Addiction can come in many different forms, timelines and phases of life. It doesn’t always look like it does in movies, where someone spends too much time at the bar, and is withdrawn from life completely. Sometimes someone living with addiction can be high achieving, high functioning, or just moving through life. In this post, we’ll explore how to spot addiction, what it may feel like and some steps to take towards health.
Defining Addiction
First, let’s define what “addiction” is, and how it’s different from a ‘dependence’ or ‘habit.’ According to the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM), addiction is “a treatable, chronic medical disease involving complex interactions among brain circuits, genetics, the environment, and an individual’s life experiences.” In other words, addiction is a disease that is chronic, and involved with brain chemistry, nature and nurture. Someone can be predisposed to addictive tendencies due to addiction history in their family, and have a life stressor or event that encourages them to turn to a substance or process, and it can evolve into addiction. ASAM urges society to view addiction as a chronic illness, rather than a choice, or a selfish act.
Unlike addiction, a habit is something an individual has control over breaking or changing, and although the brain’s dopamine and memory system are involved, there is not a chemical dependency on brushing one’s teeth in the morning, or having afternoon tea. Sometimes addictions can look like habits, because things someone may do for fun (shopping, drinking alcohol, smoking nicotine, etc.) can be the subject of an addiction. The difference is the brain’s response to it, and how enmeshed in someone’s daily functioning it becomes.
Different types of Addictions
There are two main types of addictions, with different subtypes within them. The two main types of addiction are:
Physical/Chemical
Behavioral/Process
Physical refers to a chemical or substance that the body would experience withdrawal symptoms if the substance were to be removed. This includes opioids, tobacco, amphetamines, prescription drugs, cocaine, PCP, marijuana, etc. Physical addictions can also include substances that are accessible and legal along with alcohol, nicotine, kratom, delta 8 and other things you could find at the gas station or smoke shop.
Behavioral, or process, addiction refers to anything that is a compulsion to engage in a reinforcing or rewarding, non-substance action. This can include shopping, work, food, sex, pornography, video games, social media, and even reading and exercise.
The thing that both of these types of addictions have in common is the chemical dependency the brain develops along the way.
What can an active addiction look and feel like?
On the outside, addiction can look chaotic, confusing, disorganized and selfish. Severe addiction can result in someone losing their relationship, financial stability, home, job or school standing. On the other hand, less severe or more covert addictions can blend in with someone’s life on the outside looking in. The thing that light, moderate and severe addiction have in common, is a version of that person’s internal experience.
Oftentimes, experiencing addiction involves internal feelings of shame, avoidance, fear, low self esteem and distress. An addiction can begin as a way of someone self medicating or avoiding an existing issue, trying something new with a friend or seeking comfort in a process or substance. Oftentimes, addictions evolve with frequency, linking action & reinforcement or other associations in the brain (ex: when I’m angry, I smoke weed, then I feel better. As it evolves, any time I’m angry or begin to be angry, I have a strong craving for weed). Over time, the addiction begins to take up more space and energy to maintain and sustain in someone’s life. This could look like stealing and selling family member’s belongings to fund their addiction, continually canceling plans because they are intoxicated or in the middle of a game, or even struggling to balance their responsibilities because they are preoccupied with working out logistics to access their addiction. Eventually, the addiction becomes out of control, and often quite distressing to the person going through it.
Hopefully, this information is helpful in understanding addiction and addictive tendencies in family friends, or your own life. If you or someone you know is struggling with addiction, there are resources out there. For further information on the way addiction works, we recommend visiting samhsa.gov for information and resources. Typically, depending on the severity and need, different options include detox, inpatient treatment, outpatient group therapy, and individual therapy.
If you would like to know more, or access support, please reach out.