed in a ritualistic manner.
-These behaviors may involve [[sexual addiction|sex]], food, caffeine, nicotine, gambling, spending, TV watching, Internet surfing, reading, cleaning, washing, drugs or alcohol. Whatever the behavior, it may seem rather commonplace to others. But with behavioral addiction, the activity is rarely limited to achieving the goals normally associated with the activity. For example, playing a video game for enjoyment is not unusual. However, the addictive use of video game play would include routinely skipping meals, missing sleep, neglecting loved ones, lowering job performance, or risking permanent loss of health.
+These behaviors may involve [[sexual addiction|sex]], food, caffeine, nicotine, gambling, spending, TV watching, Internet surfing, reading, cleaning, washing, drugs or alcohol. The key point is that the activity is not connected to the purpose it appears to be directed to, and is likely to be excessive. Examples could be a person who is afraid of bonding with a partner choosing to zone out with the TV, or a person who has never had enough love filling up on a gallon of ice cream.
+It is thought that these behavior activities may produce [[endorphin|beta-endorphins]] (see [[Addiction#Neurobiological_basis|Neurobiological basis of addiction]]) in the brain, which makes the person feel "high."  Some experts suggest that if a person continues to engage in the activity to achieve this feeling of well-being and euphoria, he/she may get into an [[addictive cycle]].
-The causes of behavioral addiction are widely believed to be psychological.<ref>http://ezinearticles.com/?Addictions---Behavioral-Factors&id=322506</ref> According to this view, such behaviors are rooted in a need to avoid or control feelings. However, other researchers have determined that there are physical as well as psychological similarities between behavioral and substance addictions<ref>http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/summary/294/5544/980</ref>.
-Endorphins and other peptides are frequently cited as a biological factor underlying behavioral addiction<ref>http://www.sober.com/blogs/addictionrecovery/archive/2007/10/31/explanation-of-some-behavioral-addictions.html</ref>. The body produces these opium-like peptides as part of its normal functioning. Activities which release endorphins include excessive eating, exercise, sexual activity, physical injury, and certain intense emotions. The similarities between this list of endorphin triggers<ref>http://pages.prodigy.net/unohu/endorphins.htm</ref> and the aforementioned behavioral addictions is noteworthy, but skeptics dispute the endorphin/addiction link<ref>http://www.peele.net/faq/endorphins.html</ref>.
 In so doing, he/she becomes physically addicted to his/her own brain chemicals, thus leading to continuation of the behavior even though it may have negative health or social consequences. Others feel that these are just bad habits.
+Addiction differs from [[compulsion]] in that it inevitably escalates. A web of deceit , cover-ups, and detachment from a sense of self escalate. Harmful consequences can be external, e.g. loss of job, car crashes – or internal , e.g.. detachment, depression, lack of ability to feel or concentrate. There may also be physical consequences such as illness, hypertension and memory loss.
-Behavioral addiction differs from [[compulsion]] in the gradual but continuous escalation of the activity. To hide their growing involvement in the behavior, an addict may become uncharacteristically deceitful or engage in bona fide criminal activities (i.e., stealing, illegal drugs, prostitution, fraud, etc.). This escalation may be gradual or abrupt: it may be continuous or intermittent. But in the latter stages, a behavior addict's financial and social consequences are as dire as those of a substance abuser. Loss of family, home, reputation, income, health, and even life are not uncommon, nor are depression and thoughts of suicide in long-suffering behavior addicts.
-The twelve-step program of addiction recovery pioneered by Alcoholics Anonymous in the 1930s has been used extensively to treat behavior addictions. The extent of the behavioral addiction problem may be inferred from the long-standing existence of national organizations such as Overeaters Anonymous<ref>http://www.sa.org/</ref>,  Gamblers Anonymous<ref>http://www.gamblersanonymous.org/</ref>, Debtors Anonymous<ref>http://debtorsanonymous.org/</ref>, Emotions Anonymous<ref>http://www.emotionsanonymous.org/</ref>, Sexaholics Anonymous<ref>http://www.sa.org/</ref>, Clutterers Anonymous<ref>http://www.clutterersanonymous.net/</ref>, etc.<ref>http://www.clearhavencenter.com/addictions-research/anonymous-groups/</ref>
-==See also==
+See also:
 * [[Addiction]]
 * [[Compulsion]]