How To Distinguish Hobby Addiction? - Self-development

2023 Author: Oswald Adamson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-05-21 20:18

Where does addiction begin, how does it develop? And what is it in general, what is addiction? How to distinguish an innocent hobby or habit from a formed addiction? But there is still a mysterious "codependency" … Probably, these are questions that addicts themselves, and their close people, and even specialists often ask themselves

Definition of addiction

The term "addiction" comes from the English word addiction and is translated as "addiction, addiction".

Addiction, or addiction, is a compulsive pursuit of an object of addiction, accompanied by loss of control, repetition and self-destruction. Unlike an innocent hobby, it is no longer the norm - a disease

It is important to understand that addiction is a disease, not a bad habit, corruption, or lack of willpower. And, like a disease, it needs treatment - professional specialized help.

Codependency is an emotional addiction. In some classifications, it is distinguished as one of the types of addiction, in others - as a separate phenomenon. In some ways dependence and codependency are similar, but in some manifestations they can be mirror-like - opposite

It should be remembered that codependency does not necessarily imply love addiction. This is an emotional dependence on a subject, that is, on a living object, in contrast to addiction, which implies dependence on an inanimate object or certain actions.

The role of the subject of codependency can be a parent, child, or other relative; friend; a loved one, etc. And not even necessarily a person - someone develops a codependent relationship with animals, for example with a domestic cat. In this case, the animal is a substitute object - it compensates for the lack of human contact.

What is the difference?

We see that the key difference between addiction and codependency is the difference in the object / subject to which the uncontrollable attraction is directed

In the case of addiction, the object is inanimate, in the case of codependency, it is an animate subject. In both cases, it is a kind of external resource that compensates for the violation of self-regulation. There is a failure of one's own healthy self-regulation, therefore, dependence or codependency arises as an incorrect form of self-regulation with support outside.

We can cite the example of a healthy person who can stand on his own two feet. And a man with a broken leg - he needs crutches. Addiction and codependency become such "crutches" - an incorrect form of self-regulation, on which the dependent / codependent personality relies. Therefore, for all its destructiveness and negative consequences, addiction and codependency play an important role in the life of an addict and have hidden pluses - the so-called "secondary benefit" or " plus minus ".

Remember the Soviet cartoon about Prostokvashino: “This picture is a useful picture! She blocks the hole in the wallpaper! "

Causes of addiction and codependency

The reasons for making a choice towards dependence on an inanimate object or codependency in relation to an animate subject lie in early childhood.

There is a certain pattern: women are more prone to emotional dependence. Therefore, codependency is more common among women; clients are more likely to address this kind of problem. After all, a woman is a mother, natural instincts encourage her to strive for emotional merger with a small child in order to feel and understand him as much as possible. Maternal empathy is an important prerequisite for taking proper care of a child, so a woman is by nature more empathic and prone to psychological merger.

But it's important not to confuse healthy empathy with emotional addiction. The latter is already an unhealthy dynamic: codependency is the same disease as alcoholism or drug addiction. And it has features that distinguish it from normal compassion and empathy.

3 important signs of addiction

Addiction and codependency share key characteristics in common that distinguish them from hobbies and interests.

1. Loss of control

The main criterion is the loss of control, the inability to stop and give up something.

A healthy person can take a sip of a glass of champagne for the New Year and set it aside. But the alcoholic can no longer stop, and even a small sample of alcohol leads to a breakdown. A fan of a pop star can risk his life climbing the fire escape and the ledge to look through her window.

2. Obsessive thoughts, feelings, actions

The addict (addicted person) seems to be pursued by the image of an object of addiction, he constantly mentions it in one way or another: a fan constantly cites his idol as an example, an alcoholic jokes exclusively about drinking.

3. Over-significance

Life begins to revolve around addiction (or codependency). Reality is perceived through the prism of addiction - for example, have you already drunk today or not yet? Dependence (codependency) becomes a guarantee of existence, the most important in life.

Important! The diagnosis can only be made by a specialist. If there is a reason for alarm and, for example, alcohol consumption begins to increase, get out of control, become significant, then it is better to turn to a specialist (narcologist, psychologist or psychotherapist with a specialization in working with addictive behavior).