Addiction

We hear about it all the time, it’s in the news, it’s everywhere. Celebrities have been plagued by it and have glamorized it all the same. So, what is addiction? And why is it such a taboo to speak of it?

The definition of addiction is as follows: “The compulsive need for and use of a habit-forming substance (as heroin, nicotine, or alcohol) characterized by tolerance and by well-defined physiological symptoms upon withdrawal; broadly: persistent compulsive use of a substance known by the user to be harmful” (Merriam-Webster). 

Not only does addiction create physical tolerance to a substance, but it can also create a dependency on the substance. For many, addiction is characterized by abusing illegal drugs or alcohol. In reality, many people have addiction to very legal things that are used by many on a daily basis. An example can be food or sex. With food, a specific group of people use it as a coping skill. Eating in general is a healthy behavior; it is only unhealthy when we do it in times to make us feel better. Eating when we are no longer hungry, just to make ourselves feel a little better than we did prior to eating, can be an unhealthy behavior. This behavior can be applied to everything. Have you heard the term “shopaholics?” It’s the same concept. 

What many mental health professionals have been noticing more and more is the increase in addiction among a more diverse population. A few years ago, when people heard the term addiction, the thought that came to mind was that of a young teenager or a homeless individual who is using heroin on the streets of skid row. Again, the reality of this epidemic is quite different. It is becoming much more common to see it among both men and women who are prominent in affluent populations. The “drug of choice” is always different. It can be everything from food, sex, pornography, prescription medications, shopping, gambling, as well as of course, illegal drugs. 

There is an actual science to addiction and it does exist. It changes the chemical components of your brain where you physically and psychologically become dependent on a substance or a behavior. What is interesting is how many people are in denial that addiction actually exists. It is common for family members of addicts to minimize the power of addiction and to just brush the problem under the rug. When this happens, the person who is struggling with addiction feels more shame, blame, and tends to isolate more from friends and family. This, in turn, feeds into the addiction itself. 

There are plenty of treatment options available for individuals who suffer from addiction. It ranges from the famed 12-step process to more traditional therapies such as CBT. 

Hopefully, with more information dispersed into the community, the discussion of addiction becomes less taboo and more people begin to see it as the epidemic that it actually is.