Addiction Information - What is addiction?
Addiction of any kind is hurtful to the people around the one who is addicted and, is certainly detrimental and even deadly to the person with the addition. What starts as something that most people believe they can control ends up taking over their lives and wreaking havoc on all aspects of their daily existence. Families are broken, jobs are jeopardized, possessions are lost, and people are forever changed. Although the topic of addiction is broad, and encompasses symptoms, diagnosis, treatment, recovery, and also help for the families, this discussion will focus on basic addiction information that answers the question, "What is addiction?".
Simply put, addiction is doing or using something to excess. Whether it be drinking alcohol, smoking cigarettes, playing video games, gambling, consuming prescription and illegal drugs, abusing toxic substances and chemicals, or out-of-control shopping, addictions all have common characteristics which ultimately result in the same destructive, dangerous, and injurious behaviors. Typically, addiction is a form of release from everyday problems. It starts out innocent enough, but over time progresses into something quite sinister. Often, the addicted do not recognize the obsessions either because they are overwhelmed or because they choose to deny the truth.
Further, what seems to be an addiction for one is not for another, according to the dependent's point of view. In fact, compulsive and obsessive behaviors, whether intentioned or not, are all addictions. Regardless of whether the addict enjoys the behavior or whether the behavior is controlled, it is still an addiction, by definition. Opinions to the contrary, and denials are irrelevant. As mentioned, addictions usually begin quite innocently. A drink to calm the nerves when a loved one has died, a pill to control the pain of a recent injury, a new outfit to uplift one's mood, or a bet or two for fun at the track.
Indeed, very few people get up one morning and decide to be addicts. It is what happens afterwards that becomes important. For some, the behavior stops exactly where it should, but for countless others, the behavior becomes a crutch on which to rely every time something goes wrong. The behavior is an escape from reality and in fact, does become the dependent's reality. Everything begins to revolve around the addiction. As the addiction progresses, it becomes the focus of the addicted person's life.
Other behaviors start to present themselves such as lying to cover up the addiction and associated actions; stealing to cover losses from gambling or to buy more drugs; missing time from work to engage in the addiction; missing appointments because the addiction has taken up so much time, the person is too tired to attend; ignoring friends and family in favor of the addiction; allowing oneself to become disheveled and slovenly; as well as, contracting other illnesses because the immune system is low.
Finally, many activities can be classified as addictions. The symptoms and treatments of addiction may be similar, but each person finds the addiction that is handy to him or her. Whatever is present at the time of need can eventually become an addiction if the person comes to depend upon the substance or activity.