Addictions are among the most serious psychological problems and are the most difficult to treat. The feeling of discomfort caused by withdrawal syndrome is so intense that the patient finds it very difficult not to succumb. In addition to the classic addictions we all know, new types of addictions have appeared today.
Drugs have the power to provide our brains with extremely pleasant short-term gratification, and it is not just that. They are also able to mitigate negative feelings.
- For example.
- We can look for that source of satisfaction when we are sad about certain news.
- Or also whether we get bored.
- Empty.
- Or very angry.
Through a negative reinforcement process, the drug relieves that feeling that we cannot tolerate, that is when addiction appears.
More and more people are reluctant to tolerate the feeling of discomfort caused by the intense desire to achieve something, be it information about their social media contacts, hunger or the need to be productive, to name just a few examples.
New addictions are not yet predicted as such in diagnostic classifications, but they may well end up being included in the near future, in fact, they have almost the same clinical characteristics as addictions: loss of behavioral control, psychological dependence, etc. tolerance and abstinence.
Next, we will list some types of new addictions proposed by the author Vicente Caballo, who may feel an identification with some of them, since they are part of our day to day and, in addition, their legal nature makes them completely standardized.
However, it is important to note the presence of these addictions to look for methods to combat them, if we do not do so in time, tend to be chronicized and jeopardize our social and family relationships, or cause interference in academia. or professional environment.
We find that a patient is addicted to the Internet when using this tool less as a means of obtaining information and more as a psychological escape resource of everyday life.
The person spends excessive time on this activity, ranging from four to eighty hours per week, with sessions of up to twenty hours.
She tends to use stimulants like coffee to prolong hookup sessions, hides her addictive behavior, and feels a pressing need when she doesn’t have access. Some people can have health consequences, such as carpal tunnel syndrome.
In this category, one can distinguish between addiction to virtual sex or chat rooms and instant messaging applications that incorporate a context of intimacy and promote acceptance by a group.
The mobile phone generates continuous rewards thanks to its communication function, this allows you to draw attention to a potential medium and thus be accepted, all this in real time and with absolute immediacy, that is why its addictive power is so strong.
Addressing mobile phone addiction is very complicated, because now it is so everyday that it has become a real necessity.
It is also called “hyperphagic eating behavior”, is characterized by voracious ingestion, ingesting large amounts of food without feeling physical hunger, continuing to eat until you feel an unpleasant sensation and, in addition, feeling guilt and desolation after excessive consumption.
It is usually the result of long-persisting states of anxiety or stress, as well as depressive states, so preferred foods are often fast-metabolism carbohydrates (such as sweets) that stimulate Serotonin activity.
The person has recurring thoughts about the need to be productive, this generates a great impulse to work constantly, feels irritated during vacation periods and also exhibits cognitive distortions about professional requirements
“If I don’t go to the meeting and finish tomorrow’s reports, I’ll be a failure. “Patterns of low self-esteem and perfectionism are closely linked to this type of dependence.
Other new addictions we might consider include sex addiction, shopping addiction, and exercise addiction.
Because behavioral addictions share common aspects with chemical addictions in terms of appearance and continuity, the proposed intervention programmes are similar.
For behavioral addictions, the program proposed by Echebura, Corral y Amor (2005) is the most detailed.
Its main objective is not to achieve total abstinence, as in chemical addictions, but to develop a relearning of behavior control by the patient, when dealing with the behaviors necessary for daily life.
The above program includes: motivation for change, analysis of stimuli associated with addiction, control of these stimuli, exposure and learning strategies to solve specific problems and prevention of relapses.
On the other hand, for the problem of technological addictions, there are more specific recommendations.
These include disrupting sign-in habits, setting goals to set realistic login times, using external alert tools (alarms), using reminders to disconnect, and practicing abstinence from the specific application without abandoning use of the resource itself.