What is addiction?
Addiction is a chronic, relapsing disease of the brain. It is based on the search for relief through the consumption or use of substances or other similar behaviors. The development of this behavior implies for the addicted person the inability to control it, difficulty to abstain, desire for consumption, decreased recognition of the problems derived from the addiction and in interpersonal relationships, as well as a dysfunctional emotional response. This creates problems in the addicted person’s life, diminishing his or her quality of life.
Apart from addictions to toxic substances (alcoholism and drug dependence), there are multiple addictions to:
- New technologies (technophilia)
- Sex (nymphomania)
- Gambling (compulsive gambling)
- Video games
- Cell phones (nomophobia)
Prognosis of the disease
Addictions can lead to serious problems for the patient’s physical and mental health. It is important to detect them at an early stage in order to achieve an effective diagnosis and treatment. For this reason, the collaboration of friends and family is very important, both in the detection, treatment and follow-up.
Frequently, addicted persons have health problems derived from their addictions, especially in the case of toxic substances. These may include heart disease, lung disease, cancer or mental health problems. Likewise, addictions to sex or drugs can increase the risk of serious infections, such as HIV or hepatitis C.
In addictions, the coexistence of mental illnesses is also common. Some disorders such as anxiety, schizophrenia or depression may be the result of drug use or worsen as a result.
Finally, addictions can end up affecting and causing harm to other people, especially in cases of pregnancy but also due to stress or anxiety.
Addictions can lead to mental problems such as depression or schizophrenia.
such as depression or schizophrenia.
Symptoms of addiction
The symptoms of the pathology will vary according to the addiction suffered by the patient and his or her individual personality characteristics. However, there are several common signs in most cases of addiction:
- Loss of control of use, with episodes of compulsive use affecting the person’s overall life.
- Sad mood
- Irritability
- Deterioration of quality of life
- Denial or self-deception
- Anxiety
- Obsession
- Restlessness or excessive worry
- Insomnia
- Feelings of guilt
Medical tests for addictions
In the first place, there are self-diagnostic tests, which can be answered by people with addiction symptoms or family members, to make a first assessment of the severity of the addictive problem. In many cases, the closest people, such as friends and family members, are the ones who detect the first physical or psychological signs or behaviors of addiction.
Specialists follow various diagnostic criteria to detect possible addictions:
- Drug addiction tests: these tests are a useful tool in detection, diagnosis and treatment monitoring.
- Medical history: it is important to know the family history in order to establish a complete clinical picture.
- Physical examination: there are several key signs that a specialist can identify in a complete medical physical examination.
- Psychopathological evaluation.
What are the causes of addiction?
The causes of addiction are multiple and interact in a complex way that leads to addictive disorder. The causes are different for each patient, so each case must be individualized and a study of their personal and family history must be carried out in order to make the most appropriate diagnosis.
Personality factors play a fundamental role in the development of an addiction. There are some specific characteristics, such as difficulty in managing one’s own feelings or low tolerance to frustration, which facilitate addictive disorder.
Can it be prevented?
Addictions are difficult to prevent but there are risk factors that can increase the chances:
- Social factors: living in a very disadvantaged environment.
- Family factors: lack of family ties or family members addicted to drug use.
- Individual factors: behavioral problems or low self-esteem.
- School factors: for example, school failure in adolescents.
It is important to work and educate at an early age and try to offer a good emotional education, to prevent them from falling into different addictions.
Treatments for addictions
There are multiple methods to treat the different addictions, depending on the individual situation of each patient. Among them we find:
- Individual psychiatric treatment
- Individual and/or group psychotherapy
- Self-help groups
- Couple and family therapy
- Counseling and therapeutic sessions for family and friends.
Once the patient manages to stop the addiction, he/she will follow a recovery process to regain control of his/her life and become productive again. In the event of a relapse, the patient should see a specialist to restart the treatment, modify it or try a different one.
Which specialist treats you?
Addictions should be treated by a specialist in Psychiatry.