Addictive behavior - what is it in psychology, types

Addictive behavior is synonymous with destructive human actions. An addictive type of behavior is characteristic of people who seek to escape from reality into illusions through destructive activities. According to psychologists and social educators, addictive behavior is a pressing problem of our time.

Experts are concerned about the fact that today addictive behavior is found in almost all adolescents. In addition, the spectrum of addictive behavior is much wider now than it was 10 years ago.

What is addictive behavior

In psychology, addictive behavior is a type of deviant behavior caused by an individual’s attempts to gain psychological comfort through certain objects, actions or substances. A weak person chooses dependent (addictive) behavior because it gives him vivid impressions and allows him to experience positive emotions again and again.

In psychiatry, addictive behavior is a destruction characterized by changing one’s mental state with the help of psychotropic substances or painful fixation of attention on an object that causes vivid positive emotional experiences.

Addictive behavior reduces the adaptive ability of the individual, since the external agent acts coercively and requires complete submission from the individual. The individual has no strength left to resist temptation and addictions. Gradually, the alternative to reality draws a person in more and more; he spends all his free time on a painful addiction. Spiritually, he is deteriorating. A person loses touch with reality and cannot control himself.

He cannot overcome his addiction. In addition, the addict believes that his supposedly addictive behavior actually includes everything necessary to adapt to a difficult life situation. It turns out that such addictive behavior negatively affects both the person himself and his immediate environment.

Manipulation

Dependent people can easily manipulate others. They adapt to the world around them, notice even the smallest details and see their own benefit in everything. They are good psychologists (to their advantage) and see the weaknesses of other people, which they then cleverly exploit. Addicts play on pity, use flattery, and pretend to be incompetent and helpless.

The recipe for treating such people is very simple: you should not allow them to manipulate you even for the most insignificant reasons. Parents are advised to instill independence in their children and not allow excessive guardianship on their part.

Above we named some character traits of dependent people. The list of negative qualities of addicts is actually very long, so there is no point in listing them endlessly. You just have to understand that addiction is an insidious disease, which in its negative power is equal to death (and sometimes even worse), since it affects the person and everyone who is near him. You must try to never depend on anyone or anything, because freedom and independence are the strongest desires for any self-sufficient person.

Signs

What are the basic psychological characteristics of addictive behavior? Signs of addictive behavior are as follows:

psychological instability of the individual;
superficial perception of reality;
formal performance of roles imposed by society;
weak adaptive potential of the individual;
replacement of life values with invented reality;
psychological discomfort;
guilt;
increased personal and situational anxiety;
despair and low self-esteem;
high self-esteem, bordering on self-confidence and a sense of superiority;
deceit, secrecy, isolation;
aggressiveness;
tendency to blame other people for your failures;
manipulation of relatives and friends;
fear of being emotionally attached to someone;
loss of previous friendships;
the emergence of relationships with people who have the same type of addiction;
stereotypical behavior and stereotyped thinking;
avoidance of taking responsibility;
infantilism;
avoidance of problem solving;

Determining the onset of addictive behavior can be complicated by the fact that its signs and symptoms are individual and have varying degrees of severity. In addition, it is easy to confuse the signs of addictive behavior with its causes.

Infancy

One of the signs of a dependent personality is infantilism. These people prefer not to leave childhood, allowing themselves all kinds of entertainment and never feeling responsible for themselves. They easily make any compromises with their conscience, and in case of danger they easily shift the blame to other people. Infantility is the basic state for all types of addiction. Very often this phenomenon can be observed in couples where a woman cannot take a single step without her partner (it happens the other way around, but it is much less common). The second example would be adult children who are completely dependent on their parents, which sometimes goes beyond acceptable norms.

The most effective way to get rid of addiction in this case is the correct moderate upbringing of the child, when he is not overly pampered and is not kept under a tight rein. If you are dealing with an adult infant addict, you need to deprive him of guardianship without regret and help him adapt to the serious world of responsible people.

Reasons for development

There are many reasons for addictive behavior. This:

instability of the political situation in the country;
weak participation of the state in the life of the people;
incorrect style of raising a child in the family;
antisocial behavior of parents, unfavorable psychological situation in the family;
childhood psychotrauma as a factor in addictive behavior;
genetic predisposition of a person to various forms of addictive behavior;
melancholic type of human temperament;
minimal brain dysfunction and mental retardation;
lack of hobbies and meaning in life;
prolonged stay in a state of frustration;
poor development of personal emotional intelligence;
weak willpower, weak type of nervous system;
stress, depression;
problems with studies, academic debt among students during the session;
parental divorce, family breakdown;
death of a loved one;
lack of positive emotions in life;
problems on the personal front, lack of mutual understanding with loved ones and colleagues;
conflict style of behavior;
tendency towards conservatism;
alcohol abuse;
smoking;
substance use;
excessive enthusiasm for religion, the individual’s involvement in sects;

Social factors

Many people wonder what kind of dependent people they are, and do not understand that a huge number of such individuals surround us in society. The difference between them lies only in the form or degree of dependence. If this degree is low and cannot harm health, such an addiction is considered completely acceptable (for example, a person likes to watch TV or devotes all his time to work). But the main serious social factors are the following:

demographic aspects such as gender and age;
unhealthy atmosphere in the family;
insufficient control and prevention of addictions;
deterioration of the economic situation in the country;
decline in general spirituality;
availability of harmful substances;
fashion and traditions in various activities that allow dependence;
imperfection of legislation.

Stages

Various types of addictive behavior go through the following stages in their development:

First trial stage. One of the reasons for addictive behavior is a person’s familiarity with an object or action that brings him into a state of euphoria due to the production of dopamine by the brain. At this stage, addiction does not have a pathological impact on the individual and the spheres of his activity.
Addictive rhythm stage. The addict at this stage is still thinking clearly. He understands the danger of addiction, hesitates, but makes a choice in favor of harmful actions. Due to the desire to experience an emotional uplift, a person repeats the actions he likes many times. This leads to a change in the usual rhythm of life. At this stage, addiction is still reversible, however, to normalize the individual’s behavior, consultation with a psychiatrist may be necessary.
Actually addictive behavior. In psychology, this stage was defined as the addict’s denial of his own problem. A person convinces himself that this addictive behavior is his true, absolutely natural need. An addict sees addiction as the only possible way to solve life's problems. For example, he says that he can quit addictive behavior at any time if he wants.
Complete neuroticism and subordination of the personality to addictive behavior. The basic construct of personality is destroyed. Irreversible changes occur in the structure of brain tissue, and the functioning of all body systems is disrupted. The object, action or substance that was chosen by the addict as an alternative to reality no longer brings positive emotions. Signs of asociality appear in a person, a tendency to crime and cruel treatment of loved ones.
Personality degradation. The psychological core and biological essence of man is destroyed. At this stage, addiction and addictive behavior develops into a mental disorder and physiological ailments. Returning to normal life at this stage is no longer possible. Most often, this stage ends with the death of the dependent person.

Symptoms of psychological addiction

The discomfort that a dependent person experiences from the inability to satisfy his desire is the reason that the person will:

often feel depressed;
experience sadness and apathy;
irritated, angry and aggressive;
anxious and restless;
have trouble sleeping;
often feel tired;
feel guilty;
deny that you have an addiction;
experience mood swings.

Kinds

Psychology has established that addictions are expressed in different ways. This means that addictive behavior can take different forms; they are united by similar mechanisms for the formation of addictive behavior. From an epidemiological point of view, the severity of pathological consequences varies among different types of addictive behavior.

All addictive behavior can be divided into 2 large groups: chemical (associated with the use of certain substances that alter consciousness and have an impact on the psyche) and non-chemical (behavioral pathologies).

In order to form a complete concept of addictive behavior, it is necessary to describe its most common types.

Alcohol addiction

This is the most common model of addictive behavior. The state of alcoholic intoxication is associated with high spirits and euphoria. In addition, often in the first stages of the formation of alcohol dependence, a person notices an improvement in his performance and the disclosure of his creative potential. This state is remembered by a person as extremely pleasant. That is why the brain subsequently requires the person to drink alcohol again in order to experience these pleasant sensations again.

At subsequent stages of the formation of alcoholic addictive behavior, not only creative abilities, but also life skills disappear. They are replaced by apathy, despondency, and depression.

With prolonged systematic use of alcohol, physical dependence is formed, the main signs of which are:

withdrawal syndrome (hangover);
causeless change of mood;
memory impairment;
rigidity of thinking;
narrowing the range of interests;
decreased self-control;
the need for a constant increase in the consumed dose of alcohol;
sexual disinhibition;
social degradation.

Female alcoholism poses a special social problem. Women who abuse alcohol try to hide their addiction because it is condemned by society. Women's alcoholism develops faster than men's. Its danger also lies in the fact that in girls it is combined with dependence on sedatives and tranquilizers.

Addiction

Drug addiction is an addictive behavior based on a thirst for new experiences. Its consequences have a detrimental effect on a person and his immediate environment. Soft drugs (such as marijuana) quickly become psychologically addictive. Subsequently, marijuana alone no longer brings the desired sensations. A person switches to ecstasy, cocaine and heroin, and taking these drugs causes physical addiction literally after the first try.

The longer a person uses drugs, the more likely they are to develop co-occurring mental disorders. Psychotropic drugs increase a person’s perception and lead to visual hallucinations. What is the distinctive feature of drug addictive behavior? The fact is that it causes persistent addiction. There is a high risk of a drug addict dying as a result of an overdose. In addition, drug addicts are characterized by a desire to get friends and acquaintances addicted to psychoactive substances and a tendency to commit crimes.

Substance abuse

Adolescence is associated with many temptations, one of which is the desire to inhale vapors of highly toxic substances. The peculiarity of this type of addictive behavior is collective use. Inhaling glue vapors puts teenagers in a state reminiscent of alcohol intoxication: they feel dizzy, their mood improves, and they experience hallucinations.

The longer a teenager engages in substance abuse, the lower his ability to voluntarily remember. A decrease in intellectual functions and deviations from the norm in the emotional-volitional sphere are gradually noted. Deviations such as a tendency to violate social norms and requirements are observed in behavior. Aggression, conflict.

If substance abusers use aerosols, gasoline, chloroform, ether, and solvents as a means of achieving an altered state of consciousness, then serious damage to the brain and spinal cord occurs. Asphyxia and paralysis of the respiratory center often cause death among drug addicts.

Food addiction

This form of addiction is based on a person’s obsession with food and their own weight. In psychology, this definition of addiction includes overeating, anorexia, and bulimia.

A person with this type of addiction may eat food not to satisfy hunger, but to gain pleasure from the process. In this case, a disruption of metabolic processes occurs at the biological level: if a person is not busy with anything, the brain sends him signals to eat something rather than do something.

There are cases when people refuse certain foods because they are forced for health reasons to follow a special diet and adhere to the clinical recommendations of the doctor. But there is a type of addictive behavior in which a person fanatically counts calories and, due to his personal beliefs, refuses meat. Self-restraint in food for such people is absurd.

Nomophobia

This term today refers to a person’s peculiar dependence on mobile phones. It manifests itself in the individual’s fear that his gadget will suddenly run out of charge, leaving its owner without communication with loved ones. If a person cannot find a phone or for objective reasons cannot use it, he begins to worry and get nervous.

Nomophobes prefer virtual communication. They like to constantly read news on social networks, as a result, their brains are overloaded with information. The thirst for new information pushes them to constantly use the phone, that is, the person increasingly loses touch with reality.

Internet addiction and computer addiction

This addiction is characterized by a person’s irresistible desire to access social networks and other sites and an unwillingness to be offline for a long time. Adolescents and young adults are susceptible to this type of addictive behavior. Gradually, the Internet is becoming their only means of communication. A common type of computer addiction is hacking.

A variant of computer addiction is a person’s pathological passion for computer games. Psychological studies have found that teenagers who are addicted to computer games are prone to aggression and cruelty towards animals and loved ones.

What is the destructive nature of Internet addiction? The fact is that virtual reality allows a person to feel like a hero, a macho, a versatile personality. In order to become the virtual idol of millions of people, no effort is required. Easy success online is contrasted with everyday work in real life. Addict follows the path of least resistance, choosing virtual reality. People dependent on virtual communication suffer from sleep disorders and are often in a bad mood.

A type of Internet addiction is pornophilia – a person’s passion for viewing pornographic materials posted on the Internet. This addiction begins with the pleasant excitement that a person experiences while watching porn videos. Gradually he moves from simple genres of pornography to more complex ones, since the previous pictures no longer excite. Over time, watching erotic scenes on the screen becomes preferable to the individual than real life and a real sexual partner. Pornophilia affects both men and women equally often.

Pathological love and sexual addiction

A type of emotional addiction is its love form, the causes of which lie in cold parent-child relationships or childhood sexual trauma. The chosen one becomes necessary for the addict, like air. Being in the grip of this addiction, a person seems to be in a state of mild intoxication. The mottos of such relationships can be:

- “I can’t live without her (him)!” - “He offends me, but I endure it because I love him!”

The psychological criterion for addictive behavior of this type is a person’s confidence that without his chosen one his life will lose meaning. If the relationship ends, the addict begins to experience physiological withdrawal.

A person with this form of addiction suffers greatly mentally, as a result he develops psychosomatic disorders.

Sexual addiction is a human behavior in which an intimate partner is not perceived as a person. The addict regards it as a means of satisfying his sexual needs. There are different forms of manifestation of sexual addiction:

the desire for numerous sexual contacts with as many different partners as possible;
morbid passion for sexual perversion;
fetishism;
morbid addiction to photographs of erotic content;
tendency to wear clothes intended for people of the opposite sex;
exposure of genitals to children or persons of the opposite sex;
spying on other people's sex lives or dressing up as people of the opposite sex.

All forms of sexual addiction disrupt the normal emotional basis of a person's relationships with other people. Such people often have sexual behavior disorders and are at high risk of contracting sexually transmitted infections.

Psychotherapy addiction

Consultations with a psychotherapist help optimize your psycho-emotional state or develop vital skills. However, it happens that a person visits a psychotherapist for years without having any special personal problems. The biological mechanism of this type of addictive behavior is a person’s desire to shift responsibility for his own life to a psychotherapist.

Gaming addiction

Gambling addiction is based on gambling. The longer a person gambles, the more time he devotes to it. Being outside the game, he experiences discomfort and anxiety. The mechanism of formation of gambling addiction is determined by the desire for competition and the thirst for positive emotions.

Alcoholism and drug addiction often develop against the background of gambling addiction.

Errors in family upbringing are a risk factor for the development of gaming addiction. Excessive demands on the part of parents and a lack of parental love create the preconditions for the development of a gaming addiction in a child.

Gamers can be divided into types:

Laughing players. For them, the game is entertainment, and the chance to win is a kind of bonus. The game comes to the fore, crowding out all other areas of life. They perceive losses and failures in the game as an accident; they do not stop playing even when losses follow one after another. Such people, in pursuit of big winnings, can easily lose their last money and borrow huge sums at high interest rates. Such gamblers believe that one fine day they will win a large sum and all their problems will be solved.
Desperate players. These are people who neither work nor study anywhere. They have practically no friends. They play because they cannot find any other pastime. They understand that gambling addiction destroys their personality, but attempts to stop gambling lead to physiological disorders. Outside the game, they have suicidal thoughts.

Workaholism

At first glance, dedication and complete dedication in production are positive qualities of an employee. However, this approach to work is based on disturbances in the individual’s emotional sphere and problems of interpersonal interaction: with the help of complete immersion in work, a person tries to get away from problems in the family. There is a substitution of life values: friendships, love, hobbies are lost, and professional responsibilities take the leading position in a person’s life. A workaholic cannot enjoy ordinary things; he only enjoys production activities.

Workaholics are rigid, pedantic, and conservative. They expect constant approval from their superiors, and take criticism very painfully.

Lack of stress resistance

Low resistance to stress often becomes the cause of addiction. Life cannot always be calm and measured; it presents its own surprises, which are not always pleasant. People lacking stress tolerance cannot cope with discomfort with dignity. Instead of taking constructive steps to improve the situation, they try to hide behind illusions of stability. They find solace in drugs, alcohol or slot machines. They do this deliberately so as not to face the truth.

To prevent this from happening, it is necessary to teach children to be independent from birth and to avoid excessive guardianship over them. Growing up, such a person becomes helpless. In order to prevent addiction in an adult, it is necessary to help your family and friends who find themselves in a difficult situation. By surrounding them with care and warmth, you can avoid further addiction on their part.

Diagnostics

There are special psychological tests that can reveal a person’s tendency towards addictive behavior: this is evidenced by certain character traits. These include:

the need to stand out from the crowd with bright clothing accessories, an extraordinary image, and defiant actions;
gambling and risk taking;
mental instability;
tendency to loneliness and solitude;
pessimism;
poor development of the emotional-volitional sphere.

However, the presence of a tendency to addiction does not guarantee the development of one or another type of addiction. Negative character traits only create the preconditions for addiction. It will be formed only if a person finds himself in unfavorable social conditions.

Psychiatrists diagnose the presence of addictions in an individual through a special conversation and by assessing the patient’s appearance. Signs of addiction are found in the patient’s speech and his reactions to the doctor.

Diagnosis of chemical dependencies is the competence of a narcologist. It is detected through tests.

Deceit

Addicted people always lie. You can never rely on them because they will not be able to keep their promise under any circumstances. Addicts are determined to get what they want, so their fantasy works in one single direction: deceiving the victim. They cannot be called scammers, because sometimes people feel remorse. It’s just that the thirst to get what you want is so great that a person can’t do anything about it. Priorities are shifted in favor of dependence, so the person simply no longer belongs to himself. It is useless to call him to conscience; he will come up with a lot of excuses and present himself as a victim of circumstances.

It would not be out of place to say that the habit of telling the truth begins in childhood. If parents turn a blind eye to the fantasies (sometimes even unsafe) of their children, they have a huge risk of becoming an addict as a result. It will not be difficult for him to lie, and parents will not have the opportunity to prevent negative consequences. An adult addict should never be trusted under any circumstances.

Treatment

Treatment of addictive behavior will be effective if the person himself wants to overcome the addiction. Therapeutic methods are chosen by a psychiatrist or psychotherapist.

Psychotherapy has proven itself well in the fight against non-chemical addictions. The psychologist begins his work by establishing the reasons for the formation of addictive behavior. Depending on the severity of symptoms, the psychologist prescribes a course of group or individual sessions. Psychocorrection is aimed at optimizing the addict’s intrafamily relationships, his self-actualization, and correction of the value system. The psychologist corrects habits.

After completing the course of psychotherapy, the psychologist helps the client socialize and return to a healthy rhythm of life. For 3-6 months, the psychologist monitors the individual’s rehabilitation process, preventing relapse.

Drug and alcohol addictions are treated in a hospital setting, as it is necessary to detoxify the addict’s body. Therapy in this case involves the use of sedatives to minimize the risk of the patient escaping from the hospital. The support of loved ones is extremely important in the treatment of any type of addiction.

Prevention

Early prevention of addictive behavior is considered the most effective. Early prevention is based on the diagnosis of an individual’s predisposition to the development of deviant and dependent behavior.

In educational institutions, addiction prevention is implemented in the classroom. The educational work of a social teacher and psychologist at school includes informing children and adolescents about the consequences of addiction. During class hours and specially organized extracurricular activities, experts offer alternative ways to deal with stress and psychological tension.

My recommendations

My work experience shows that the main difficulty in treating addiction is the patient’s refusal to admit his problem. Here I rely not only on the diagnostic results, but also on the help of the client’s relatives. If through joint efforts it is possible to bring a person to admit the harmfulness of his habit, then I enter into a contract with him.

During classes, addicts systematically move towards a healthy lifestyle:

- list the reasons why they should get rid of the addiction; - describe their life regardless of dependence, make a collage “Past – Present – Future”.

Despite all the efforts of psychologists, psychotherapists and psychiatrists, it is very difficult to overcome addiction. According to statistics, only 20% of addicts return to normal life after rehabilitation measures.