What happens in our mind when we develop a non-chemical addiction?

The concept of "addiction" usually goes hand in hand with that of "drug", but in practice, this is not the case. There are addictions in which the consumption of any addictive substance is not involved, and in fact, they are not statistically rare cases.

The large number of people who have become addicted to gambling and spend many hours of the week gambling their money and even going into debt to continue trying your luck is, for example, a sign that this type of disorder does not depend on our brain coming into contact with certain molecules from the Exterior.

In this article We will explore the topic of non-chemical addictions, seeing what happens in the body and mind of the human being when they take control of the person.

• Related article: "The 14 most important types of addictions"

What is a non-chemical addiction?

As we have advanced, a non-chemical addiction is one that it is not based on dependence on the consumption of a certain psychoactive substance with addictive potential. This means that although it can occur together with the consumption of drugs that can generate addiction, the addiction that is being suffered does not arise from the dependence on these, but from a pattern of behaviors and interaction with the environment learned consciously or unconscious.

Let's think, for example, of the person who goes to the casino every week to gamble a good part of his saved money and who, once there, has a few drinks: addiction It has to do with the habit of participating in games of chance and being exposed to an environment that facilitates this type of behavior, not in the consumption of alcohol in Yes. On the other hand, non-chemical addictions can generate the same degree of dependence that we find in drug addiction, although the triggering event is another and is a little less harmful to the body in the short term, because there is no molecule that interacts abnormally with the neurons of our system highly strung. However, in the medium and long term, non-chemical addictions have a level of danger comparable to drug addiction.

In addition, since its appearance does not go hand in hand with the action of consuming products that are already considered dangerous or with risks, non-chemical addictions may seem harmless to many people, since the idea that an addiction can be developed without introducing a substance into the body is not very intuitive. This makes it more difficult to realize that you have a problem.

How are addictions without substance triggered?

These are the elements that participate in the appearance of a non-chemical addiction.

1. An immediate incentive system

Non-chemical addictions always are based on the promise of pleasant sensations that could occur in a matter of seconds or a few minutes. In this way, the person is kept "hooked" on the activity on which they depend more and more.

2. The experience of fear of loss is common

Combined with the promise of well-being, the fear of missing out on these kinds of experiences appears. This often adds to loss aversion: the person does not want to "waste" the efforts made up to that point.

For example, in those who develop pathological gambling, what is known as the gambler's fallacy is common; they have the impression that since they have been losing for many games, the game in which they will win is about to fall, even though the statistics reveal that this is a wrong conclusion: the odds of winning or losing are the same in every game, or at least not dependent on the results previous.

In the same way, those who develop addiction to certain video games are afraid that if they turn off the computer or the game console they will they will be losing memorable plays that would have been possible because they have been playing for hours and accumulating requirements to get there there.

• You may be interested in: "Loss aversion: what does this psychological phenomenon consist of?"

3. Changes occur in the person's nervous system

Although molecules that come from outside the body and that have psychoactive potential do not come into play in this type of addiction activating the neurons of our brain, that does not mean that they are not capable of modifying the functioning of our cells nervous In fact, the constant repetition of actions and exposure to the experiences that shape the addiction, gradually makes our brain transform both physically and functionally.

That is, our neurons reconfigure and begin to interact with each other in a way that leads us to have as our main priority falling into addictive behavior over and over again. Our mind learns that the only thing that matters is “keeping the addiction alive”, and in fact, it is behaves in a way very similar to that of brains affected by alcohol dependence, of the cocaine, etc.

4. The person's social habits are oriented towards addiction

As the addicted person's brain changes, so do their social habits. She spends more and more time with people who are also addicted to the same thing, and this leaves her always exposed to the temptation to relapse.. At the same time, he is leaving aside all other links with people who do not bring him those experiences.

5. The phenomenon of habituation appears

As the non-chemical addiction takes hold, the person each time you need to get more involved in the activity to which you have become addicted to get to feel a minimum of satisfaction or pleasure. In other words, the experiences that gave you a rush of intense well-being at first (for example, winning 50 euros on a slot machine) hardly make you feel good anymore, and you need more.

6. Increased risk of developing other addictions

The fact of suffering an addiction increases the risk of developing others. This leads to a state of general disinhibition in which it is even more difficult to stay away from relapses.

Are you looking for professional psychological support?

If you are considering seeking professional help to overcome an addiction or any other type of mental health problem, get in touch with our team. On Cribecca Psychology We have been offering treatment to people of all ages for many years, and currently we offer sessions both in person at our center in Seville and online by video call.

Bibliographic references:

• American Psychiatric Association (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). Arlington, VA: American Psychiatric Publishing.
• Cía, A. (2013). Non-substance addictions (DSM-5, APA, 2013): a first step towards the inclusion of Behavioral Addictions in the current categorical classifications. Rev Neuropsiquiatr, 76 (4): pp. 210 - 217.
• Kauer, J.A.; R.C. Malenka (2007). Synaptic plasticity and addiction. Nature Reviews Neuroscience. 8 (11): pp. 844 - 58.