Definitions

addiction (n.)

PDM: …the motivation to use and misuse drugs or to engage in an addictive behaviour is born from unresolved conflicts and traumatic experiences that arouse intolerably dysphoric affects [bad feelings]. … A form of self-medication against dysphoria or disordered mood. … It ameliorates suffering, but because that relief is only temporary, the person needs to engage again in the defensive behaviour of addiction once the relief wears off.

Avena, Rada, & Hoebel: The term “addiction” implies psychological dependence and thus is a mental or cognitive problem, not just a physical ailment. (paper: Evidence for Sugar Addiction)

English & English: Slavery to a pernicious habit, esp. the taking of certain drugs.

drug addiction (n.)

Avena, Rada, & Hoebel: Drug dependence is characterized by compulsive, sometimes uncontrollable, behaviors that occur at the expense of other activities and intensify with repeated access. (paper: Evidence for Sugar Addiction)

English & English: continued reliance upon the effects of a narcotic drug, with the result that progressively strong doses are required to obtain these effects, and that there is both psychological and physiological distress when the drug is withdrawn.

Chaplin: the habitual use of drugs, with psychological and physiological dependence.

My Definition

Physical or emotional dependency on a substance, person, or experience which is not actually necessary for survival, the removal of which causes emotional or physical distress. The substance, person, or experience relied upon either creates positive feelings, or is sufficiently stimulating to mask/eradicate negative emotions or feelings of weakness/vulnerabilty. The negative emotions pre-date the addiction, but the majority of the negative symptoms which the subtance/process mask/eradicate are actually caused by the absence of the substance/process itself.

Discussion

Although it is true that many addictive substances cause clear neurochemical changes in the brain which cause the person to experience withdrawal symptoms when the substance is withheld, the nature of addiction is much more complex than this, and the physiological component is really only part of the story.

Discussions of addiction tend to fixate on substances (alcohol, nicotine, caffeine, etc.) because a substance is something which is obviously identifiable that the addicted person can be seen putting into their bodies. This allows the discussion to remain in the realm of concrete objects and does not require us to look at the emotional underpinnings of addiction. It’s thereby possible to avoid having to reflect on our own addiction(s) and the unpleasant emotions which they bring up.

Similarly, this is why cognitive science and neuroscience are so fixated on the dopamine-system of the brain; because it gives us an object of study external to ourselves, so that we don’t have to feel the loneliness, abandonment, weakness, and despair that addiction is really about.

Existential Analysis distinguishes, for example, between substance addictions (drugs, alcohol, etc.) and process addictions (work, video games, etc.). However, even casual observation of ourselves and others shows us that it is possible to become addicted to all kinds of things, such that even this distinction feels rather limited.

This is why the PDM definition above is so non-specific and only names conflict, trauma, and self-medication in general. Although the addiction cycle eventually becomes self-perpetuating, it begins with intolerable negative emotions. And that kernel of negative emotion remains even after the substance is removed and the withdrawal symptoms have passed. This is why abstinence-only methods so often lead to relapse. The person is no longer physiologically addicted, but they have no other way of dealing with their negative emotions.

These can be explicitly negative emotions in the sense of loneliness or grief, but they can also be the threat of negative emotions, ie. FOMO, peer pressure, and the fear of being ridiculed. This is why they take/do it the first time.

Having taken/done it the first time they discover the central feature of every addictive substance/process: this makes me feel good, **like **really good, good in a way I have never felt before.

The key to successfully resisting the temptation to start or return to using an addictive substance/process is therefore the resolution of this original negative feeling. There are commonalities in experience which cause people to feel badly within and about themselves, but as already stated, they can range from the death of a loved one, to the desire to emulate someone you think is cool, or sexy, or powerful.

A broader list of things it is possible to become addicted to:

  • Substances which cause neurochemical dependency; sugar, nicotine, cocaine, alcohol
  • Substances which cause no neurochemical dependency; marijuana, non-sugar sweet foods
  • Experiences which generate good feelings; sex, power, success
  • Processes which demand a high level of cognitive or physical engagement; work, sports, video games
  • External sensory stimuli which distract us from physical or emotional discomfort; TikTok, YouTube, movies.
  • Processes and stimuli which cause negative feelings and/or physical injury which the person feels they deserve; masochism, fighting
  • Processes which cause/transfer negative feelings in(to) others; aggression, manipulation, argumentativeness