Non-substance addictions: compulsive behaviors without control.

Different patterns of behavior that can become addictive even though they are not based on drugs.

We are going to talk about four human behaviors that, when they get out of control, can become real addiction problems even though they are not technically substances. real addiction problems even though they are not technically substances..

Pathological gambling, a game that is not a game

Linked to enjoyment and recreation, bingo or casino can provide all the necessary condiments for an unforgettable night: good food, music, drinks and fun. Also can also be unforgettable if you can't stop playing, if you "reverseIf you "invest" your salary, ask for and owe money, sell your car, among other unimaginable things?

We will speak of gambling addiction if gambling gets out of hand, becomes compulsive, uncontrolled, to the point of reaching desperate instances where the deteriorations do not only appear from the economic point of view, but also from thebut also at the family, work and personal level. It is one of the most frequent non-substance addictions in Western countries.

Any excuse is valid to return to play

If you win, motivation invades and you will return to play again to increase what has been won. "Today I am in luck". If you lose, you will play again to recover what you lost, to lift your spirits, or to try to escape from the negative consequences of having lost. "If I recover what I lost, no one will know what I lost, they won't even know that I came".

For those closest to the problem, when they become aware of the problem, bingo becomes a forbidden place for the problem gambler, which means that he will have to hide it every time he attends, lie or look for excuses to go to bingo.

It is always at night

The architecture of the bingo, windowless and strategically thought out, makes it impossible to discover when it stops being night and begins to dawn, which facilitates the compulsion and the lack of limits. The loss of the notion of time is a key factor in gambling addiction.. As well as the false belief that a gambler can choose when to go to bingo and when to leave, as if he can handle it.

If addiction is present, it will be very difficult to control the frequency and length of time spent at bingo. This is why it is a behavior to pay close attention to. If gambling ceases to be pleasurable and starts to become compulsive, necessary and problematic, it is no longer gambling.

Addictions to people

Addiction to a person, or also known as codependencycan be as problematic as other addictions. It can lead to isolation, family, social and work deterioration, low self-esteem, and even depression and death. Feeling that you live for and because of another person, that the reason for your life is that person, that nothing makes sense without him or her. Being dependent on another person nullifies one's own capabilities by feeling that one cannot live or achieve anything in life alone.

Self-esteem is governed by what others express about oneself. They believe themselves worthy of little or nothing, prioritize the other person and may even do what they do not want to do in order to please or not lose the other person. or not lose the other person.

The relationship with the dependent person has ups and downs, in which the return to the bond is what prevails. Codependents return again and again, over the years, as if the unhealthy relationship were stronger than they are, where personal relationships are put aside and there are always opportunities to get back together.

Living to work, workaholism.

Something as necessary and gratifying as work is, as well as a personality organizer, can become a problem. This will happen when a person spends most of the day, and sometimes the night, on work issues, not allowing him/her to perform other activities or to rest..

Several are the causal factors of a work addiction: excessive self-demand, low self-esteem, feeling of inferiority, obsession, pathological ambition. And the consequences will also be varied. As in all addictions, there will be health, family and sociability consequences.Physical exhaustion, stress, anxiety, isolation, arguments, complaints, pressures.

What does the buyer buy? Compulsive consumerism

Nowadays, shopping and consumerism are part of our western society, they are almost necessary to live. We consume food, clothes, household appliances, entertainment, etc. But when shopping becomes an uncontrolled and compulsive behavior, we are talking about something else.

When shopping calms, soothes or relieves, we must ask ourselves what it calms us from. What does it take us away from? In short, what are we escaping from when we shop compulsively?

Spending large sums of money, far from generating the gratification of acquiring what we have bought, can generate helplessness, anguish, anxiety, and anxiety about what we have bought, can generate impotence, anguish and uneasiness.. It can lead to indebtedness and to continue buying. The purchase does not bring joy, it is not a moment of pleasure, or it is, but then it is followed by a feeling of emptiness, of frustration because the purchased material does not completely fill or remove the unpleasantness that is making us bad. This, which is previous to the purchase, is what we have to unveil, because the purchase in itself is not bad, the bad thing is that it is compulsive and as a resource to cover or to calm some other need.

Returning to the title of this segment, the compulsive shopper buys relief, evasion, momentary tranquility. And, depending on the case, he may buy a place in the family, a requited love, a feeling of success and prestige; he buys self-esteem, he buys to feel valuable and important. The metaphor here is, when in reality I don't get something or I am frustrated by part of the reality I live or the place I occupy in society, in my head, buying replaces that non-material thing that I feel I don't have.. And it relieves, because when I buy I "forget" that which is causing me so much discomfort.

We insist that there is nothing wrong with shopping and it is part of our way of life. It will be a problem if the need to buy something is systematically imposed. Life is organized in function of buying, all the time and if it is not possible to carry out the purchase, anguish and frustration invade.