The keys to understanding addiction

Some basic ideas to understand how addictions work and how they should be overcome.

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

We talk about addiction when there is a psychological dependence, that is, when the person cannot do without that which is the reason for his or her addiction and it starts to become the center of his or her life. The person loses control and begins to act compulsively causing a deterioration in the quality of life.

The keys to understanding addiction

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

When the addiction is at a very early stage, it is difficult to detect, since the addicted person makes a great effort to hide what is happening. Feelings of losing control over one's own behavior, shame or fear of people's reactions. or fear of the reactions of the people around make this psychological alteration progress without the people close to the addicted person being able to know about it and without the addicted person being able to receive the necessary help.

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

• Altering your routines and behaviors
• Changes in mood and humor
• Changes even in the people he/she relates to
• You begin to lie to maintain your addiction.
• You begin to see changes in your social, family and personal relationships.
• Your job performance may be affected
• They let go of responsibilities
• Isolates him/herself
• Steals money from loved ones to invest in their addiction
• Stops doing things he/she used to enjoy, etc...

Detecting an addiction early on can make all the difference in determining what the recovery process will be like. That is to say, the longer it takes to detect it, the more it will have become established in the person's life, the more these patterns of thought and behavior will have become entrenched. However, this does not mean that a solution cannot be found.

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

Fewer times do the person themselves recognize the problem or take the first step towards recovery. They are usually pushed by other people or circumstances.

Where can the origin be?

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

From this perspective, addiction must be understood in a bio-psycho-social way.where factors at the following levels must be evaluated.

Biological

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

Psychological

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

Environmental or contextual part

Factors such as living in dysfunctional families, lack of rules or poor communication between parents and children are influential, as well as social pressure, the desire to feel integrated into a group, lack of values or affection, advertising, the media, stereotypes, etc., are influential.media, stereotypes, etc...

What to do in the face of addiction: first steps

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

Initiative of the person

As mentioned above, it is more difficult for the addicted person to take the first step to seek help, but this could be a possible situation. In this case, the first step is for the person to recognize what is happening to him/her and perhaps looking for someone they trust to talk to may be helpful..

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

Third party initiative

The other scenario, and the most common, is that one or more people in the environment realize that something is wrong and they are the ones who initiate the process of seeking help. They usually don't know how to handle the situation either; it's new to 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 information and professional advice can be a good way to start..

Concluding

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

Author: Laura Álvarez Martínez, psychologist and member of Centro de Terapia Online.