Behavioral addictions are an overwhelming, repetitive, and harmful pattern of behaviors apart from drug or alcohol abuse. Behavioral addictions, such as addictions to gambling, eating, sex, and video games, are receiving serious attention in various fields of medicine and among the public. The causalities of behavioral addictions are being depicted in the news: porn addicts unable to abstain during work, gamblers throwing their lives away, and children being neglected because parents are absorbed in video games.
Skeptics argue that applying the addiction label to these habits inappropriately excuses bad behavior. So the question is: Are these behavioral addictions mental disorders? Proponents argue that recent studies in neuroscience reveal that behavioral addictions are brain disorders. However, critics question those interpretations and question whether we are unnecessarily applying medical labels to everyday suffering. Â Â
It is hard to deny that behavioral addictions can be very real—individuals are truly overwhelmed by these harmful behaviors and their relationships and livelihood are in danger because of their out of control actions. They sincerely want to stop but they are powerless, and what ensues is often a slew of demoralizing actions that leaves one feeling helpless. Hypnosis and other therapies can help you with stopping smoking, stopping drugs and alcohol, stopping all substance abuse, stopping gambling, etc., visit https://tracieokeefe.com/ for top hypnotherapy for drug addiction in Sydney.
In the 20th century, with the development of psychiatry and growth of Alcoholics Anonymous, the disease model of addiction was born. The disease model of addiction maintained that loss of control of over drugs and alcohol is a chronic, relapsing, and lifelong disorder. In 1980 “pathological gambling†was added to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM), the American Psychological Association’s official categorization of mental disorders.
Researchers have increasingly used the tools of neuroscience to argue that behavioral addictions are brain-based disorders. Marc N. Potenza, a gambling researcher at Yale University, measured the cerebral activity of people with gambling problems using functional MRI imaging. The imaging revealed that the brain activity of problem gamblers looks similar to that of drug and alcohol addicts. Further, drug and alcohol addicts have been shown to have both reduced activity in the ventral striatum and altered dopamine levels. These lowered levels are consistent with reward deficiency—the idea that people with addictions have dampened responses to rewards and thus compensate by seeking out more gratification. Sure enough, MRI imaging revealed that problem gamblers also had decreased activity in the ventral striatum. Such findings supported the formal addition of “gambling disorder†to the DSM-5.Â
Potenza’s gambling studies have been replicated several times and the results have been relatively consistent. Preliminary brain-imaging studies have found some similar results in food, sex, and Internet addiction, although these results are not always as consistent. Investigation into the neurochemistry of these disorders is also in its infancy. However, some researchers have found altered neurotransmitter receptor function in people with food and Internet addictions.
Much scientific research on behavioral addictions has focused on comparing and contrasting them with substance use disorders. The aim is to not only bolster their status as disorders, but doing so might also offer clues as to whether similar treatments might work. Another clue that behavioral addictions are similar to substance addiction is the fact that some pharmaceutical treatments appear to work for both conditions. Naltrexone, for example, is a drug that has successfully treated opioid addiction and alcoholism. Recent research shows that it can also help with gambling addiction, and smaller trials indicate it might ease sex addiction.
This overlap suggests that behavioral and substance addictions might have some very similar underlying causes. Such findings might be comforting to people who are stuck in repetitive behavior and the shame that accompanies. Research is still preliminary for many behavioral addictions, but with time and more research into the underlying causes of such behaviors, we may be able to better help those who feel helpless and out of control.