Addictive Behavior

Improved Essays
Addiction is derived from a Latin term for “enslaved by” or “bound to.”(.....) A condition classified as addiction results when an individual engages themselves in irresistible activities, or are consumed by a substance. This gives a pleasurable effect to the person, and if these acts continue it may become compulsive. Which may interfere with day to day life and the responsibilities that follow. The individuals are not always aware that their behavior is out of control. Most addictive behavior is a reaction from being emotionally stressed. Stress can disrupt the brain circuits that increase chances of drug addiction. “A stress related neurotransmitter called corticotropin- release factor increases in the amygdala, a brain region that plays …show more content…
The addiction has hijacked the brain. There is a learning process in addiction for instance dopamine adds to the pleasure principle, and also has a role in memory and learning. Two major factors that turn liking something specific into becoming dependent on it. Dopamine interacts with glutamate which takes over the reward-related learning in the brain system. A system such as this is important in maintaining a healthy life needed to survive with reward and pleasure. Addictive behaviors or substances are able to stimulate the reward circuit which in turn overloads it. This type of exposure to addictive acts motivate the individual to try and find this type of pleasure. This rewarding feeling dulls over time causing a weakened sense of pleasure known as tolerance. In all addictions it is found that the initially desired act or substance will no longer give them the same amount of pleasure. This is when compulsion sets in. The memory of this effect, and feeling of need to recreate it continue forcing the individual to recreate these feelings. Major parts of the brain such as the amygdala and hippocampus hold information dealing with environmental cues related with the wanted effect, so these feelings will be located once again. The memories of these effects are intense cravings. The cravings are a conditioned response in the addiction. Cravings also lead to a relapse …show more content…
Behavioral addictions also known as process addictions include work, exercise, gambling, sex and even video games. Research has shown that individuals may suffer from multiple addictions towards both a substance or a behavior. Each addiction can range in severity causing treatments to be very difficult. This is known as co-morbid factors which are usually followed with anxiety, and depression. “Sexual addiction is best described as a progressive intimacy disorder characterized by compulsive sexual thoughts and acts.” (..herkov.) Just like a drug addiction the behavior has to increase over time to be able to have the same results. Sometimes these behaviors only include compulsive masturbation or use of pornography. This isn 't always the case because for some it can include illegal activities such as voyeurism, rape and exhibitionism. This is not to say that all sex addicts become sex offenders about 55% of convicted offenders can be considered addicts. Society all together sees sex offenders as having a need for power or control. The changes in the reward system has shown a greater understanding that powerful sex drives motivate these offenses. This type of addiction can lead to arrest, financial problems, broken relationships, and health risks. In society the number of people engaging in unusual sexual practices such as pornography or escort

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Defining any type of addiction is referred to as a periodic use or action. Substance addiction, however, is likely to be correspondent when defining an addict (Kosovski and Smith 854). Dopamine is the neurotransmitter responsible for the ongoing pleasure the body receives while using drugs (Jedras and Field 2). An urging need of a “high” is the main objective for the addict (Piazza 388). Effects of drugs result in abnormalities in bodily functions (Bartlett et al. 350).…

    • 539 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Addictions can lead to the worst in people. Those who have an addiction do not have control over what they are doing, taking, or using. It has the power to hurt the individual mentally, physically, and emotionally. According to Lauren Slater, “Rat Park: The Radical Addiction, scientists, Old and Milner were stating that an addiction is a “physiological inevitability”(6) which causes them to conduct experiments in finding the pleasure center. Another scientist who was very fond of finding the cause of addictions was Bruce Alexander.…

    • 1335 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Drug Users Should Go To Treatment Drug addiction is an illness causing extreme drug craving, drug seeking and use. Despite all the consequences it still continues. Drug addiction begins with the single act of taking drugs, and over time the ability to choose not to do so becomes harder and harder. Taking drugs and seeking the high becomes a compulsion. The behavior results from prolonged drug exposure on the brain and how it functions.…

    • 831 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Analysis Of Blue Lens

    • 1216 Words
    • 5 Pages

    These activities or consumptions may be pleasurable, but the continuous use or action eventually interferes with the activities of daily living, and with the responsibilities of the individual, such as relationships, academic or professional life, or health. The individual who suffers from an addiction may not be aware of the compulsive and addictive behavior, and how it is causing problems to him and others. While the term addiction usually refers to physical addiction, that is, the biological state in which the body becomes accustomed to the presence of a substance, there are also addictions which can be psychological in nature. An individual is said to have developed tolerance to a substance in those cases of physical additions where the body adapts to the substance to a point it no longer has the same effect it originally had. Nonetheless, most of the time addictive behavior has no relation to a physical tolerance, but rather a psychological source.…

    • 1216 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Addiction is a state characterized by compulsive engagement in rewarding stimuli, despite the consequences. This condition results when a person ingests a substance (alcohol or drugs) or engages in an activity (gambling or shopping). These substances or activities are pleasurable to the person, but the continued act can cause problems with everyday life, such as work, health, and family. Normally, users are not aware of their abnormal behavior and how it is affecting themselves and others. Many people start abusing drugs when they are under stress.…

    • 2103 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Addiction: one’s inability to control the need/use of a substance in which they soon become reliant on. In Robert Louis Stevenson's’ book The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, it shows an outside perspective on how addiction affects others and the duality of good and evil. Addiction is a hard thing for someone to come to terms with and realize it is evident in their own life, it affects others more than one can think. There are 4 stages of addiction, Drug Experimentation, Regular Use, Problem use/Risky Use and Addiction (Chemical Dependency). In the book Dr. Jekyll experiences all of these, in the beginning of his story he says, “But the temptations of a discovery...at last overcame my suggestions or alarm...…

    • 784 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    As some people develop addictions to drugs, and not others, it’s interesting to think about why. Robinson and Berridge go into many complex neurological explanations for this issue, mainly involving animals, but that can, however, carry over into humans. Why certain people can start taking an addictive drug and stop when they so choose, and why others cannot, is interesting to think about. As no two people are the same, there’s obviously not a single, distinctive way to determine a definite cause. It is interesting that both negative and positive reinforcement had been considered as possible descriptions for drug addictions, as they would appear to be opposites.…

    • 254 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Nora Volkow, MD stands out for laying the groundwork that dopamine is a pivotal player in addiction. She is Director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Her groundbreaking work led to our understanding that addiction is strongly influenced by the release of dopamine in the brain and spinal cord. This “disease model” of addiction is not universally accepted (http://bit.ly/1K3AvnM).…

    • 2077 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Addiction is a chronic disease that impairs ones behavior and life responsibilities. It can be pleasurable to oneself, but harmful at the same time. Addiction involves substances and activities such as alcohol, cocaine, gambling, etc. and it becomes very compulsive. Twenty-five percent of all alcoholics are women.…

    • 1105 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Most people have known someone who has gone through addiction of some sort. Whether it be drugs, alcohol, or something else, everyone has been touched by addiction. Every person learns to deal with addiction in different ways and the stages of addiction are not always obvious to those around them. Addiction can become dangerous to those around the addict and often the addicted person loses control. Hyde was a menacing person with no care for those around him.…

    • 619 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Causes Of Addiction

    • 2392 Words
    • 10 Pages

    Addiction: What Causes It? “Every addiction, no matter what it is, is the result of trying to escape from something by going in the direction of a need that is currently not being met. In order to move past our addiction, we have to figure out what we are trying to use our addiction to get away from and what need we are trying to use our addiction to meet” Teal Swan. Addiction doesn’t necessary means it has to be too a drug they’re other certain things that are addicting. In chapter seven of Opening Skinner’s Box: Great Psychological Experiments, Lauren Slater, author and psychologist, argues that she has no desire to try the bountiful mind-altering drugs in midst (172).…

    • 2392 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    With addiction, the desire created requires more of the substance to be administered to fulfill the need. The reward system “is viewed as an essential structure during the development” of craving and relapsing (Li, et al.…

    • 785 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    How one interprets or react to their surrounding connection can determine the severity of addiction. The “psycho” or rather psychological part of the bio/psycho/social model take into consideration psychodynamic forces, learning, motivation, interpersonal interactions and one’s personality towards addiction abuse (Doweiko, 2015). During this process personality plays a major role in environment interaction, future interactions and the biochemical interaction of the brain. The theories of psychological addiction brings biological and social components all together. Within the psychological department of addiction morals, learning, coping, and personality defense shapes the impact of addiction.…

    • 1849 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Addiction is a state that results when someone consumes a substance or involves themselves in an activity such as gambling in a way that it interferes with their normal life (Howatt 2005). There are various addictions such as drug addiction, gambling, food, internet, sex among others. Initially addiction was assumed to be a disease. However, recent research has shown that it is not a disease as it does not hold all the characteristics of a disease. In 1977.…

    • 833 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The topic of my essay is drug addiction in the United States and how it is a disease. I will provide information from my research to support my argument of why it is a disease and not a choice. There were studies that had shown that the brain of an addict is affected when they use their drug of choice by way of brain scans. Addiction is a disease which if not treated properly can spiral into something far worse. Many people begin with a mental illness such as depression.…

    • 865 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays