Most people like to live their lives with a certain degree of control; control over their finances or even control over their hobbies, like playing online games or some form of sport. This allows them to exercise proper judgment on their decisions and ensure that they do not go overboard in things. When you take away this balanced viewpoint, behavior and the decisions that people make from this unbalanced state, leads to a lot of chaos. For instance, drinking a glass or two of alcohol may be fine, but what happens when a person starts craving for alcohol every day, in large quantities — he or she becomes an alcoholic correct?
This excessiveness lies at the heart of any behavioral addiction:
What Is Behavioral Addiction?
While an alcoholic has liquor at the heart of their addiction, a behavior addict has an activity at the root of all problems. Such a person could get addicted to activities like:
- Gambling
- Shopping
- Web surfing
- Eating
- Sexual addiction
Simply put, it is the addiction that causes a person to lose control and crave the ‘fix’ in larger quantities and with increasing frequency too. Thus, are there some behavioral addictions that are more common than others?
Gambling addiction
Gambling addiction is one of the most common addictions. Compulsive gambling causes problems such as:
- Financial ruin
- Violent acts such as homicide and suicide
- Failure in social relationships
- Loss of career opportunities
Porn And Sex Addiction
There is a close link to these two things and more often than not, sex addicts get addicted to watching more and more pornography as well. The only thing that such addicts can think about is the sexual act and they will go to any lengths to get their ‘fix’. Fidelity is not important to such an addict and in these days of sexually transmitted diseases, this kind of addiction takes on several layers of danger.
Digital Addiction
There are a growing number of digital detox centers, such is the seriousness of this type of addiction. Broadly speaking, this covers:
- Social media.
- Internet surfing
- Video games
Such online behavior can actually cause changes in the brain. There are the other problems such as obesity and lifestyle diseases of various kinds, as well because a person can become sedentary.
Retail Addiction
When done in small doses shopping can become retail therapy. But when an individual becomes totally addicted to the need to buy new things ever so often then it is known as shopping addiction. There is also very real buyers remorse. After buying something, an addict can often go through very low phases, regretting the decision to purchase something and completely forgetting the gratification that they got when they bought the product in the first place.
Eating Disorders
Food is the next common addiction that a lot of people battle. Binge eating disorders, emotional eating, and even being dependent on specific foods are all signs of such addiction. It is not just a question of putting on weight with this kind of addiction — there is also the very real problem of people eating until they are sick and then feeling guilty about it and going through a cycle of purging too.
