What is psychological dependence: the mechanism of formation and methods of getting rid of it

Psychological dependence: concept in psychology, features of the phenomenon

In psychology, addiction is a strong, overwhelming attraction to an object, person or phenomenon. People of any age and social status are susceptible to it. Addiction itself is not the main problem, it is a symptom of an underlying disease. With an uncontrolled need to receive emotional saturation from the object of dependence, a person compensates for the feeling of loss. Unable to get what he wants, he replaces it with an affordable analogue.

Psychological addiction in a mild form does not cause problems. But people with weak willpower find it difficult to control themselves; they risk completely dissolving in their problem. In severe cases, a person loses touch with reality and becomes socially dangerous. Therefore, it is important to notice the symptoms in time and resort to psychotherapy.

Signs

This type of addiction is characterized by many manifestations. Symptoms are determined by the personality of the addict, social role, and stress resistance. Common manifestations of psychological dependence are represented by: uncertainty, mood swings, compliance, pliability, apathy, panic attacks, sudden aggressiveness, depression.

The follower subconsciously draws for himself an expected way of being, which rarely coincides with reality. Disappointments only increase addiction, turning it from a simple habit into a defensive reaction. The addict forgets his own interests and concentrates entirely on the object. Relatives, friends, and colleagues suffer from addiction, seeing the transformations taking place in a person. Relatives try to point out bad changes, but the entire stream of accumulated aggression of the victim is poured out on them. The follower does not want to admit his subordination, otherwise he will have to overcome it. Signs of psychological dependence on a person are due to its varieties, the main difference of which lies in the object of addiction. They are connected by a mechanism of influence developed on the foundation of interpersonal relationships.

The most common variation of addiction is love. Its consequences are terrible. Love addiction develops gradually. Initially, the couple spends all their time together, gradually stopping communicating with friends. The result is that partners can no longer exist without each other. The thinnest line separating love and emotional dependence is the presence of a little free space. The weaker half is more prone to this variation in dependence. A sign of psychological dependence on a person here is a constant demand for confirmation of a partner’s love and fidelity, unreasonable jealousy, and threats of breakup. The addict pesters the chosen one with endless calls and numerous SMS. The end result of such behavior is the loss of individuality. The addict begins to be tormented by disturbing thoughts of an intrusive nature, his adequate perception of reality without his loved one is distorted.

Friendly dependence differs from ordinary friendship in that it encroaches on the free space of a friend. People connected by friendship can quite easily spend time with other friends. The addict feels discomfort among strangers. Signs of such a variation in addiction are: jealousy of a friend’s friends, claims are filled with emotions and are often not controlled, addicts spend all their free time together, sometimes have a common home, anxiety in the long absence of a friend. The consequences of such a friendship will be melancholy, stress, despondency.

Parental psychological dependence is primarily due to overprotection. Adults control almost every action of the child, without giving him the right to miscalculate or make a mistake. As the baby matures, parental care becomes more active. A manifestation of parental excessive affection is a reluctance to let the child leave the parental home. The result of such psychological dependence is the child’s lack of independence, the inability to stand up for himself, the inability to make decisions, the inability to solve problems, in any situation he consults with his mother, and panics when there is minimal danger.

Are there any chances to completely get rid of addiction?

Recovery from addiction is a difficult process. The main difficulty is recognizing the problem. For most people, addiction becomes the main source of positive emotions; they do not want to voluntarily give it up. The first way to help an addicted person is to level the object of his adoration through demonstrating his shortcomings. Also, the attention of a person suffering from addiction can be switched to a new object that does not cause destructive effects.

When getting rid of addiction, people feel psychological emptiness. To survive the difficult period of transition and adaptation, they need psychological support. It can be provided by a psychologist or a person from your close circle.

It is important to observe the principles of constancy and consistency: getting rid of addiction will not be possible quickly. The main thing to remember is that the best cure is prevention. It is easiest to develop protective mechanisms of the psyche in childhood, when it is plastic and flexible.

Is it possible to get rid of dependencies?

It is possible to cure addiction. But treatment may seem too painful for people obsessed with harmful passions, and even unnecessary, since only a small proportion of victims understand their condition. The simplest way to get rid of psychological dependence is to re-educate a person in order to reduce the value of the object of desire, up to complete abandonment of it. There are psychological methods for developing dispassion in an individual. However, such a person, along with insurance against desires and disappointments, risks losing the joy of victory. Another interesting way to carry out treatment is to “switch” the patient to some other goal that does not carry as much risk as the real object of passion. The main thing is to prevent transition into a new addiction. For example, by overcoming chronic stress with the habit of eating sweets, you can develop obesity and a host of accompanying problems.

The best psychological help for addictions is to provide a person with a powerful psychological support that supports him in difficult times. For example, loving parents, a faithful wife, patriotism or faith. At the same time, a person who does not have a specialized education and does not understand the psychological aspects of addiction should not take on these delicate matters. After all, it is not always possible that a person without experience can figure out what the actual reasons for such a state are and how the psyche has been transformed all this time. For example, it is possible, by reducing the value of work in human consciousness, to save the patient from “workaholism,” however, this will not eliminate the very need to earn a living. But it may well deprive a person of the prospect of getting a worthy place in his professional activity. It is possible, having understood the psychological mechanisms of dependence on a man , to prepare a young girl for the fact that “the world has not fallen like a wedge” on any guy. However, this same action can doom her future family to inevitable disintegration because of any little thing, since the young wife will not value her husband enough and expect to easily exchange him for another, because “there are so many of them looking at such a beauty.” The best thing is the prevention of addictions, which will begin from childhood and will implant in the minds of children the idea that in life they will have more than just pleasure and that they will have to pay something for their happiness. And the greater the price - labor, nerves, blood - the more a person will value his achievements. Therefore, it is advisable to cultivate in every child from childhood and adolescence perseverance, the ability to fight difficulties and overcome them, not to treat any failures as the collapse of everything that happened, even life itself, but only as a temporary obstacle on the path to new heights.

Working with addictions, unfortunately, rarely comes down to preventive education of the younger generation. Most often, psychologists meet with adults who are ossified in their addictions and are practically unable to change anything in their existence on their own. It’s fortunate that they at least found the strength to realize their inferiority and turn to specialists for help. And it often happens that the signs of addiction in an adult were noticed by his parents or wife and almost by force they brought him to an appointment. And it often happens that psychological help is needed during “delirium tremens,” when weak, weak-willed individuals try to hide from completely solvable problems over a glass of vodka. In our time of total comfort and a consumerist attitude to life, such individuals, unfortunately, are becoming more and more common. And the main blame for this lies with their parents, who from childhood tried to solve all his problems for the child, motivating this so that he would live better than we do. You can't do that. The child must learn to solve family problems together with his parents.

Types of addictions: main types and principles of influence

Based on the form of impact on the body, addictions can be divided into chemical and non-chemical. Chemical habits include bad habits: smoking, drug addiction, alcohol. Non-chemical ones cover a large group of addictions: food, falling in love, work, the Internet.

The behavior of common dependencies is similar, but they have some special features:

1. Food addiction. Excessive consumption of food, especially sweets, is a way of replacing another unsatisfied addiction, for example, unhappy love.
2. Personal addiction. The need for a person, the cult of personality, is the main type of psychological addiction. To gain access to the object of passion, people are ready to commit crimes. Without the opportunity to get closer to him, they even become capable of murder. To a greater extent, this addiction applies to men.
3. Nicotine and alcohol addiction. Formed under the influence of society. Being exposed to advertising every day, a person gets used to seeing alcohol and cigarettes as an integral part of life. Excessive use creates a strong connection between drugs and pleasure. At the same time, nicotine addiction develops much faster and is more difficult to give up.
4. Internet addiction. A new mental disorder that affects millions of people. The desire to satisfy curiosity, gain approval, and find new relationships pushes people to spend hours and even days on end on the Internet. Losing access to the Internet, a person experiences withdrawal symptoms.

Often addiction grows out of a harmless habit. The main danger of developing addiction is the gradual subjugation of a person’s will.

Without noticing the problem, he is deprived of the opportunity to adequately assess reality and turns into a slave to an imposed need.

The essence of the phenomenon of addiction: why people need habits

Conventionally, addictions can be divided into positive and negative. The positive effect of habit is self-discipline, the negative effect is the destruction of personality structure. Habit, as a psychological feature, is neutral. It turns negative when a person loses control: addiction becomes the main desire.

Addiction is formed from everyday activities: watching TV, self-care, food culture. It develops into addictive behavior - fulfilling the need for an object of adoration. Addiction appears when a person is emotionally vulnerable and is in a difficult period of life. Degradation of a habit allows you to relieve tension and get a rush of adrenaline. The formation mechanism requires constant repetition of actions, gradually the time intervals between them are reduced. The person falls into a state close to a drug trance and can no longer control his actions.

Formation of psychological dependence

Signs of psychological addiction: symptoms of destructive behavior

The main signs of addiction appear due to the inability to satisfy the desire to get closer to the object. The following symptoms are identified:

• anxiety;
• apathy;
• irritability;
• aggression;
• anxiety;
• discomfort;
• sleep disorders;
• mood swings;
• guilt.

The symptoms manifest themselves in a complex way: unconscious mental dependence affects the behavior and mood of the individual, it becomes illogical and uncontrollable.

Psychological portrait of a person suffering from negative addiction

A dependent individual can be distinguished by characteristic personality traits:

• infantilism, irresponsible behavior;
• the desire to shift responsibilities to others;
• egocentrism, need for attention;
• children's complex of emotions: whims, frequent grievances, instability;
• the desire to get everything without effort;
• frequent changes of emotions, dependence of self-esteem on the opinions of others;
• impulsive actions, irrationality;
• inability to plan future life;
• inability to calculate the consequences of decisions made;
• selfish needs;
• underdevelopment of abstract logical thinking;
• desire for self-deception.

Addiction indicates a mental retardation. A person does not grow up, mentally remaining a child, and hides from life’s problems in alcoholism, overeating, and destructive relationships.

Formation of psychological addiction: mechanism of action

The principle of the mechanism for the development of addiction is based on the human need for the hormone of happiness - dopamine. A fixed habit forms a dopamine chain: the action that causes the production of the hormone becomes necessary. But the main changes occur in the psyche:

• the need to perform repeated actions dominates the rest;
• the personality realizes the need for an object of desire;
• need forces one to look for excuses for repeating an action.

Stereotypical behavior develops, turning into a physical need. With the support of others with addiction, high levels of stress and moral instability, the disease progresses.

Stages of addiction degradation: how to distinguish the stages of the disease

The development of psychological addiction occurs gradually. It consists of 4 stages:

• Zero stage. There is no irresistible need; contact with the object of desire occurs randomly and chaotically.
• First stage. Using a bad habit allows you to smooth out the effects of stress, quickly achieve pleasure, and compensate for the negative.
• Second stage. The psyche is rebuilt, the need for external stimulus increases. Its positive effect is reduced, the negative consequences become more noticeable.
• Third stage. Personality dissolves in addiction. In the case of drug use, addiction ends in death.

Starting from the second stage, the individual needs help. Chemical dependencies require medication treatment.

Stages of development

In psychology, there are 4 stages of development of psychological dependence:

1. Zero. At this stage, a person does not yet feel the need for someone or something. He can drink or smoke for company, etc.
2. First. Addiction is used in stressful situations or to solve problems. The pleasure of satisfying her becomes stronger, brighter. A person does not pay attention to possible negative consequences.
3. Second. The psyche works differently. To solve any problems, a person vitally needs a stimulus or satisfaction of dependence. There are no longer any positive aspects in it; there are negative consequences.

The third and final stage of psychological dependence ends in death. It can be literal, if we are talking about the use of alcoholic beverages and drugs, or symbolic. In the second case, the person dies as an individual. In essence, he becomes hostage to things, habits or other people.

Methods of combating psychological addiction: available methods

For the treatment of psychological dependence the following is used:

1. Hypnosis. Working with the subconscious under the guidance of a psychiatrist helps to form the correct dopamine chains and a stable aversion to a bad habit.
2. Psychotherapy. In modern psychology, addiction is treated using various techniques. The patient needs to work on self-esteem, worldview, and behavior. Personality reconstruction takes several months, in some cases more than a year.
3. Self-hypnosis. Independent work with the subconscious helps in the early stages. Once the disease has established itself, it is ineffective, but can become an auxiliary means of therapy.

If you suspect that you have a tendency to form addictions, a person should contact a psychologist in advance. The risk group includes teenagers, people experiencing a breakup, the death of a loved one, and those suffering from mental illness.

Causes of addiction

The modern world carries many temptations. Interactive television, high-speed Internet, “sofa” store, affordable shopping - all of the above, when combined, reduce a person’s adaptive potential. As a result, various pathological attachments arise: to a certain behavioral pattern, type of activity, occupation, which develop into addictions.

Conventionally, psychological dependence on a person can be divided into several degrees of severity.

The first degree is characterized by adaptation to certain living conditions, standard of living, comfort and is called household.

The conditional degree is characterized by attraction to an object, manifested in the desire to receive emotional responses, joy, and positivity.

Unhealthy, rigid, neurotic passion consists of a feeling of terrible fear and painful sensations at the thought that the object of affection will disappear from the life of the addict.

With obsessive attachment, a dependent person completely loses himself, submitting to the will of another.

Psychological dependence on a person most often takes its origins from childhood. Children can take up all of their mother’s free time, demanding her obedience. In the older period, such individuals tend to resort to constant manipulation, making the mother dependent on them. Grown-up children are not able to give, they are taught only to receive. The baby, with unformed willpower and personal qualities, sees the meaning of his existence in clinging to a self-sufficient person.

The following are the factors leading to psychological dependence:

- low self-esteem;

– children's complexes, leading to the formation of erroneous fears and subordination to them;

– total control over the child or overprotection (the child did not have the opportunity to make personal decisions, he was not allowed to make his own mistakes);

– excessive criticism of children against the background of a lack of praise;

– disrespectful parental attitude towards the baby;

– the desire to meet someone’s expectations, the desire to become ideal for someone.

Also, psychological dependence on a person gives rise to:

– the view that love is an obligation to share everything in half, which is replaced by the absorption of the partner’s desires and the inability to sensibly assess personal needs;

– the desire to become part of the existence of another purposeful, independent person;

– incorrect perception of one’s own strengths;

– lack of proper motivation;

- the desire to find yourself in the subordination of someone powerful, authoritarian, a person similar to the parent who kept him under total control in childhood.

It is difficult to overcome anxiety for people who did not learn to love and appreciate themselves in childhood. Such individuals convince themselves that fear is an objective fear, and all negative situations are just confirmation of this. Weak and incorrectly formed personalities do not consider relationships to be deserved: they strive to feel affection, but do not know how to perceive attention addressed to them. Any factors that influence the maturation of the individual also affect self-perception, the idea of ​​oneself as an equal partner. The basis of any addiction is the desire to level control, to get rid of the control of existence, with which a person does not know what to do.