ADDICTIONS
Another affect that addiction has is that an individual will continue to practice an activity even if they know it’s physically or mentally harmful to them
Subtopic
Treatment- detoxification, medication, motivational interviewing, cognitive behaviour therapy, group therapy, peer-support programs, family therapists, life skills training, and specific treatment plans for an individual
Causes- genes, psychological factors, gender, environmental factors
Symptoms- desire to cut down, unsuccessful efforts to do so, strong craving/desire to participate in the activity, the use of the substance can interfere with school, work or home life. Use of substance continues whether or not it causes interpersonal problems. Can be involved in risky situations. Lack of motivation, withdrawal.
Recovering from addictions can be very difficult. Some may fall into relapse and fall back onto their addiction.
Food addictions
People can become dependent on certain types of foods
Trigger foods
high sugar, fat and starch content, for example, ships, fries, candy, chocolate, cookies, white bread, pasta, and ice cream
Symptoms
obsessive food cravings, a preoccupation with obtaining and consuming food, binge eating, attempts to decrease food intake but tends to relapse, loss of control over quantity, negative impact on finances, family life and social interaction, eating for emotional release/avoid attention, and eating till the point discomfort and pain
After effects-
shame, guilt, discomfort, reduced self-worth, intensive food restriction, compulsive exercise, and self-induced vomiting
There is the possibility for any food to become an addiction
Some foods with high levels of carbohydrates and fats have a potential addictive nature
Because researchers have not identified a certain substance in foods that are involved in addiction, eating addictions are classified are behavioural
Some researchers say that consuming food can trigger dopamine in the brain and can also relieve stress topic
Internet addiction
Brought to life with easy access to the internet
Some individuals can possibly develop disorders from being addicted to the internet
Can lead to destruction of family, themselves, friendships, relationships, and places of employment
Known as internet addiction disorder (IAD)
People with this disorder find the virtual environment more attracting to them than the real world
Highly counter productive, little motivation
Can cause legal implications at work
Decrease mental health
Life is taken over by their desire to be online, This affects many people all over the world as social media and societies become familiarized with more modern technologies.
Areas that are affected can be work, school, family and relationships
Compulsive disorder
There is a lot of controversy in regards to how much time is considered the normal amount to spend on the internet
An excessive amount of improper web usage can result in loss of what could have been productive time.
Internet addiction can be look at as either an impulse disorder, a psychiatric disorder, or a behavioral problem
In some cases this can also bring legal liabilities. For example, a female employee could be offended in the workplace by a male that is addicted to online pornography. This can lead to a sexual harassment lawsuit on the company
Treatments
cognitive behavioural therapy
motivational enhancement therapy
“Orzack conducted a study in 1999. She found that people who are susceptible to Internet addiction are people who are easily bored, lonely, shy, depressed and suffering from other addictions. The remaining seven reasons are marital discontent, work related stress, financial problems, insecurity, anxiety, struggle in life, and limited social life" (Chebbi, n.d.)
Studies have confirmed that people who are having chemical dependency problems tend to spend more time per week online chatting than the “non chemical dependent” users (Chebbi, n.d.)
“According to pathological theory, any person that reported 2 to 3 hours per week of Internet use is considered a normal user. Any one who logged 8.5 hours or more per week is classified as a pathological user” (Chebbi, n.d.)
Kraat surveyed 169 people from 73 Pittsburgh households before and after one or two years of Internet usage. He reported that teenagers who withdrew from social contacts were using the Internet as an escape from reality (Kraat 1999).
Addiction can involve a variety of different things. You could be addicted to little things like sugar or your phone, but you could also be addicted to things like drugs and alcohol.
what is it?
A compulsive habit attained by a person as a result of repetition
A complex brain disease that is formulated by compulsive
Many addictions are accompanied by mental health problems, like depression and anxiety
Brain changes have to opportunity to be reversed after the behavior has stopped
Many addictive behavior's are found to share many neurobiological features. They involve a lot of dopamine that is released throughout the body
substance abuse
How can it make you feel?
hopeless
failure
shame/guilt
Many roots to recovery
Natural recovery, where people improve their well-being, social, psychological, and physical functioning by themselves.
It is also a possibility for people to get support from community networks as well as peer-based groups throughout their community.
There is also clinical recovery. Where people can go talk to therapists and see professionals.
Where does addiction affect the brain?
the prefrontal cortex