Non-chemical addictions in children: who is to blame and what to do?

When most people hear the word addiction, they think of dependence on substances such as drugs or alcohol. But alcohol, drugs and other commonly abused substances are not the only things people abuse. Or they think they might be addicted to them.

In fact, simply replace the word “substance” with the word “behavior” and you will discover the definition of behavioral addictions, some of which may surprise you. For example, this could be the Internet, shopping or skydiving. The desire to experience a “high” becomes so strong that the addicted person loses control and seeks activity, despite all the negative consequences.

And so, let's look at the most common habits that people get hooked on.

Gadget addiction

Science has provided humanity with innovative and technological mechanisms and gadgets that are part of every person's life today. From cell phones to high-tech televisions, from multimedia gaming systems to music players, it's a gadget that holds the world right in our pocket. People have now reached a point where they cannot live without these devices. This ultimately leads to dependence on them. This addiction has become a serious problem in the world, especially among teenagers.

Addiction to gadgets is determined by getting pleasure from using a laptop, tablet, smartphone, game console, etc., and spending a lot of time and other resources on it. Today it is difficult to imagine a modern teenager without a mobile phone or any other devices. Network, email, movies, games, music, Internet - all this is available in a few clicks.

Teenagers these days are becoming gadget-addicted, they do not participate in social activities, but “sit” on social networks, they do not go outside, to parks to play, but have game consoles and video games, they do not have “human friends.” “, but there are gadgets and most importantly, they do not have hobbies and hobbies, but there is an addiction that can cause a harmful lifestyle and affect their academic performance and quality of life.

Dependent behavior: options for non-chemical addiction, psychological aspects, consequences

a harmonious personality has the most valuable qualities

characterized by high adaptive capabilities, capable of resorting to the most productive coping strategies in difficult, stressful situations, ensuring social and family functioning at the proper level.
Moreover, in contrast to disharmonious personality structures, a harmonious personality is not characterized by traits of dependence
. According to the explanatory dictionary of the Russian language, dependence is subordination to others in the absence of independence and freedom.

Since the 80s of the last century, under addictionology

understood the science of addiction to psychoactive substances - alcohol and drugs. Studying the “tree of dependence”, V.D. Moskalenko points out that the parental family where the subject grew up and was brought up is considered as the “soil”. This is most obvious with chemical types of addiction - alcohol, drugs. Such families are often problematic and dysfunctional.

The “roots” of addictions are immersed in a “soil” saturated with manifestations of violence (physical, spiritual, sexual, emotional), which gives rise to experiences of loneliness, fear, anger and, globally, shame

. In this case, the hereditary contribution is also a significant component.

The “branches” can be alcohol, drugs, food, people

(the phenomenon of codependency),
gambling, sex, games, religion
.

Currently, addictionology also considers types of non-chemical (behavioral) addiction

:

• gambling (gambling),
• addiction to computer (Internet),
• relationship addiction,
• sexy,
• love,
• avoidance
• to loss of money,
• urgent,
• workaholism,
• attraction to spiritual quest,
• addiction to fun driving (Toad syndrome),
• food addiction (anorexia, bulimia, overeating).

Addictive behavior is considered as a maladaptive way of interacting with reality, both in chemical and behavioral (non-chemical) addiction. Psychological signs of addiction

include obsessive-compulsive manifestations in relation to the subject of addiction, already at the initial stages a loss of control (quantitative and situational) is manifested,
denial is used as a phenomenon of psychological defense
. Physiological or physical dependence (the term used for substance dependence) refers to tolerance and withdrawal symptoms.

Criteria for diagnosing behavioral addiction

:

1. Incentives (cravings) for counterproductive behavioral activities.
2. Increasing tension until the activity is completed.
3. Completing this activity immediately but briefly relieves stress.
4. Repeated cravings and straining after hours, days, or weeks (withdrawal symptoms).
5. The uniqueness of the external manifestations of the corresponding addiction syndrome.
6. Subsequent existence determined by external and internal (dysphoria, melancholy) manifestations.
7. Hedonistic shade of desire in the early stages of addiction.

Brief characteristics of some non-chemical forms of addiction

Pathological attraction to gambling

(pathological gambling) is one of the most common forms of behavioral addiction.
Currently, in the United States, pathological gamblers (“problem gamblers”), whose lives are completely dominated by this passion, make up 2-5% of the population
.

The presence of acute social and financial intractable problems, the prevalence of illegal actions and a high suicidal risk are the main problems facing a pathological gambler.

Computer or Internet addiction

can be formed with greater ease than the previous one, since computerization has covered school and student education programs, many have home computers, Internet cafes and computer clubs are common. They are attracted to gambling, there is an addiction to virtual dating, to visiting porn sites, there is a constant search for information (web surfing), which leads to overload. Computer game addiction develops especially easily in childhood. At the same time, the child loses communication with real people, is immersed in a virtual, often frightening world, gets used to it, and “participates” in scenes of violence and aggressive actions. There is maladaptation with anxiety, depression, disruption of the normal development of the child, and personality formation. Anxiety that increases when away from the computer, in turn, increases the formation of addiction. Thus, there is a dehumanization of the Internet addictive personality, the basis of which is self-destruction.

Currently, in connection with progressive technologies, it has become possible to communicate via mobile phones using SMS messages, which is quite affordable and does not require bulky technical devices. At the same time, “addicts” do not part with their phone even at night, and experience irritability when it is not around. A “dependent” teenager is in constant tension, ready to immediately accept new information. Over time, telephone conversations are replaced by more formal communication - sending SMS messages, when the need for live, emotional contact is lost.

Relationship addiction

is built on a certain type of relationship in a group of “interests” that is significant for the “dependent” subject: constantly visiting each other, spending time together, anxiety in the absence of such meetings, an obsessive desire to resume them.

Sexual, love addiction

those who in childhood were deprived of emotional warmth from their parents and grew up in an emotionally cold, repulsive atmosphere are susceptible.
Compensatory fantasies paint the image of a deliverer from oppressive mental problems. The meaning of life for a love addict comes down to finding an object of love, stimulating a feeling of intense love. However, such a state cannot last long, since it is based on feelings of high intensity. Sexual addictions are characterized by fixation on sexual experiences and activity. The attitude towards sex is of an overvalued nature. Sex becomes the only source of pleasure when the feeling of loneliness and isolation subsides, at least for a short time. Relationships with sex are pathological: other interests are crowded out, healthy intimate relationships are not established. Sex addicts are characterized by experiencing an inferiority complex. There is a frequent change of partners or a desire for sexual perversion to achieve sexual arousal and orgasm. A love addict chooses a person with signs of an avoidance addict
. A love addict is characterized by behavior that is based on the fear of abandonment, brought in from childhood, when parents repeatedly abandoned him in childhood and preferred work, trips, and friends to communicating with the child. A love addict feels abandoned when a partner exhibits addictive behavior on the side. As a result, negative emotions, feelings of resentment, humiliation, and a state of psychological discomfort prevail in a love addict. The avoidant addict is not satisfied with his partner's persistent attempts to force him into a love relationship against his will.

Addiction to losing money

does not allow the addict to rationally manage money or plan expenses. There is a habit of immediately spending money on purchasing unnecessary items.

Codependency

is seen as a mirror image of addiction and at the same time a “denial of oneself.” Codependents have low self-esteem; compulsive (irresistible) desire to control the lives of other people; the desire to care for others by saving them.

Urgent addiction

- dependence on constant lack of time. There is strict minute-by-minute time control; functioning occurs at too high a speed, which is not accompanied by a feeling of comfort. Work can be done at any time, even on holidays, at the expense of your personal time. The ability to enjoy what is happening in the present is lost; obtaining the desired pleasures in the future due to postponing their implementation seems problematic, since it is under the control of responsibilities.

Workaholism (workaholism)

- a variant of dependent behavior, when work is used as a means of escape from reality, replacing love for family, affection for friends, and other interests. A workaholic always works more than is required of him. Work is not enjoyable, but is perceived as an activity that constantly causes anxiety and a state of tension. The result is destructiveness, manifested in alcohol abuse, smoking, and psychosomatic disorders.

Attraction to spiritual quest

especially pronounced in those subjects who, from childhood, experienced a state of emotional and parallel sensory deprivation, growing up in a family where they were not given due attention. Hence, substitution fantasies, phenomena of psychological defense in the form of reactions of compensation and overcompensation. Often possessing personal qualities of an unstable type, such subjects from adolescence and adolescence, due to inexperience and gullibility, can become victims of various destructive organizations, including pseudo-religious ones.

Psychological aspects of addictive behavior

:

• The main problem of any addiction is the increase in isolation from interpersonal contacts.
• Addiction is a surrogate for interpersonal contacts: treating people as inanimate things.
• Addiction is formed not on a rational, cognitive level, but on an emotional one.
• Fixation (the beginning of the development of addictive behavior) is accompanied by an emotional upsurge (euphoria, mental relaxation, a feeling of “take-off”, a feeling of carelessness, increased imagination), replaces the process of repression, and entails a desire to experience the altered state again.
• In the process of addiction, an illusion of control, comfort, improvement, and freedom is created.
• The feeling of shame is central to the dynamics of addictive behavior.
• An unsatisfied need is the cause of addiction.
• Social isolation. Substitute fantasies. "High" alone.
• Fear of pathologizing in solitude (influx of autistic experiences, increased imagination).
• Distrust of others, suspicion.
• Irrational addictive behavior is a guaranteed way to obtain pleasure.
• Remission does not eliminate the addictive value system: discomfort remains.
• Addictive behavior is associated with suicidal behavior.

Based on our clinical experience of observation and examination in the Republican Clinical Psychiatric Hospital and in outpatient settings of more than 107 people who were under the influence of destructive cult organizations, as well as based on an assessment of the research results of other authors, we conclude that in the structure of mental disorders under the influence of such non-traditional cult organizations, the core phenomenon is the phenomenon of dependence

. This is reflected in dependent personality disorder according to the current 10th version of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10). In this case, general criteria for personality disorders are observed in the cognitive (cognitive), emotional spheres, and the sphere of drives affecting interpersonal relationships. These areas are affected due to the use of proven intensive psychotechnologies in sects. With a developed dependent personality disorder, the sectarian reveals insolvency, helplessness in solving any, even insignificant everyday issues, complete subordination of his needs to the “spiritual teacher,” lack of motivation and critical assessment of the situation. Left to his own devices, he feels helplessness, confusion, “emptiness,” and the fear of abandonment.

The phenomenon of dependence is also embodied in the so-called “floating” dissociative states with the return of a sectarian, who has almost broken with the sect, through the trigger mechanism back to the cult lifestyle, which makes it difficult to leave these organizations.

At the psychotic level, along with other disorders we described earlier, delusional-hallucinatory symptoms with phenomena of mental automatism (Kandinsky-Clerambault syndrome) were observed. The patients were “controlled”; they “heard the voice” of their spiritual mentor, who often forced them to leave for another world, which led to suicide attempts. The structure of painful experiences reflected the information received in cult organizations.

The emergence of the phenomenon of addiction was facilitated by the constant instillation in destructive sects of feelings of guilt, fear, the need to atone for sins for the misdeeds of previous generations, fear of intimacy (including intimate), fear of loss of trust, persecution and the threat of retribution in case of leaving destructive cults.

Targeted by the leaders of cult organizations, adherents, like robots, can commit crimes. At the same time, for example, they declare that “ it was not they who killed, but God Krishna

"
In such cases, when “cultists” commit socially dangerous actions, to determine the degree of their guilt in the process of forensic psychiatric examination, criteria for pathological dependence
(from “spiritual mentors”) are considered:

• deep induction by a religious idea, covering all personal structures of the recipient;
• the onset of addiction as a result of the conscious, purposeful activity of the inducer to involve adherents in his sphere of influence;
• the presence of premorbid socially positive traits, the absence of aggressiveness, cruelty, and antisocial behavior before joining the sect.

Observations on the dynamics of mental and behavioral disorders in those involved in the cult

in the process of formation of the phenomenon of addiction allowed us to identify the following
stages
:
Stage I
(up to 6 months of systematic visiting of a destructive cult):

• inspiration;
• often involving parents;
• systematic absences from home (at least 3 times a week);
• a tendency to conceal the true purposes of these departures from home;
• increased interest in “new” information in the cult.

Stage II

(6 months or more after systematically attending a destructive cult):

• increased frequency of meetings with supporters of a destructive cult under a plausible pretext;
• in-depth study of “cultist” sources of information;
• loss of interest in study and work;
• termination in some cases of study and work;
• intensive work “for the cult”, bringing material benefits there;
• committing actions that contradict generally accepted norms of behavior;
• isolation from communication with family members and friends outside the cult;
• leaving the family;
• destruction of one’s own family, leaving for a partner from a sect;
• isolation from the media;
• compliance with the internal routine of the cult (resulting in psychophysical exhaustion);
• increased manifestations of traits of dependence on “spiritual mentors”, infantilism;
• suspension of creative development of the individual;
• aggressiveness in communication outside the cult;
• manifestation of mental disorders.

Stage III

(in the long-term period, after 2 years):

• dependent personality disorder;
• chronic personality change after a disaster;
• tendency to relapse of mental disorders.

The breaking of all life stereotypes, the rejection of accumulated experience, a radical revision of relationships with loved ones, the collapse of previously outlined prospects - this is a deep shock, a catastrophe that changes the entire future life path of an adherent of a destructive cult.

Recently, there has been a tendency towards the formation of dependent behavior among listeners of the so-called “seminars”

using psychotechnologies of destructive cult organizations. The organizers of such courses are aimed only at making a profit. According to the patients who were under our supervision in a psychiatric clinic, they attended these classes in so-called “rehabilitation” groups, in “personal growth” groups and similar places. Here are two observations.

Observation 1st.

N-ko V. G., born in 1951 has secondary specialized education. Works as a bath attendant in a hotel. Married for the second time, has two children from different marriages.

She was first admitted to a psychiatric clinic on January 16, 2007. The patient was difficult to get to the doctor’s office. Periodically “freezes” in monotonous poses, whispers something, and does not answer questions. She sits leaning on her husband's shoulder. He pronounces certain words at random. He does not respond to the doctor’s request to explain his statements. He looks around in fear. Refuses to name those present (husband, son). Then he jumps up and rushes around the office in anxiety. She looks detached, looks around cautiously, speaks in a quiet voice, approaching the doctor. Does not reveal internal experiences: “ What happened has already passed

"
Tense. She declares: “ Everything happened because of what she said, but it was impossible to speak... I saw paradise... my subconscious was opened
.”
Before hospitalization, she slept poorly for four days and said “mandalas-prayers,” which were taught in an organization supposedly aimed at developing “personal growth” and nurturing “leadership qualities.” I signed up for training in advance and sent money to the Center in Moscow. Seminars were held in Minsk, with payment from 150 to 750 dollars from 1st to 3rd level. Psychotechniques were used similar to those used in destructive cults, designed to control consciousness, suppress the will, and influence thinking. In the diary entries
: stereotypical exercises on “declension” and “conjugation”, drawing and coloring of polygons, diagrams of the “materialization ritual”, prayers for the “blessing of goods for sale”, which were to be read 28 times, “blessing of cigarettes” read 49 times, for the “buyer’s appeal” read about 100 times. It was explained to her that after “training” she would be able to independently lead such seminars. A significant income will help improve the difficult financial situation (my daughter is studying at a commercial university). If you are not happy with your relationship with your husband, they suggested finding a worthy partner among those attending the seminars. She began to hear the “voice of teachers” who controlled her thoughts, actions, influenced her mood, and “drived away evil spirits” (syndrome of mental automatism with pseudohallucinations, delusions of persecution, mental and physical influence).

The patient's condition was classified as " acute polymorphic psychotic disorder with symptoms of schizophrenia, associated with stress

" After treatment with antipsychotics, acute delusional-hallucinatory symptoms were relieved. Upon discharge, she admitted that the “organization” forbade her from providing any information under pain of punishment.

Observation 2

. B-ko Yu. V., born in 1974, the eldest of two children in the family, the father died tragically, the mother is seriously ill. Has not worked since December 2006. Secondary education (graduated from a trade school), studied at the Institute of Modern Knowledge, but left school. Divorced, daughter 14 years old. I separated from my common-law husband for about 1 month. back.

I started attending seminars at the organization “First Step” on personal growth, where, against the background of sleep deprivation and starvation, a powerful effect on the psyche was carried out. I completed two levels of training and contributed a large amount of money (more than 600 euros). Recently, my sleep has become disturbed, I practically refused to eat, I “heard the voice” of the course leader, and at home I did ridiculous things because... she was “managed” (she tried to throw away good things, packing them in three bags). My mood dropped and I was haunted by a feeling of guilt for not acquiring “leadership qualities.” Brought to the clinic by friends.

Both patients found themselves in a psychiatric hospital for the first time in their lives. In their assessment: “ life didn’t work out, we didn’t achieve what we deserved.”

" High prestige motivation was combined with an underestimation of real opportunities. The patients' personalities were distinguished by hysterical character traits, infantilism, lack of independence, and a tendency to react with anxiety. In the process of developing dependent behavior, pronounced mental disadaptation occurred. Currently, relatives and friends of the victims, together with the courts, are busy bringing the organizers of the “training seminars” to justice.

Skugarevskaya E. I.

BSMU. Published: Medical Panorama magazine No. 8, June 2007.

Shopping addiction (shopaholism)

Whether it's shopping with friends on the weekend, picking out new clothes for work or trinkets for a friend, spending holidays on gifts under the tree—shopping can even be called someone's job. It's normal to give in to the occasional impulse purchase. After all, most people love to shop. However, for some, shopping is much more than a pleasant pastime, and in some cases it is a real and destructive addiction that can turn into a disaster.

Overspending and forced purchasing can be defined as inappropriate, excessive and uncontrollable. Impulsivity is a key feature, basically lack of control over your impulses leads to damage.

Shopping addiction can wreak havoc on a person's life, family, relationships, physical and mental health, and finances. Buying in excess can get out of control and lead to more serious problems that detract from, rather than enhance, your quality of life. The more you use shopping as an attempt to fill an inner emptiness or pain, manage your feelings, restore your mood, or strive for an “ideal” image, the more likely it is that you need to take a closer look at the cost of these behaviors.

Sometimes you start using shopping as a defense mechanism against your negative emotions or feelings. You may temporarily escape your problems, but at the end of the day they are still there. Timely seeking qualified help, such as psychological counseling and cognitive behavioral therapy, will help you overcome the craving for thoughtless, impulsive purchases.

Difficulties during remission

The most difficult period for the patient is remission. The fact is that on a subconscious level a person feels the need for surfactants for several years. Therefore, the number of those who relapse often exceeds the number of those people who were able to get rid of the disease.

You can recognize an approaching breakdown by certain signs. Psychologists say that the feeling of guilt for their own problems in front of loved ones forces them to actively pay attention not to their own lives, but to the lives of those around them. This attitude is wrong.

A person's behavior becomes uncontrollable, he may become depressed and have problems sleeping.

This condition makes the patient understand that control over life has been lost, and he is looking for ways to quickly restore his happiness. This is how a breakdown occurs during remission. The patient returns to drinking or drugs.

Remission of drug addiction

Eating disorder (food addiction)

Food addiction is a disease similar to drug or alcohol addiction in which a chemical reaction in the brain is triggered by a particular behavior. In food addiction, the behavior that triggers the reaction is eating a certain food or a certain amount of food. This addiction manifests itself as an uncontrollable craving for excessive eating and usually involves eating salty, sweet or carbohydrate-rich foods to satisfy an increased appetite.

Eating disorders can lead to complications in the functioning of internal organs (gastrointestinal tract, endocrine and nervous systems) and are difficult to treat. In severe cases, according to doctors, getting rid of food addiction can be more difficult and longer than overcoming drug addiction or alcoholism. People suffering from alcohol addiction, for example, can stop drinking alcohol under artificial conditions (isolation in a rehabilitation center, taking medications incompatible with alcohol, etc.).

Such long-term isolation makes it possible to overcome addiction. But people who are addicted to food still need to eat. There can be no talk of any isolation. Only in specialized clinics is it possible to recreate conditions where, with the help of trained staff, food will be taken on a limited basis.

INTRODUCTION

Alcoholism and drug use have truly become a “national disaster.” Having sharply increased in the 1990s, the consumption of alcohol, various drugs, and volatile inhalants, starting from approximately 2002–2003, stopped and stabilized, but until now the trend towards a decrease in their consumption is invisible or extremely insignificant.

The consumption of all of the above substances begins in adolescence, somewhat less frequently in primary school. The consequences of using drugs, toxic substances or alcohol abuse at an early age, with slight variations, are the same: loss of healthy interests, decreased intellectual abilities, breakup of young families. Thus, addiction to alcohol or drugs is a blow to society and this should be countered by working among young people in schools, colleges, institutes, and universities.

A teacher or educator, and then a nurse at a health center or a doctor at a university medical unit, can assume that one of the members of youth groups is developing chemical dependency. Only later is work with the “addicted” carried out by a psychologist or, if it comes to that, a narcologist. Therefore, the material in our book should be accessible to both people with and without medical education.

Non-chemical addiction - gaming, computer, Internet addiction and a number of others - is a social phenomenon, more recent. However, their prevalence is increasing, and the consequences can be severe: loss of interests, moral degradation. The causes, predispositions, and risk factors for chemical and non-chemical addiction are largely similar. That's why we combine them in one manual.

The book is divided into a general part and chapters devoted to specific types of dependencies. The main goal of our manual is their prevention.

Addiction to risky behavior (adrenaline addiction)

Adrenaline junkie is a term used to describe people who enjoy intense and exciting activities that produce an adrenaline rush. This is the type of person who likes things like skydiving, extreme sports or potentially dangerous activities such as roofing, hooking, etc.

When you are excited, fearful, or emotionally overstimulated, your body releases the hormone adrenaline. When this hormone enters the bloodstream, it increases your heart rate, blood pressure, and breathing rate, which can heighten your senses and give you an energy boost.

Unfortunately, thrill seekers are now not only adults, but also teenagers. To show their “coolness” and satisfy their desires, teenagers are ready to do a lot. They often openly play with death, which doctors note in such individuals is a decrease in self-preservation instincts.

Every year in Russia there are accidents that end in disability or, in the worst case, death for those who want a thrill. Unfortunately, this does not stop adrenaline fans, and they are ready to come up with new ways to get extreme risky sensations: driving at high speed, riding electric trains, clinging to handrails, jumping from roofs, descending into the mines of abandoned buildings, etc.

Love and sex (sex addiction)

Sex addiction, also often called hypersexuality and compulsive sexual behavior disorder, is a condition in which the sufferer becomes overly preoccupied with thoughts or behaviors that produce the desired sexual effect.

For some people, sex addiction can be very dangerous and lead to significant difficulties in relationships. Like drug or alcohol addiction, it can have a negative impact on a person's physical and mental health, personal relationships, quality of life, and safety.

Chapter 1 THE CONCEPT OF “DEPENDENCE”. NORM AND PATHOLOGY

While chemical dependence is certainly a disease in the eyes of those around the patient and society as a whole, then additional clarification is required regarding non-chemical dependence.

Chemical dependency

defined as a combination of physiological, behavioral and other phenomena in which the use of a substance or class of substances begins to occupy first place in the individual's value system.

The main characteristic of “addiction” is a strong or irresistible need to take a psychoactive substance (PS).

PV

- these are drugs that can have a special effect on the central nervous system of people, causing stimulating, euphoric, exciting, hypnotic, sedative effects and sometimes hallucinations.

From the above definitions, the pathological (painful) nature of chemical dependence is clear.

Types of non-chemical addiction have been increasing in number in recent years. If the “International Classification of Diseases”, published in Russia in 1994, lists only one type of it – “Pathological addiction to gambling”, then over the past 15 years publications have appeared on computer and Internet addiction, and training addiction, and a number of others. Non-chemical and chemical dependence are united by their acquisition of a leading place in the individual’s value system with the displacement of former needs or ideals (career growth, desire for knowledge, etc.).

However, they may object to us: what about creative activity? After all, a person, engulfed in, say, scientific research or literary pursuits, can completely or partially exclude family, material wealth, health from the value system, and even ignore sleep and food.

The great Russian classic writer Fyodor Dostoevsky worked all night and chain-smoked. As a result, he suffered from pulmonary emphysema and died from pulmonary hemorrhage. The Austrian writer and also a classicist Franz Kafka used insomnia to work. He didn’t start a family and died early. Their work, according to a number of reviews, resembled self-immolation.

So isn’t creativity related to non-chemical addiction? Or collecting? How should one determine the line between normality and pathology in cases of non-chemical addiction? It seems to us that this imaginary facet has two components:

1. Usefulness or uselessness for society (it is unlikely that someone addicted to slot machines is useful to him).

2. Preservation of personality or its degradation and disintegration (scientists, writers, “non-criminal” collectors retain individuality, decency, worldview).

Let's decipher some terms that will be used when describing individual types of addiction.

Psychological dependence:

the desire to take psychoactive drugs without significant physical discomfort outside of their use (this is the first phase, and sometimes the only phase in the development of addiction).

Physical dependence:

taking psychoactive drugs with the occurrence of severe disorders outside of their use (the second phase of addiction development).
These disorders are combined into “ withdrawal syndrome
”: severe pain, low mood, cardiovascular, gastrointestinal and other disorders outside of drug use. In alcoholism, the term “hangover syndrome” is still in use.

Addiction

– use of psychoactive substances included in the list of drugs with the formation of dependence.

Substance abuse

– use with the formation of dependence on substances not included in the list of drugs.

Let's move on to the causes of chemical and non-chemical addiction. They are often common. However, to understand them it is necessary to introduce intermediate sections.

Plastic surgery addiction

The desire to achieve the “highest” standard of beauty becomes contagious among us. For celebrities who are often caught on camera, enhancing their beauty is commonplace and becomes "normal". But plastic surgery can also attract non-showbiz people to the process of improving their appearance.

Addiction to plastic surgery can be classified as a behavioral addiction.

People who are attracted to both non-surgical and surgical procedures are obsessive about certain behaviors. These types of people are mainly concerned with correcting that part of their body that they consider to be faulty and/or ugly. By correcting some of their perceived shortcomings, a person can feel comfort and satisfaction. In most cases, these sensations do not last, but only stimulate the patient’s interest in repeated plastic surgery. One operation to improve beauty does not immediately lead to addiction.

Like the risk of substance abuse, the danger of excessive attraction to beauty can lead to permanent depression. These effects can lead to difficulties in a person's personal life. In addition to the possible dangers to mental health, plastic surgery can also affect a person's physical health. Excessive plastic surgery can cause permanent damage to muscles and skin.