are you an addict?

Are you an addict?

Your Health
DR GITA MATHAI

The middle-aged woman had diabetes, hypertension and high cholesterol. She looked through her prescription carefully. “My other doctor gave me sleeping tablets as well. I can’t sleep at night.” Apparently she had been taking increasing doses of sedatives over the last 20 years!

Fifty years ago, it was easy to define an addict: a person who took unhealthy amounts of substances such as alcohol, marijuana, tobacco or opium, and then became physically and psychologically dependent on them. Family and friends suffered as a result of the addict’s mental and physical deterioration.

Today the scenario has changed. “Addicts” are also viewed as people with abnormal psychological dependency on activities such as gambling, playing video games, watching or reading pornography, surfing the Internet, working (workaholics), exercising, watching TV, or even shopping. Once can also suffer from a spiritual addiction, preaching penance and fasting to the point of self-harm.

It is difficult to define the point at which a hobby or interest becomes an addiction. Here are some simple guidelines that suggest you’re an addict.

You become moody, irritable or depressed when unable to obtain the product (alcohol, drugs, cigarettes or the Internet) or perform the activity.

You spend an undue amount of time on the activity: playing cards, meditating, or SMS-ing for three to four hours every day, irrespective of other pressing appointments.

You need increasing amounts of the product, or time spent on the activity, before there is a feeling of satiety.

The medical profession can sometimes be blamed for certain addictions. A patient may use the medication prescribed to help him or her deal with pain beyond the prescribed period for the “legal high” it provides. These medications are not banned and can be easily obtained with doctor shopping, or the help of the friendly neighbourhood pharmacist.

People usually take sleeping tablets innocuously at first but become addicted to them later. Unexpected people are addicts. Some very respectable Aunties and Uncles are regular consumers.

The new addiction is the Internet. It has caught you too if you:

log into the Internet as soon as you get in to work.

check several times a day, even in the midst of other important activity.

feel agitated if the Internet connection is down.

Addicts cause a great deal of pain and unhappiness to members of their family who often ask, “Why don’t you just stop?” But that is easier said than done.

Addiction is dependent on a very powerful brain chemical called dopamine, which is normally released either for survival or when there is intense pain and pleasure. Levels build up as more and more pleasure is derived from the addiction, asking the person to “do it again”. The brain thinks that the activity is essential for survival and it signals the rest of the brain to resume the activity. Addiction is difficult to handle because it affects multiple brain circuits, including those involved in reward, motivation, learning, memory, and inhibitory control.

Not everyone is equally prone to addictions. A great deal depends on the cultural background. The percentage of alcoholics is less in societies where religious laws forbid drinking or it is unacceptable culturally. Conversely, if there is alcohol or drug abuse in the family, children are likely to learn by imitation. Inherited genes also may make you crave the higher dopamine level. Poverty, lack of education and unemployment provides a stressful environment, which can make you prone to addiction. The inability to cope may also make you vulnerable to addiction.

But while the presence of any of the above factors makes you more susceptible, it does not necessarily lead to addiction.

Any addiction, from drugs and alcohol to excessive exercise and religion, does elevate the mood in the short term but in the long run your life, health, personality and social relationships suffer. The feelings of anxiety, guilt, lack of confidence, anger, responsible for the addiction, eventually return.

Addiction often goes untreated because it is not recognised or accepted by the affected person. After all, excessive prayer or exercise can be considered “a good thing!” Relapses are frequent, especially in the case of subtler addictions like eating. Effective treatment requires specialised care by psychiatrists, psychologists and counsellors.

In 2012, it may pay to have moderation in your life, in exercise, eating, religion, and the Internet. If you feel that you are addicted, seek treatment. Recognising the problem is the first step to solving it.


Dr Gita Mathai is a paediatrician with a family practice at Vellore. Questions on health issues may be emailed to her at yourhealthgm@yahoo.co.in