Psychologists around the world are concerned that recently there are more and more people who have this or that form of dependence. And if earlier the addiction had only a chemical basis, now it can arise on the behavioral level.
What is addiction?
The scientific term for dependence is addiction. You can talk about the presence of addiction in a person when he reveals an intrusive desire to commit an act or perform an activity: smoking, watching TV, eating sweets, playing a computer game. At the same time, gradually the dependent person has an addiction to the stimulating stimulus and to receive pleasure, this stimulus is beginning to be required more and more. The danger of addiction is that with it there are not only psychological, but also physiological changes in the body.
Types of Addictions
As already mentioned above, addiction is a dependence on an object, substance, person or action. Depending on what is the source of addiction, the addiction is divided into these types:
- Chemical (physical) . It is based on the use of a chemical, often toxic, which causes a person a state of euphoria. The result of long chemical addictions are organic damage to internal organs and organ systems, leading to the appearance of serious diseases.
- Psychological (behavioral) . It flows from attachment to a particular action, behavior, passion or person.
Addiction of avoidance
Non-chemical forms of dependence include addiction of avoidance, the causes of which originate in early childhood. A person who has this addiction, is not able to build a close trust relationship, as with the strengthening of relationships, he tries to get away from them. The closer and more weighty a person becomes to such an addiction, the more intensely he manifests a position of avoidance. If a significant person begins to move away, the dependent person seeks to re-establish close contact.
Love addiction
When they are looking for the answer to the question: what is an addiction, then it does not occur to anyone that this phenomenon can be connected with feelings. Meanwhile, a considerable percentage of cases of dependence are in love relationships. Love addiction manifests itself in a strong dependence on the person to whom the addict experiences feelings. In this case, the love dependent person excessively controls the actions and relationships of the beloved, torments him with his jealousy, torments her with suspicions, and does not let go of herself for a minute.
All the addict's actions aimed at strengthening relations can not satisfy the dependent person, he is always in a state of anxiety and fear that the relationship will collapse. This is often what happens. It is difficult for a partner to be in a relationship in which there is total control and panic fear. Love addiction prevents the building of full-fledged relationships and causes partners a sense of frustration and insecurity.
Sex addiction
Unintelligibility in sexual relations is so characterized by sex addiction. This type of addiction has psychological roots associated with a violation of intimacy with the mother in early childhood or experienced sexual abuse. With this form of dependence, a person believes that sex is the only sphere in which he can manifest himself. Often the addiction with such dependence has a low self-esteem and believes that it can be interesting only as a sexual partner. Sexual addiction in most cases is combined with other kinds of addictions.
Beauty addiction
Behavioral addictions can sometimes take the most bizarre forms. Close attention to the human appearance has led to the fact that almost a third of women and 15% of the male population can observe signs of beauty addiction. A person who has this dependence spends a tremendous amount of time and money on maintaining his external attractiveness. At the same time caring for the beauty of the body can sometimes harm the health, but it does not stop the addiction.
This type of dependence can take different forms:
- anorexia - the desire to have a slim figure by refusing to eat well;
- tanorexia - the desire to be beautiful by constantly visiting the solarium;
- meikapmaniya - a passion for decorative cosmetics;
- youthfulness - the desire to prolong youth by applying radical methods of rejuvenation, procedures and plastic surgery;
- fitness - a maniacal desire to engage in fitness clubs or gyms.
CyberDiction
Computer addiction began to occur since the advent of high-quality computer games and the beginning of total Internet use. Dependence on the computer is one of the youngest in the sense that it occurs even in children. With this problem, there is an irresistible desire to play games or surf the Internet. At the same time, a person loses interest in the real world, ignores his duties, and strives for loneliness. The addict can begin to have problems with sleep, memory, concentration, mental and physical health.
Food addiction
More active than alcoholic or nicotine is considered in psychology food addiction. The reason for this is the fact that food dependence is formed over a long period of time and getting rid of it is as difficult as it is from chemical dependencies. Nutritional dependence arises as a way to quickly overcome stress and depression and get rid of boredom. During eating, the brain switches from thinking about the negative situation to digesting food, which temporarily weakens the unpleasant sensations.
The presence of food addiction can be said when a person uses food whenever he starts to get nervous or bored. After eating, there may be a heaviness in the stomach. Due to the fact that the food enters the body more than necessary for life, the weight gradually increases. Most often, a dependent person calms himself with one kind of food. Leader in this matter are sweets, which allow you to quickly raise the glycemic index and improve your mood.
Alcohol addiction
The chemical dependence, based on the influence of alcohol on the human body - is an alcohol addiction. Narcologists consider alcoholism not just an addiction, but a chronic mental illness. At the initial stage of alcohol consumption, alcohol can quickly remove mental stress, relax, have fun, improve communication skills. The systematic use of alcoholic drinks leads to the fact that alcohol becomes part of the metabolism and this is the main problem in the treatment of this dependence.
You can talk about alcoholism when its use ceases to be symbolic and goes into the category of necessity. Frequent ingestion of alcohol into the blood can cause alcoholic psychoses and mental disorders . The last stage of alcoholism is characterized by loss of control over the dose, the breakdown of mental functions and the appearance of dementia.
Workaholism as an addiction
The addiction of workaholism is not well understood, and many believe that there is nothing wrong with the fact that a person works a lot. Depending on the work, the addict considers the main goal - to achieve success in the professional sphere. He worries if someone is better than him, because he is ready to devote all his strength and time to his favorite work. Workaholics shy away from acquaintances and friends, do not devote time to family. If such a person has serious problems at work, in which he can not continue his activities, the addiction of workaholism can go into any form of chemical dependence.
Sports addiction
Fanaticism in the field of sports is a sports addiction. And it does not matter whether a person is engaged in a hall or at home. At some point, he begins to increase the load, and more and more time to give sports training. If important or unforeseen cases lead to a breakdown in the training, the sports addict may experience an anxious or panic state. The reasons for this dependence can be covered both in discontent with your body, desire to become more beautiful, and in a low personal self-esteem.
Addiction - how to get rid?
Recommendations on how to get out of the addiction, psychotherapists and psychiatrists begin with the need to recognize the existence of dependent behavior. Most addicts are not inclined to admit that they are addicted, especially if it concerns psychological problems. To an admission to a specialist dependent people get to only when the problem takes a catastrophic character or under the pressure of relatives.
In case of chemical dependence, the specialist may suggest starting rehabilitation in the clinic for the course of detoxification. The main stage of treatment is psychotherapy, group or individual. Independently to get rid of an addiction very difficultly because of frequent failures, therefore the long medical therapy which is later replaced by the support is recommended.
The struggle with addiction involves not only working with the addiction itself, but also with its environment, in which factors that lead to deviant behavior can hide. In order for a dependent person to give up his old habits and change his behavior, it may well be necessary to change the habits of family members. For this reason, rehabilitation may include family psychotherapy.