The keys to understanding addiction

When we talk about addiction, it is important to know exactly what this term refers to.

We speak of addiction when there is a psychological dependence, that is, when the person cannot do without what is the reason for his addiction and begins to become the center of his life. The person loses control and begins to act compulsively causing a deterioration in the quality of life.

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

The keys to understanding addiction

There are many variants of a possible addiction. Although addiction to substances (heroin, cocaine, alcohol, designer drugs, etc) there are other possibilities such as addiction to gambling, shopping, betting, mobile, food, etc. In fact, due to the advancement of new technologies, The appearance of new addictions has increased, such as addiction to mobile phones or online gambling, among others.

When addiction is in a very early stage, it is difficult to detect it, since the addicted person makes a great effort to hide what is happening.

Feelings of losing control of one's behavior, embarrassment or fear of the reactions of the people around make this psychological alteration progress without the people close to being able to know it and without the addicted person being able to receive the necessary help.

Even with all this, it is possible to begin to notice some changes in the person's behavior. These can be detected especially close people, since they are not behaviors of your loved one. Among these behaviors that we can pay attention to to see if something is not going well, are the following:

• Altering your routines and behaviors
• Changes in mood and mood
• Changes even in the people you associate with
• Starts lying to maintain addiction
• You begin to see changes in your social, family and personal relationships
• Your job performance may be affected
• Put aside responsibilities
• Is isolated
• Steal money from loved ones to invest in their addiction
• Stop doing things you used to enjoy, etc ...

Catching an addiction early can make a difference when determining what the recovery process will be like. In other words, the longer it takes to detect it, the more it will have been established in the person's life, the more these patterns of thought and behavior will have taken hold. However, this does not mean that a solution cannot be found anyway.

The problem is usually that it is usually detected quite late. Normally, family and friends are the ones who begin to see that something is not right; notice behavioral changes in the person, mood swings, changes in their habits and routines.

Fewer times the person himself acknowledges the problem or takes the first step toward recovery. They are often pushed by other people or circumstances.

• You may be interested: "Alcoholism: these are the effects of dependency on drinking"

Where can the origin be?

It is difficult to establish a single cause for the development of an addiction, since, for example, not all people who consume a substance will develop an addiction, which means that there are several factors to take into account.

From this perspective, you have to understand addiction in a bio-psycho-social way, where you have to assess factors at the following levels.

Biological

Here it is relevant, above all, the genetic part of the person. For example, there are studies that state that the children of addicted people are more likely to develop an addiction in the future.

Psychological

Here all aspects of the person come into play in their interaction with the events of their day to day, such as their tolerance to frustration or stress, social skills, self-esteem, insecurity, capacity for self-control, search for new sensations, personality type, etc ...

Environmental or contextual part

Factors such as living in dysfunctional families, with the absence of norms or poor communication between parents and children, as well as social pressure, wanting to feel integrated into a group, lack of values ​​or affection, publicity, the media, stereotypes, etc ...

What to do when faced with an addiction: first steps

The possible scenarios that we can find to start looking for a solution are the following.

Initiative of the person

As I mentioned earlier, it is more difficult for the addicted person to take the first step in seeking help, but this could be a possible situation. In this case, the first step is making the person recognize what is happening to them and perhaps finding someone they trust to talk to can be helpful.

Once these steps have been taken, it is time to seek professional help to begin to find a solution so that the person can leave their addiction behind.

Initiative by third parties

The other scenario, and the most common one, is that one or more people in the environment realize that something is wrong and it is these people who start the process of seeking help. They usually don't know how to handle the situation either; It is something new for them, there is uncertainty, and the fear of how their loved one will be and the lack of information can make it difficult to cope. Staying calm and seeking professional advice and information can be a good way to start..

Concluding

Unfortunately, overcoming an addiction is not easy, and most people need professional help to achieve it, which is not a sign of weakness, but of strength to recognize a problem and be willing to face it.

Author: Laura Álvarez Martínez, psychologist and member of the Online Therapy Center