What are the most common substance addictions?

These are the most common types of substance addictions in society.

When we talk about addictions, alcohol or hard drugs immediately come to mind, but in reality there is a wide range of these types of disorders and addictive behaviors.

As we say, addiction manifests itself in many different forms, not only as substances that are consumed by the addict..

What kinds of addictions can we find?

We believe it is appropriate before entering this section to point out that addiction is recognized as a disease by the World Health Organization. In fact, this institution recognizes it as a mental illness, like other disorders such as Alzheimer's disease or schizophrenia. In addition, it also places it on a par with chronic diseases such as cancer.

The characteristics of addiction are mainly the following:

• Loss of the ability not to consume.
• Inability to control impulses.
• Uncontrolled desire to consume.
• Dysfunctionality in the emotional responses derived from interpersonal relationships.

Thus, there are basically three groups of addictions that we can recognize: substance, behavioral (non-substance) and emotional addictions.. In this article we are going to talk about the first group.

The most common substance addictions

As we say, the most common and best known addictions are those involving the consumption of different substances. They are the following.

Alcohol consumption

One of the main problems of alcoholism is that the consumption of alcohol is legal.It is therefore easy to access it. However, it is very important to know that ingesting these drinks can cause very serious health effects.

One of the consequences of this addiction is dangerous and risky behavior on the part of the addict. On the other hand, one of the difficulties that the addict has to face is that it is very socially accepted, and many believe that it is only a social behavior, when in fact it is a very dangerous substance, many believe that it is only a social behavior, when in fact it is a very dangerous substance..

The effects of alcohol are notable on a physical and psycho-cognitive level, since they generate effects such as hangover and malaise as well as emotional instability, a significant decrease in the person's ability to react and greater aggressiveness.

2. Tobacco addiction

Did you know that nicotine is what causes addiction? As in the previous case, it is a legal substance, although there is greater knowledge about the damage it causes..

Nicotine modifies how the brain works considerably, and that is why addiction occurs. It is important to know that smoke causes many respiratory and Cardiovascular diseases.

3. Addiction to pills

Even though getting them is not as easy as getting a bottle of alcohol, there are many, many people who are addicted to pills..

It is very important to consider that each pill is different and has very different effects depending on its type and the amount consumed.

The biggest danger that exists in the consumption of pills is that the tolerance to them is very fast, so that each time the addict needs to take more and more pills. the addict needs to take more and more each time to achieve the effect he/she wants to achieve with their consumption..

4. Cannabis addiction

How many times have you been told that smoking a joint is okay? Have you been told that the only thing that happens is that you get happier? Well, the truth is that there is a lot more behind cannabis.

Although it is an illegal substance, cannabis is one of the most popular among consumers because it is relatively easy to access, and you can even buy plants and grow them as a private individual.

There are many false beliefs surrounding cannabis, the most popular being that because it comes from a plant it is natural, and therefore has no negative consequences. The truth is that it does have important consequences on the health of the consumer. In fact, it affects the cognitive level, as it causes a deterioration of intelligence, memory and speech fluency. In addition, it is also related to mental disorders, such as schizophrenia.

Addiction must be treated appropriately

A substance addiction is something that requires specialized and personalized treatment for each specific case. It is important to know the addict and his or her situation well, and to act accordingly..

Addiction treatment encompasses the use of different stages in which different aspects are worked on, such as, for example, the complete elimination of consumption or the patient's self-knowledge.