State of Addiction

A State of Addiction is a neuropsychological state that causes compulsive engagement with addictive stimulus (despite harmful consequences).

• AKA: Addiction, Dependency State, Compulsive Behavior Pattern.
• Context:
  • It can range from being a Mild Addiction to being a Severe Addiction, depending on its addiction intensity.
  • It can (typically) be attributed to Motivation Centers and Pleasure Centers in the brain reward system.
  • It can (typically) include Withdrawal Symptoms (behavioral withdrawal symptom and physical withdrawal symptom) when the addictive stimulus is removed.
  • It can (typically) involve Neural Pathway alterations in the prefrontal cortex and midbrain regions.
  • It can (typically) produce Tolerance Development requiring increased addictive stimulus exposure for the same reward effect.
  • It can (typically) cause Behavioral Priority Shifts where obtaining the addictive stimulus becomes more important than other life prioritys.
  • It can (typically) result in Decision-Making Impairment related to the addictive stimulus.
  • ...
  • It can (often) lead to Social Relationship Damage due to addiction-related behaviors.
  • It can (often) cause Health Deterioration through substance toxicity or behavioral excess.
  • It can (often) result in Financial Strain from addiction maintenance costs.
  • It can (often) involve Denial Patterns about the addiction severity.
  • It can (often) include Relapse Episodes during addiction recovery attempts.
  • ...
  • It can range from being a Neurochemical Addiction to being a Psychological Addiction, depending on its addiction mechanism.
  • It can range from being a Short-Term Addiction to being a Lifelong Addiction, depending on its addiction duration.
  • It can range from being a Conscious Addiction to being an Unconscious Addiction, depending on its awareness level.
  • ...
  • It can have Genetic Predisposition Factors influencing addiction susceptibility.
  • It can have Environmental Triggers that initiate or maintain the addiction state.
  • It can have Psychological Vulnerabilitys that contribute to addiction development.
  • It can have Neurobiological Markers such as ΔFosB expression in the nucleus accumbens.
  • It can have Treatment Approaches including addiction therapy, medication-assisted treatment, and support group participation.
  • ...
• Examples:
  • Substance Addictions, such as:
    • Chemical Substance Addictions, such as:
      • Alcohol Addiction (by alcoholics to alcohol).
      • Cigarette Addiction (by smokers to nicotine).
      • Opioid Addiction (by opioid users to opioids).
      • Pain-Killer Addiction (such as a cocaine addiction by cocaine users to cocaine).
      • Cannabis Addiction (by cannabis users to cannabis compounds).
      • Prescription Drug Addiction (by prescription drug users to prescription medications).
    • Food Substance Addictions, such as:
      • Sugar Addiction (by sugar addicts to sugar consumption).
      • Food Addiction (by compulsive eaters to high-calorie foods).
  • Behavioral Addictions, such as:
    • Reward-Seeking Behavioral Addictions, such as:
      • Gambling Addiction (by gamblers to gambling).
      • Shopping Addiction (by compulsive shoppers to shopping).
      • Video Game Addiction (within clinical gaming behavior).
      • Sex Addiction (by sex addicts to sexual activity).
    • Technology-Based Behavioral Addictions, such as:
      • Web Addiction (by internet users to internet usage).
      • Social Media Addiction (by social media users to social media engagement).
      • Smartphone Addiction (by smartphone users to smartphone interaction).
    • Activity-Based Behavioral Addictions, such as:
      • Ultra-Sport Addiction (by ultra-sport athletes to extreme sports).
      • Exercise Addiction (by compulsive exercisers to physical workouts).
      • Work Addiction (by workaholics to excessive working).
      • Wealth Addiction (by wealth addicts to accumulating wealth).
  • ...
• Counter-Examples:
  • Healthy Habit, which involves positive routines without compulsive behavior or harmful consequences.
  • Passionate Interest, which maintains healthy boundarys and does not cause life disruption.
  • Choice to Binge with irregular frequency (e.g., twice per year), which lacks the compulsive pattern of addiction state.
  • State of Mindfulness, which involves conscious awareness and choice rather than compulsive engagement.
  • Professional Dedication, which maintains work-life balance without the harmful consequences of addiction state.
• See: Obsessive Behavior, Substance Dependence, Reward System, Positive Reinforcement, Motivation, Workaholic, Killing Time, Radical Honesty.

---

---

References

2024

• (Wikipedia, 2024) ⇒ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Addiction Retrieved:2024-6-27.
  • Addiction is a neuropsychological disorder characterized by a persistent and intense urge to use a drug or engage in a behavior that produces natural reward, despite substantial harm and other negative consequences. Repetitive drug use often alters brain function in ways that perpetuate craving, and weakens (but does not completely negate) self-control. This phenomenon – drugs reshaping brain function – has led to an understanding of addiction as a brain disorder with a complex variety of psychosocial as well as neurobiological (and thus involuntary)factors that are implicated in addiction's development. Classic signs of addiction include compulsive engagement in rewarding stimuli, preoccupation with substances or behavior, and continued use despite negative consequences. Habits and patterns associated with addiction are typically characterized by immediate gratification (short-term reward), coupled with delayed deleterious effects (long-term costs). Examples of substance addiction include alcoholism, cannabis addiction, amphetamine addiction, cocaine addiction, nicotine addiction, opioid addiction, and eating or food addiction. Behavioral addictions may include gambling addiction, shopping addiction, stalking, internet addiction, social media addiction, obsessive–compulsive disorder, video game addiction and sexual addiction. The DSM-5 and ICD-10 only recognize gambling addictions as behavioral addictions, but the ICD-11 also recognizes gaming addictions.

2016

• (Szalavitz, 2016) ⇒ Maia Szalavitz. (2016). “Can You Get Over an Addiction?.” In: The New York Times, June 25, 2016
  • QUOTE: The studies show that addiction alters the interactions between midbrain regions like the ventral tegmentum and the nucleus accumbens, which are involved with motivation and pleasure, and parts of the prefrontal cortex that mediate decisions and help set priorities. Acting in concert, these networks determine what we value in order to ensure that we attain critical biological goals: namely, survival and reproduction. In essence, addiction occurs when these brain systems are focused on the wrong objects: a drug or self-destructive behavior like excessive gambling instead of a new sexual partner or a baby.

2015

• (Wikipedia, 2015) ⇒ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/addiction Retrieved:2015-11-29.
  • Addiction is a state characterized by compulsive engagement in rewarding stimuli, despite adverse consequences. It can be thought of as a disease or biological process leading to such behaviors. The two properties that characterize all addictive stimuli are that they are reinforcing (i.e., they increase the likelihood that a person will seek repeated exposure to them) and intrinsically rewarding (i.e., something perceived as being positive or desirable). Addiction is a disorder of the brain's reward system which arises through transcriptional and epigenetic mechanisms and occurs over time from chronically high levels of exposure to an addictive stimulus (e.g., morphine, cocaine, sexual intercourse, gambling, etc.). ΔFosB, a gene transcription factor, is a critical component and common factor in the development of virtually all forms of behavioral and drug addictions; two decades of research into ΔFosB's role in addiction have demonstrated that addiction arises, and addictive behavior intensifies or attenuates, along with the genetic overexpression of ΔFosB in the D1-type medium spiny neurons of the nucleus accumbens; due to the causal relationship between ΔFosB expression and addictions, it is used preclinically as an addiction biomarker. ΔFosB expression in these neurons directly and positively regulates drug self-administration and reward sensitization through positive reinforcement, while decreasing sensitivity to aversion. Addiction exacts an astoundingly high toll on individuals and society as a whole through the direct adverse effects of drugs, associated healthcare costs, long-term complications (e.g., lung cancer with smoking tobacco, liver cirrhosis with drinking alcohol, or meth mouth from intravenous methamphetamine), the functional consequences of altered neural plasticity in the brain, and the consequent loss of productivity. Classic hallmarks of addiction include impaired control over substances or behavior, preoccupation with substance or behavior, and continued use despite consequences. Habits and patterns associated with addiction are typically characterized by immediate gratification (short-term reward), coupled with delayed deleterious effects (long-term costs). Examples of drug and behavioral addictions include: alcoholism, amphetamine addiction, cocaine addiction, nicotine addiction, opiate addiction, exercise addiction, food addiction, gambling addiction, and sexual addiction. The only behavioral addiction recognized by the DSM-5 is gambling addiction. The term addiction is misused frequently to refer to other compulsive behaviors or disorders, particularly dependence, in news media.

1980

• (Slater, 1980) ⇒ Philip Elliot Slater. (1980). “Wealth Addiction." Dutton. ISBN:0525477047

1860

• Baudelaire, Charles. “Les Paradis Artificiels." Le livre de poche, (1860).

1821

• De Quincey, Thomas. “Confessions of an English Opium-Eater." ReadHowYouWant.com, (1821).

---