What happens in our mind when we develop a non-chemical addiction?

This is how non-chemical addictions take over the lives of those who suffer from them.

The concept of "addiction" usually goes hand in hand with that of "drug", but in practice, this is not the case. There are addictions that do not involve the consumption of any addictive substance, and in fact, these are not statistically rare cases.

The large number of people who have become addicted to gambling and spend many hours of the week betting their money and even going into debt to keep trying their luck is, for example, a sign that this type of disorder does not depend on our brain coming into contact with certain molecules from outside.

In this article we will explore the topic of non-chemical addictions, looking at what happens in the human body and mind when they take control of the person. control of the person.

What is a non-chemical addiction?

As we have advanced, a non-chemical addiction is one which is not based on the dependence on the consumption of a certain psychoactive substance with addictive potential.. This means that although it can occur together with the consumption of drugs that can generate addiction, the addiction that is being suffered does not arise from dependence on them, but from a pattern of behaviors and interaction with the environment learned consciously or unconsciously.

Think, for example, of the person who goes to the casino every week to gamble a good part of his saved money and once there has a few drinks: the addiction has to do with the habit of participating in games of chance and of exposing oneself to an environment that facilitates this type of behavior, not with the consumption of alcohol itself. On the other hand, non-chemical addictions can generate the same degree of dependence that we find in drug addiction, although the triggering event is different and is slightly less harmful to the body in the short term, because there is no molecule that interacts abnormally with the neurons of our nervous system. However, in the medium and long term, non-chemical addictions have a level of danger comparable to drug addiction.

Moreover, as their onset does not go hand in hand with the action of consuming products already considered dangerous or risky in themselves, for many people non-chemical addictions have a level of danger comparable to drug addiction, to many people, non-chemical addictions may seem harmless, as it is not very intuitiveThe idea that an addiction can develop without introducing a substance into the body is counterintuitive. This makes it more difficult to become aware that you have a problem.

How are non-substance addictions triggered?

These are the elements involved in the onset of a non-chemical addiction.

1. An immediate incentive system

Non-chemical addictions are always are based on the promise of pleasurable sensations that could occur in a matter of seconds or a few minutes.. In this way the person is kept "hooked" to the activity on which he/she becomes more and more dependent.

2. The experience of fear of loss is common

Combined with the promise of well-being, there is the fear of missing out on these kinds of experiences. This is often in addition to loss aversion: the person does not want to "waste" the efforts made up to that point..

For example, in those who develop pathological gambling, what is known as the gambler's fallacy is common; they have the impression that since they have been losing many games, the game in which they will win is just around the corner, although statistics reveal that this is a wrong conclusion: the probabilities of winning or losing are the same in each game, or at least do not depend on the previous results.

Similarly, those who develop addiction to certain video games are afraid that if they turn off the computer or game console they will be missing out on memorable plays that would have been possible thanks to hours of playing and accumulating requirements to get there.

3. Changes occur in the person's nervous system.

Although in this type of addictions molecules coming from outside the body and having psychoactive potential by activating the neurons of our brain do not come into play, it does not mean that they are not capable of modifying the functioning of our nerve cells. In fact, the constant repetition of actions and exposure to the experiences that shape addiction, gradually causes our brain to transform both physically and functionally..

That is, our neurons reconfigure themselves and begin to interact with each other in a way that leads us to make it our top priority to fall into addictive behavior over and over again. Our mind learns that the only thing that matters is to "keep alive" the addiction, and in fact, it behaves in a very similar way to the brains affected by alcohol dependence, cocaine dependence, etc.

4. The person's social habits are oriented towards addiction.

As the addicted person's brain changes, so do his or her social habits. He/she spends more and more time with people who are also addicted to the same thing, and this means that he/she is always exposed to the temptation to relapse.. At the same time, she is leaving aside all other links with people who do not provide her with these experiences.

5. The phenomenon of habituation appears

As the non-chemical addiction is consolidated, the person needs to become more and more involved in the needs to become more and more involved in the activity to which he/she has become addicted in order to feel a minimum of satisfaction or pleasure.. That is to say, the experiences that provided a shock of intense well-being at the beginning (for example, winning 50 euros in a slot machine) hardly make him/her feel good anymore, and he/she needs more.

6. Increased risk of developing other addictions

Suffering from one addiction increases the risk of developing other addictions. This leads to a state of general disinhibition in which it is even more complicated to stay away from relapses.

Are you looking for professional psychological support?

If you are considering seeking professional help to overcome an addiction or any other type of mental health problem, contact our team. In Cribecca Psychology we have been offering treatment to people of all ages for many years, and currently we offer both face-to-face sessions in our center in Seville and online by video call.

Bibliographical references:

• American Psychiatric Association (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). Arlington, VA: American Psychiatric Publishing.
• Cía, A. (2013). Non-substance addictions (DSM-5, APA, 2013): a first step towards the inclusion of Behavioral Addictions in current categorical classifications. Rev Neuropsychiatr, 76(4): pp. 210 - 217.
• Kauer, J.A.; R.C. Malenka (2007). Synaptic plasticity and addiction. Nature Reviews Neuroscience. 8(11): pp. 844 - 58.