Addiction

Although addiction is so prevalent in this world, many people do not understand the concept fully.  They take the most basic terms and understanding when attempting to discuss it or understand it when it reaches them.  However, what they may not know is that there are two types of addiction; physiological and psychological.

Physiological addiction is when a person is addicted to through dependence.  This is when they have used the substance over a period of time and have developed a tolerance to the drug. Tolerance is when the body needs more to feel the reaction caused by the substance.  This then makes their body dependant on getting that drug and can cause any number of physical signs when it doesn’t get it.  This process is called withdrawal.  Symptoms of this can include a rapid heart rate, nausea, vomiting, stomach cramps and diarrhea to name a few.

The second of the two types of addiction is called psychological.  Whereas the first type was a physical need, this is a psychological one.  Or rather, instead of it being the body’s need for the drug, it is the psychological need to repeat the feeling that comes from the substance or behavior.  Sometimes the result is to calm stress and anxiety. The person that is addicted uses the substance or behavior to calm those feelings.  In other instances, it is the feeling itself that helps produce an overall happy and exciting feeling.

Furthermore, this types of addiction can be seen manifested through gambling, sexual addictions, substances, and more.  The person addicted will go to any lengths to help attain the end result and/or calm the effects caused when the substance or behavior is absent.  However, regardless of which type a person is classified as, the need to alter their state of consciousness remains the same in both.

Whether the person has a psychological or physiological addiction, both having separate meanings and reactions, the casual factors behind both are the same.  For some the need to use substances or engage in their addictive behaviors is a direct result for the need to feel better because of stress at work, in a relationship, or just life in general.  These types of addiction come in order to feel better or gain a control of their feelings when things seem so out of control.  Therefore, they end up feeling more in control while instead they are becoming addicted and in less control than when they began.

Consequently, addiction has been researched and studied for many years, and as a result, there has been a large list of casual factors found.  These factors range from hereditary to life events.  For some, types of addiction whether it be alcoholism or drug abuse, has been in the family for years.  For others, it has come from a poor upbringing and being surrounded by abuse not only in the family, but out in the neighborhood where a child grows up.  However, there is some hope out there.

It has been found that if a person does not engage in addictive behavior by the age of 21, that there is a large change that they will not become an addict in the future.  This goes to prove that a good upbringing and loving and supportive family can go a long way in a child’s life to keep these types of addiction at bay.  So if you or someone you are close to has an addiction, remember that your child is at risk and only by conquering it early can you stop the cycle.