Across the world today, addiction is an issue that effects many. Unfortunately, addiction not only impacts the affected individual. Families and loved ones are also drawn into the drama. More than twenty-three million people are suffering from drug addiction alone in America. The amount goes up more than a hundred million all over the world. Developing and underdeveloped countries are suffering from it more. But, the developed countries are in no less danger. Almost one in seven adults is abusing drugs and/or alcohol on a daily basis. Now it is has become a global headache with no easy solution. Because the drug or alcohol addiction itself destroys the youth, it brings many more significant challenges such as illegal behavior, antisocial activities, broken relationships, fractured dreams and many more.
What is addiction?
Right now, there is a global pandemic going out there. As we all need to stay at home to maintain the safety protocol, there are no other options for us but to remain on social media or online to communicate with friends and family. For fun and communication, online activities increased by several folds as office, schools, markets, and even the banks came online lately. You must be wondering if addiction is addiction or not since we all know that addiction means taking an excessive amount of anything. The definition is correct, but a little old. The perfect illustration for addiction is having an insatiable craving for something and getting dependent on that element. It means you don’t need to take an overdose of a drug to become an addict. If you cannot resist the urge to take drugs, then it becomes your addiction. Continuing to take the substance despite negative and harmful consequences is an indicator of an addiction.
Types of addiction
It is the most diverse discussion regarding the addiction topic. Traditionally we all know addiction means being dependent on drugs. It is undoubtedly one and the most common type of addiction. But there are several more types of this disease.
Social media addiction
Most people are suffering from social media addiction. Even though we did not know earlier or do not want to accept it, it’s getting tough, especially for the young generation, to stay out of their phones and social media platforms. Some people report checking their social media accounts every minute, even knowing there is nothing so appealing. But, still, they cannot control themselves from opening and scrolling through the news feed. It is one kind of addiction and getting more serious and creating many more issues with each passing day.
Sex and Porn
This addictive behavior is ubiquitous among teenagers and youngsters. Usually, there is a significantly less possibility of sex addiction, and most of the time, the condition is one kind of psychosexual problem. In males, it is known as satyriasis, and in the female it is Nymphomania. In this condition, the patient feels an insatiable desire for sexual and physical interaction. But, the addiction that most of the youth have comes from porn fantasy. The porn industry is a multi-billion dollars industry, and you can guess the reason. This industry has viewers of all ages, races, sexes, and countries. Shockingly, a trusted study reveals that even strict Muslim countries are regular viewers of Porn, especially when they have very conservative religious views regarding this issue.
Shopaholic
Shopping addiction is a relatively newer term in psychology. The problem mainly caught the eyes of the professionals since the online shopping era came in. You can now buy something with a click, and the owners will deliver the things to your doorstep. Some people could not take it usually and become hyper excited. Trying to buy anything a person comes to, even if it goes out of the budget, is the first and primary symptom of being a shopaholic. Buying something is not bad, but going out of limits or failing to control yourself when you do not need it is not normal.
Gambling
After the drug addiction, gambling addiction is the second most and one of the oldest addiction known in humanity. People can’t leave the casino until they are bankrupt and drowning in debt.
By now, you must be curious about how these activities affect your brain so much that you or someone cannot get out of it. Let’s get to know something about it.
The first and most effective mechanism of addiction is the reward method. The technique is simple as hormones control our emotional and psychological activities in the body. A hormone named dopamine, also known as the happy hormone, regulates our emotions the most. When we take any drug that acts on the hypothalamus to push the gland to secret dopamine, it causes euphoria. Euphoria is a state where we feel happy in everything. Once it stimulates our brain to a specific limit and our brain gets the feeling of joy, then the everyday World seems way too dull, and the person can’t say no to the drug. The same thing goes with shopping, gambling, and Porn.
Usually, addiction doesn’t develop overnight or within a concise period. But, the fact here is the development of tolerance. Once your brain sets for a certain euphoria level, then the same amount of stimulation does not work. So, it would be best if you increased the dosing to get high. Also, some drugs show tachyphylaxis to make it easier to develop an addiction.
Recovery
Recovery is possible from addiction. Generally, it takes a significant negative event (rock bottom) for a person with an addiction to realise that things are spiraling out of control. At this time, a family intervention can be a good way to encourage the person with the addiction to reach out and seek professional help. The purpose of an effective and evidence-based addiction treatment program is to support the person to achieve important information regarding the nature of an addiction, what the real problem is and what the solution (recovery) looks like.