Once trapped in the downward spiral of chronic alcohol, drug abuse or a process addiction, they can look forward to a steady deterioration in their life, circumstances and relationships.
If they are unable to escape their addiction they will be heading towards insanity and an early death. Addiction is a very serious illness, one that claims lives needlessly on a daily basis. We want to emphasise that with the correct treatment, recovery IS possible and there is hope. We can help you find the correct treatment and support for your individual treatment needs and circumstances. This is what we specialise in; to help the still suffering addict and their family to find recovery and healing from the deadly disease of addiction.
The word addiction tends to be overused and applied to any examples of overindulgence. In reality something is only really an addiction when it begins to cause problems and consequences for the individual and those who are close to them.
When it comes to alcohol and drugs it is said that addiction involves both physical and psychological dependence. However there does not need to be a physical dependence…in other words the individual does not NEED to have a certain drug or behaviour in order to stay alive. Yes it is true, that through addiction to some substances, i. Physically addicts react differently to a certain substance or activity from others.
Psychologically is where the crux of the problem lies, whether there is a physical dependence or not. Those that get addicted to an activity such as gambling or sex, do not need the activity in order to live. Psychologically they are dependent on the activity but not physically. Below is a breakdown of addiction to help you understand exactly how it manifests and the associated common terminologies:. Tolerance is the professional terminology applied to an individual who has become physically tolerant or dependent to a substance such as alcohol or a drug.
For example: an individual who used to drink 1 bottle of wine a night, will find over time that this no longer satisfies their cravings, so they will increase the amount they drink. They then become tolerant to this amount and so increase it again and again, and so on and so on.
The same applies to illicit, legal and prescription drugs that have the potential to be abused or are physically addictive. This can be life threatening, especially if the individual has become tolerant to a high level. As touched on before, an individual does not have to be physically dependent on a substance to be an addict.
They may go days without a drink or drug, but when they do succumb to the mental compulsion, they invariably lose all control of the amount they consume.
This can lead to devastating consequences, a change in personality whilst intoxicated, or a binge that can last for hours, days or even weeks at a time.
In between they will have periods of abstinence or some control. The aftermath of their last drink or drug episode does not even come into their thought process once the psychological compulsion kicks in; or if it does, it is threadbare and they are convinced to their inner core that this time will be different — they will be in control. Due to the physical aspect of addiction, it very rarely is and tends to get progressively worse.
There are two defining points that separate an addict from someone who overindulges. An individual who over indulges, given a sufficient reason to stop, such as the threat of losing their job, health warning, or relationship breakdown, will be able to stop or moderate.
They may even need medical help for a dependency, but they can stay stopped. An addict will not be able to stop, moderate or stay stopped, regardless of the severity of the consequences to their health, mental wellbeing, finances, career or personal relationships; not without the correct professional help and treatment. In historical times , the term first referred to being a slave. It then evolved to describe the experience of being strongly attached to anything, whether it be good or bad.
Our modern definition has come full circle, referring again to the enslavement that addiction produces. A person who is addicted is enslaved to the behavior, and cannot resist obeying its whims. Virtually any activity can become an addiction disorder , including many of the socially acceptable areas of life. Watching a lot of television can become an addiction, as can an excessive focus on exercise or healthy eating. The key factor in recognizing something as an addiction is that you cannot stop doing it and that there are negative consequences for continuing it.
These negative consequences can be for yourself, or for those around you. The first thing that most people think of when talking about addiction is substance abuse.
Addiction to substances can be both a psychological issue, and a physical issue, which is why many substance abuse facilities incorporate a medical component into the treatment regimen. As with most addictions, a hallmark of substance addiction is the development of a tolerance. Tolerance refers to the experience of no longer being satisfied by the amount and frequency that an addict started out with. More and more of the substance or behavior is required to produce any high that is similar to the one experienced in the beginning.
A sad fact of the matter of addiction is that no amount will ultimately satisfy. The quintessential image of the destitute gambler has been depicted in society since the invention of television.
While Hollywood is notorious for exaggerating characteristics, many of these features of a gambling addict are actually pretty true to life. Gambling addiction in the United States is prevalent enough that an anonymous support group has been created for it.
Data indicates that more males than females end up with a gambling addiction, though females tend to develop it more quickly. It can start out as a response to a desperate need for money, or it can begin as a result of feeling the high of the win.
Over time, the gambler will continue to risk more than he or she can spare, and will feel unable to stop the behavior. When most people hear the word addiction , they think of dependence on a substance, such as drugs or alcohol. And for good reason: According to the U. But alcohol, uppers, downers, and other commonly abused substances aren't the only things Americans abuse or think they're addicted to.
In fact, just substitute the word "behavior" for "substance," and you open up the definition of addiction to all kinds of dependencies, some of which may surprise you.
Whether it's sex, the Internet, or bungee jumping, the desire to experience a "high" becomes so strong that the so-called addict loses control and seeks the activity despite all negative consequences. While experts don't agree on whether they're all true addictions, here are eight habits that people get hooked on. Constantly bucking your odds? Of all behavioral addictions, an addiction to gambling is the one that most closely resembles drug and alcohol addiction.
Studies show that gambling addictions light up the same areas of the brain as drug addictions — and treatment for gambling disorder is usually included in the same type of therapy settings as drug and alcohol abuse.
You occasionally hear about a celebrity going into rehab for sex addiction , but is an obsessive craving for sex a real addiction? Perhaps: Though it's not formally classified as an addiction, there are treatments for it, and the APA did consider, but reject, the idea of adding addictive sexual behavior to the fifth edition of its Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders under the heading "hypersexual behavior disorder.
What's a sex addict to do? As with drugs, alcohol, and even gambling, hypersexual activity seems to respond best to step programs, such as Sex Addicts Anonymous.
We're living in a wired world — but is it possible to be too plugged in? Psychologists and psychiatrists don't generally consider Internet addiction a true addiction. But it can be a problem for some people when it involves loss of control, as well as negative consequences at work and at home. Research presented at the annual meeting of the American Psychiatric Association seemed to support the idea of Internet addiction by showing changes in the brain identified by neuroimaging.
The web may occupy up to 11 hours out of an "Internet addict's" day.
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