What is an addiction?

Addiction is a compulsive behavior that someone does repeatedly, despite it causing problems in their life. When people talk about addiction, they are not talking about being hooked on a drug like heroin or cocaine. They are talking about mental habits that can lead to mental difficulties.

This post will cover the many different types of addictions, and how they lead to an unhealthy lifestyle in the long term. It will also explain how you can develop an addiction and what to do if you find yourself addicted (or think you might be). Finally, this post will provide some tips for how to avoid becoming addicted in the first place.

A few notes before getting started:

The advice will use the term "addiction" to describe someone who is hooked on a certain substance or activity. The cause of this addiction does not matter (all addictions have similar symptoms). Alcoholics are included under "addicts." Some people might object to this. This is more for simplifying the text than anything else.

It is also worth remembering that addiction is not only caused by drugs and alcohol. People can be addicted to sex, food, gambling, etc. Behavioral addictions are closely related to substance addictions, so the advice in this post can be applied equally well to them.

For the sake of clarity, I will use the term "substance" to refer to any chemical or psychoactive drug that can cause addiction. There are many different types of substance; examples include caffeine, alcohol, cannabis, cocaine, and heroin.

The term "substance abuse" refers to a substance user who knows they are addicted but does not seek medical help for their problem. They may try to quit using on their own. In contrast, someone who is "dealing with substance abuse" is trying to quit without any professional help (e.g., going cold turkey). This distinction is important because it shows that addiction is a mental disorder. In this sense, addiction is more of an illness than a moral failing.

The following advice on "dealing with addiction" assumes that the person is not seeking professional help.

If you are addicted to a substance but want to try quitting cold turkey, I recommend checking out this post . It contains tips on how to minimize the withdrawal symptoms. However, I recommend reading it even if you are planning on seeing a doctor. The post explains what to expect from treatment and what questions you should ask your doctor before starting treatment.

If you are in danger of losing your job or relationships because of your addiction (or if any other harm is going to come to others), then please seek professional help right away .