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How would you define “Addiction”?

July 31, 2010 By Lance 5 Comments

I don’t mean a dictionary definition. But at what point would you say someone is addicted to something? Drugs, alcohol, food, etc.

What do you think? Tell us below!

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Comments

  1. peanut says:
    July 31, 2010 at 6:59 pm

    When they become powerless to control their usage and their life has become unmanageable.

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  2. Pastor says:
    July 31, 2010 at 7:19 pm

    A wise person once told me that addiction is the pursuit of happiness in the absence of freedom. It is when you are always trying to get that first feeling of a drug or substance, but you can’t stop. Someone is addicted when no matter how hard they try they can’t give something up on their own, and then they rationalize why they can’t do it.

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  3. That guy says:
    July 31, 2010 at 8:07 pm

    I would say you’ve reached the point of addiction when you continually do something you don’t like doing or don’t want to do but can’t stop. Like people who enjoy smoking cigarettes and enjoy drinking aren’t addicted in my opinion. They are addicted when they want to stop but can’t.

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  4. luke says:
    July 31, 2010 at 8:42 pm

    In my eyes, addiction is taking/doing something for pleasure, then not being able to stop, such as masturbation, smoking, etc.

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  5. Mathieu says:
    July 31, 2010 at 9:23 pm

    If I could sum up what addiction is in a single word I would say “maladaptive.” That word is often used in psychiatry. Physical dependence is not addiction. And some level of psychological dependence is not even addiction.

    Take a drinker. If a 45 year old who has 3 drinks a day finds out he has cirrhosis and must stop drinking and he DOES STOP drinking then he is not an alcoholic. But if he keeps drinking the 3 (maybe more because of the fear and anger over the cirrhosis ) drinks a day with the knowledge that it is killing him that is alcoholism.

    A person who is prescribed 1 Percocet four times a day and he takes 2 pills one time because the pain is terrible that is not addiction. A person prescribed 15 Vicodin after a dental procedure might only need 10 of them. And taking the other 5 is not addiction. I know a lot of people who do that. But they don’t drug seek, they don’t run to the dentist or to a doctor to get more. It is almost enjoyment and escape like that alcohol provides. And getting drunk a few times a year does not mean addiction or does using drugs. Technically most IV heroin users are not true addicts (that is what the studies really say).

    Even enjoying illicit or Rx drugs is not addiction.

    When things get out of control and family/friends live their life reacting to the addict and denial and enabling start that is a problem. When people want to stop yet can’t they are probably an addict. When life becomes about getting more and more drugs and fear of running out becomes terrible that is addiction. When life is about a drug and everything else is just noise that is addiction.

    One teacher of mine told me that addiction is the most over diagnosed condition. I think that is true. People who take addictive drugs can look addicted to an untrained eye. There is even a medical condition called pseudo-addiction. This happens typically with opiate pain medications (also anti-anxiety drugs and ADHD/hypersomnia drugs on occasion). This is when a patient doctor shops and lies and becomes obsessed with getting drugs. Yet the cause is under-medicated. A pseudo-addict will stop all of the addictive behaviors once pain is under control.

    True addiction is typically ‘pain control.’ Reducing the pain of illness or trauma like depression or rape. And taking heroin will probably help that sadness but after a while it will not help. Most addicts are self medicating. For example if a kid has ADHD and that is NOT treated (the treatment often being addictive amphetamines- ie speed) then he has a much greater chance of addiction and abuse. And it will probably be amphetamines or cocaine that will be abused- the same type of things that could have helped. Addiction is not dealing with or treating a problem. It is that pattern of behaviors that is maladaptive. Most learn how to deal with their problems but when you don’t learn how to deal with it and turn to drugs to fit in and numb your self (narcotic actually means ‘to make numb’) then an appropriate adjustment and adaptation will not happen.

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