Addictive behavior in psychology - types and causes

There are no independent people and every person has this or that dependence - drug addicts and psychiatrists consider. Addictive behavior goes beyond the ordinary, and is a borderline between the norm and pathological predilection. The use of drugs, overeating and starvation, the need for endless purchases of things - all this is dependent behavior.

Addictive behavior - what is it?

A few decades ago, "addiction" was considered a term in the work of narcologists and implied a person's dependence on various kinds of chemicals. To date, addictive behavior is a form of destructive behavior aimed at self-destruction. The addict is a person trying to avoid reality with its problems by leaving it with the help of a certain kind of dependence on substances, phenomena, objects. When addiction, a person develops a strong emotional connection or attachment to the object of dependence.

Causes of addictive behavior

The concept of addictive behavior includes many causes or prerequisites for the emergence:

1. Biological reasons . In 1990, the American scientist K. Blume conducted research on the genetics of alcoholism, discovered a gene for addiction, which he called the "reward gene". Later, in a study of people prone to smoking, overeating, this gene was also identified. Another reason is that the pleasure center in the addict's brain is not activated properly and the person begins to fill the lack of pleasure with the help of synthetic substances or obsessions.
2. Social reasons . Conditions conducive to the development of addictive personality:

• neglect of parents
• family conflicts, loud scandals;
• neglect of the problems, feelings of the child;
• parents "pour" problems with alcohol, drug use.

Psychologists separately identify the reasons associated with personal characteristics of the development of the addict (often this is manifested in adolescence):

• emotional scarcity;
• the desire to stand out among peers;
• a low level of adaptability to complex conditions;
• personal immaturity;
• defenselessness;
• the desire for acute, disturbing sensations.

Signs of addictive behavior

Addiction to addictive behavior is not always recognized in the early stages and it is difficult to determine the emerging type of dependence. The signs by which you can recognize the addictive personality:

• fear and intolerance of loneliness;
• fear of being rejected;
• vulnerability in response to criticism;
• for fear of being rejected, agrees with others, even if they are not right;
• no sense of responsibility;
• falsity;
• anxiety and emotional lability;
• rituality and stereotyped (repetitive) actions in behavior;
• preference for artificial reality;
• persistent changes in the psychophysical state.

Types of addictive behavior

Addictive behavior and its types in traditional psychiatry and narcology:

1. Addiction. The desire for new, unexplored experiences displaces completely everything from life that is not related to drugs.
2. Alcoholism. The propensity to relax and "drown" their problems in alcohol - lead to a rapid formation of alcohol dependence.
3. Sex addiction. Dismomanism, exhibitionism - disorders of sexual behavior, are characteristic of those who grew up in an emotionally cold family or became victims of sexual violence in childhood.
4. Food addiction. Anorexia and bulimia are eating disorders. Fasting is for the addict a way of self-realization through overcoming the "weaknesses" of the body. With bulimia - food becomes a way to distract a person from sad thoughts, feelings of inferiority.
5. Internet addiction. Leaving the real world in virtual illusory.

Treatment of addictive behavior

Persistent addictive behavior is difficult to treat, if the addiction is not aware of its addiction. The main treatment is carried out by a psychiatrist, and with chemical addictions is accompanied by treatment of an expert in narcology. Correction of addictive behavior, in addition to drug therapy, includes psychotherapy. Addictive behavior in psychology is successfully corrected by methods of behavioral therapy.

Addictive behavior - books

When a close person is changing and not for the better, there are difficulties with understanding what is happening to him. The literature on this topic does not replace the advice of a specialist, but helps to shed light on the problems that have arisen:

1. "Guide to addictology" V.D. Mendelevich and co-authors. The book explains what addictions and addictive behavior are in a strictly scientific style.
2. "Relief from addictions or the school of successful choice" Kotlyarov. The manual was written for patients. Contains useful techniques, metaphors, parables.
3. "On Addictions and Addictive Behavior" V. Kachalov. What are the dependencies.
4. "Prevention of addictions in children and adolescents" Trubitsyna L.V. The publication is devoted to an important aspect of addictive behavior - prevention.