Addiction as commonly known is the dependency to a psychoactive drug accompanied by some symptoms that appear on the addict. However addiction is not only linked to the ingestion of a drug like alcohol or cocaine, addiction can also be considered as the development of a behavior that produces stimulation to the reward system such as gambling, social networking which is a behavior driven by the FOMO effect and even work-holism.
In fact humans are creatures with addictive tendencies. We are developing tolerance to many behaviors. You know that you are addicted to certain behavior when that behavior changes from a habit into an obligation, you struggle to avoid doing a habit and you may have social and mental problems.
At the beginning, you start to experience a rush of pleasure when you carry out a new activity, so you start doing that behavior over and over again, then this behavior turns into a habit that is hard to quit.
A behavioral addict experiences the same bad consequences of a drug addict minus the physical effects of the drug on his body.
Signs of behavioral addiction:
- You are obsessed by the activity you are carrying out.
- You may have social problems.
- You are doing this behavior over and over again and find it hard to stop regardless of its consequences.
- People around you are demanding you to seek professional help.
- You always hide doing this behavior.
- You always feel depressed.
- You feel anxious when not doing that behavior for enough time.
About treatment: it is still arguable about the cause and the method of treatment of addictive behaviors like gambling or social networking. Many think of behavioral addiction or also called process addiction as a disease while others don't think so.
Professionals debate about whether good control of the behavior such as scheduling it or something like that or medication is necessary to overcome the problem. That lack of agreement among experts causes problems with prevention and treatment methods for addictive behaviors.
What happens in your brain?
When you start doing an activity you like, an increase in the level of dopamine and serotonin (the neurotransmitters responsible for pleasure as mentioned in this post) is increased in the brain making you feel high. And that what brings you back.
How to overcome process addiction?
- At first you should take care of your overall health; good sleeping and nutrition have strong impact on how your brain works.
- Seek help and encouragement from people around you.
- Search for a healthier habit to replace your addictive habit.
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