Addiction has more than one name
Vacation, vacation and after vacation. Often, in order to remember pleasant moments, we bring souvenirs with us. Let's hope they are all the kind we want to own.... Vacations are a time of rest, relaxation, pleasure. The perfect time to indulge in your passions and interests, take care of yourself and others. Some will go to the gym, others will go shopping, and someone will play the latest game. Some will share their impressions with others and "upload" photos to Instagram or Facebook. Is there anything wrong with any of these activities?
But no. Until, however, they are done in moderation. Any of these activities can develop into an "addiction" (quotation marks intentional) . Not the kind you get from alcohol or drugs. Addiction to some activity is called behavioral, and it differs in that it is not related to the ingestion of any chemical substance, such as nicotine or alcohol.
What does moderation mean?
It is something different for everyone. When something starts to interfere with one's life, one spends too much time on it, spends an inadequate amount of money on it, constantly thinks about it. Some examples: when we have clothes with tags in our closet and yet go to buy another one, when we once again cancel a meeting with friends to play games in peace, when a poor workout at the gym can ruin the day. So when not only coveted souvenirs or habits have returned from vacation with us, it's worth taking a look at them. From when the problem started, what sustains it, what benefits we have from it and what losses, and when the downsides of a situation outweigh the upsides it's worth seeking help. For therapists don't just deal with substance addictions. And although shopaholism and sexaholism share the same suffix with alcoholism, they are closer in nature to compulsions than to addiction. Orthorexia is closer to an eating and self-perception disorder than an addiction to the gym and kcal counting. As for playing computer/console/phone games, there are doubts (in the same way, sexaholism is a matter of dispute as to its etiology). In the latest ICD-11 classification of diseases and disorders, it is included in behavioral addictions, right next to gambling addiction. As for social media and its use, an entity has developed that no one had heard of a decade ago and is similar to anxiety disorders. We are talking about FOMO, or the fear that we will miss something important, learn about something, see something, miss an important post or photo. That's why the quotation marks used earlier were intentional. It is easy to lump into one "bag" with the caption: "addiction" all the listed individuals. However, it is not so simple. Times change, and we change with them, as the classic said. We can add that our diseases and disorders do as well. But so does science, and with it thousands of new ideas and solutions to problems that plague humans. Therefore, it is worth using its achievements and getting help from professionals.
Author: Martyna Wrona - Marchel, psychologist
