You Couldnt Care Less About Conforming To The Norm
According to The New York Times, one of the primary signs of an addictive personality is that you are all about nonconformity. AlcoholRehab.com agreed â many with addictive personalities consider themselves to be a ârebel.â They donât care whatsoever about fitting into the norms, and rather will do things that are perceived as deviant by most other people, the outlet said.
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Personality Traits And Addiction
Addiction is defined by scholars as a biopsychosocial disorder characterized by persistent use of drugs despite substantial harm and adverse consequencesâ. Substance-based addictions are those based upon the release of dopamine in the brain, upon which the range of sensations produced by the euphoric event in the brain changes the brains immediate behavior, causing more susceptibility for future addictions. Behavior-based addictions, on the other hand, are those that are not linked to neurological behavior as much and are thus thought to be linked to personality traits it is this type of addiction that combines a behavior with a mental state and the repeated routine is therefore associated with the mental state.
Ways To Overcome An Addictive Personality
John C. Umhau, MD, MPH, CPE is board-certified in addiction medicine and preventative medicine. He is the medical director at Alcohol Recovery Medicine. For over 20 years Dr. Umhau was a senior clinical investigator at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism of the National Institutes of Health .
We might think of people with addictions as those who are hooked on a particular drug. But many more people relate to the idea of having an addictive personality, even if they have never used what are commonly thought of as abused substances, such as marijuana and heroin.
These people have a hard time controlling any enjoyable activity just when they quit one addiction, another takes over. If you have an addictive personality, try to avoid these 10 behaviors.
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Are Addictive Personalities Real
Yes and no. The idea of a single, monolithic, character flaw simply isnt real. There is no evidence that because you have a certain personality, you will become an addict. The myth that addictive personalities are inherited, however, does have some truth to it. While your parent cannot pass on a certain monolithic personality, they can model personality traits that lead to addictive behavior, such as lack of self-control or willingness to engage in risky behaviors. You can unknowingly pick up on these behaviors which contribute to the idea of an amalgamated addictive personality. Though this conception of a disposition is fiction, the traits that comprise it can have some very real consequences.
The Disconnected Cautious Trait
According to the Scientific American article, the bold, risk-taker type who develops addiction is more likely to be male. On the other hand, cautious people who have difficulty with social relationships and who at the same time may suffer from depression, anxiety, or both can also develop addiction these personality types are more often women.
Considering the self-medication idea mentioned above, people with these personality traits may be more likely to try to manage symptoms of anxiety or painful feelings of loneliness, disconnection, and depression by using alcohol or drugs that dull those feelings. This may then lead to the person becoming dependent on the substance to feel good in general, which in turn can lead to tolerance and addiction.
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Dont: Shame Or Criticize
Human nature sometimes forces us to shift the blame because its easier to understand a problem if we know its source. But the cause of addictions isnt so black and white, so theres never really just one thing to blame. Most importantly, the person with the addiction is not at fault for the disease.
Avoid implying or outright stating that your loved one is to blame for their addiction. Shaming or criticizing a family member who is struggling with an Alcohol Addiction or an Opioid Addiction is often counterproductive to their Recovery. While tough love may have a small part in helping an alcoholic spouse, this is not the place for it.
Part of practicing compassion for your loved one involves understanding that shaming your loved one may do them more harm than good. Instead, talk with positivity and encouragement, offering the idea of a future of successful long-term Recovery. Provide verbal and physical encouragement rather than lectures or nagging.
Datinga Recovering Addict Or Someone With An Addictive Personality
Perhapsthe person youre interested in used to struggle with drug or alcoholaddiction. Maybe the individual suffered from substance dependence for months,even years. Now, he or she is in recovery, working to build a life free fromaddiction.
Manytimes, people who are in recovery are advised to avoid romantic relationshipsfor at least a year. It allows them to spend more time working on themselvesand overcoming the negative effects of addiction. It also gives them time toheal from the pain of substance dependence.
Addictionis complex and it isnt always easy to understand the effects of it. Even aftertreatment, people who have struggled with substance abuse and addiction oftenhave a hard time working through the changes that addiction brought to theirlives.
Drugand alcohol addictions can cause people to feel isolated and distanced fromothers. It can cause separations in families and amongst circles of friends.People who suffer from substance dependence and addiction often spend more timeusing or in search of substances to use than they do with their loved ones.
Drugand alcohol addictions literally take over peoples lives. So, once an individualreaches out for help and goes through professional addiction treatment, its best for him or her totake time to completely overcome the effects of addiction.
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How To Help A Person With High Addiction Risk
Various forms of behavioral therapies can help individuals struggling with these issues to learn to manage their behaviors and acquire self-regulation skills that can moderate the addictive response. In addition, for those who have already developed substance use problems, treatment programs can incorporate these therapies with other demonstrated treatments. This approach may help the person safely stop using drugs or alcohol and live a sober life as well as gain control over the various traits above.
Seeking out research-based, professional care can provide the individual with tools to understand and manage these various traits, making recovery possible.
Write Down Your Worries
Reflecting on your thoughts/feelings is a great way to get more clarity and understand what you are feeling. This can be done by writing down all of the negative thoughts that have been going through your mind, then analyzing them against what you know about yourself and how realistic they actually are! If there is anything unrealistic about it, they can help you to keep your mind in check to stay grounded. The more you do this the fewer negative thoughts will be present, and it can even become an enjoyable habit!
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Setting Yourself Up For Success
Even if some people have addictive personalities, it does not mean that they are doomed to watch their relationships fail. People can identify and insulate themselves from harmful, toxic personal relationships, choosing instead to focus on positive relationships in their lives that offer healthy support.
If those suffering from addiction are already in enabling or abusive relationships, learning and understanding how their partners abuse feeds into their own addictive behavior can help spur real change. While the road to recovery doesnt need to be lonely, people with addictive personalities need to be very conscientious about the relationships they form.
Addiction is fraught with paranoia and fear of the unknown, and it can be hard to identify the supportive relationships that provide a positive support system. Knowing how to identify and nurture these relationships not only aids recovery but can also help improve peoples lives in general by avoiding the toxic relationships and situations that spur on addictive, irrational, and impulsive behavior.
At the end of the day, dealing with addiction will be a difficult journey no matter who you are. However, the people you choose to surround yourself with and how you interact with them have a much greater impact on recovery than many people recognize.
Youre My Obsession: How To Recover From An Addictive Relationship
Are you in an addictive relationship with someone? Would you like to break free from your bondage and feel inner peace? Do you want to stop the obsessions, break the cycle of seeming insanity, and take back your life?
Then read on.
Addictions come in many forms. An addiction to a person involves obsessive thoughts about the relationship, feelings of hope, anticipation, waiting, confusion, and desperation. Addictive relationships are toxic and very powerful.
Healthy relationships do not involve constant drama and continual feelings of longing. Healthy relationships just are. When in a nonaddictive relationship, you simply know your loved one is available to you. You do not have to wonder, wait, or live in turmoil over your last or next encounter.
The first step in recovery is to face the truth. Identify your toxic person as the drug of sorts you are addicted to. Before you can break any addiction, you need to own the reality you have one. Acknowledgment is the beginning of your journey toward recovery.
To help you face the truth, get out your writing pad and begin the process. Start by writing the following:
Once you have faced the truth, commit to yourself to live in the truthto live in reality, no matter the cost. Recovery requires living in truth over living in fantasy. Addictive relationships are fantasies. You are in love with what you wish the person was, not what they are.
It is a vicious cycle.
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Trends Of Addiction In Relationships
If your boyfriend has an addictive personality, or you think you have a husband with an addictive personality, you may see some of the following trends:
- Trust issues: It may be difficult to establish trust with your loved one. Sometimes this is due to past traumatic experiences which is also a precursor to addiction.
- Conflict issues: Every couple fights, but someone who struggles with the possibility of addiction may bring more conflict to their relationships. This has a lot to do with their feelings of guilt, inadequacy, or low self-esteem.
- People-pleasing issues: Instead of staying true to themselves, someone with a tendency toward addiction may compulsively focus on the needs, wants and opinions of others. Over time, this can be damaging to relationships.
These trends of an addictive personality in relationships are not necessarily signs of an addictive personality, especially since it is impossible to nail down an exact definition of an addictive personality. But these trends do often act as a precursor to addiction or substance abuse.
Addiction itself has more of a negative effect on relationships. Because of this, it is crucial to watch for signs of addiction in your partner, husband, wife, child or loved one.
Why Is It A Myth
Theres no evidence to suggest that people with the traits mentioned above have a higher risk for addiction.
Thats not to say that certain personality traits arent related to addiction. For example, traits associated with borderline and antisocial personality disorders may be linked to higher rates of addiction.
However, the nature of this link is murky. Addiction can cause changes in the brain. As one 2017 research article points out, its not always clear whether the trait developed before or after addiction.
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How To Conquer Your Compulsions
Let me explain: Addiction, by definition, means being psychologically and physically dependent on something. If you’re addicted to alcohol, tobacco or drugs, for example, you’ll experience withdrawal symptoms like a rise in blood pressure, nausea, sweating and tremors if you stop taking it. That’s because these substances change body and brain chemistry.
Nowadays, many people also use the term “addiction” to refer to a “need” to repeat a behavior such as gambling, eating, having sex, exercising, working, shopping or surfing the Internet. These things are technically compulsions, not addictions. If a compulsive gambler doesn’t get to the casino, he might feel uncomfortable, but he’s not going to get the shakes.
Of course, a compulsion can be quite seriousjust imagine a gambler who finds himself in significant debt or someone who keeps having affairs despite the toll that it’s taking on her marriage. The important question isn’t whether something really is an “addiction,” but whether or not it’s having a destructive impact on your life. If you’re simply a zealous fan of Glee, it’s probably not destructive . But plenty of compulsive eaters and shoppers can wreak havoc on their health, relationships or financial security.
What causes compulsions?
Of course, there’s nothing wrong with occasionally enjoying many of these behaviors. So how do you know when it’s crossed the line? Ask yourself these questions:
4. Have you tried your best to stop the behavior but couldn’t ?
What Are The Harmful Drugs And How To Get Rid Of Their Addiction
Substances that cannot be stopped while ingesting are called addictive substances.Along with illegal drugs like amphetamine, cocaine, and cannabis there are also substances like alcohol, sleeping pills and anxiolytics, cough medicines and painkillers, nicotine, and but Angus that can be abused.
Its not because of weak will that you cant stop addicting. This is because overuse of addictive substances causes brain damage. This is called drug addiction. Drug addiction is often mistaken for a mental illness or personality problem, but it is really a brain disorder. Therefore, treatment is necessary, and it is a disease that can be cured by treatment.
Drug addiction is the same progressive disease as cancer. As long as you continue to use the drug, your brain damage will get worse.
It is divided into four stages according to its stage of progression.
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Do: Take Care Of Yourself
Indulging in self-care is not selfish, especially when youre helping someone dealing with addiction. You cannot let the addiction of your loved one derail your own life. Continue with healthy activities, like hobbies and social outings, and take care to look after yourself. Therapy or counseling is part of that process, but indulging in activities that arent centered around your loved one is necessary. Determine what it is that you need to keep yourself well and indulge in it.
Dealing With An Addictive Personality
In other words, individuals with extreme personality traits on either end of the spectrum may be at a higher risk of addiction. This includes both impulsive and compulsive people, antisocial and gregarious people, risk-takers and risk-averse people.
With this description in mind, it seems the best insight into how to deal with an addictive personality is to account for these extremes. Instead of responding in kind, take a step back and try to deescalate what is going on. This could help someone with an addictive tendency to reexamine the way they respond to things.
This insight from the addictive personality book may also help answer the question, Why am I attracted to addictive personalities?
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Definition Of Addictive Behaviors
Most people think of addiction as being dependent on a substance like drugs or alcohol. Many people, however, are addicted to behaviors rather than drugs and have similar feelings to those who are dependent on a substance. Some claim that getting high is a natural reaction that occurs in several situations.
Behavioral addictions are characterized by a series of acts that expose a person to mood-altering events on which they gain pleasure and become reliant, which may change neurotransmitter function, notably mesolimbic dopaminergic turnover.
In other words, consuming substances causes the brain to release feel-good neurotransmitters that are also released by other reward-based actions, both healthy and bad. Rather than being motivated by the behavior itself, urges and desires to engage in certain behavioral addictions stem from wanting to feel that way again.
Because their brain chemistry alters as their addiction advances, a person with an addiction has little control over what they are doing, using, or taking. Their addiction may have progressed to the point where it is causing them harm.
Addictions are not restricted to the physical things we consume, such as alcohol or drugs, but can encompass almost anything, including gambling, sex, and food.
Psychological dependence, such as with a smartphone, sex, gambling, or job, is now widely regarded as an addiction since it causes emotions of shame, guilt, failure, despair, anxiety, hopelessness, and humiliation.
The Takeaway: Having An Addictive Personality Does Not Mean You Are Doomed Forever
We will say it again: having some of the personality traits outlined above does not mean that you have an addictive personality. And it definitely does not mean that you are doomed to addiction forever.
Instead of seeing these traits as a prescription of what addiction looks like, you should take them as a kind of warning sign against the possibility of addiction.
There are options for when you have an addictive personality or are concerned that you may be addicted to drugs or alcohol.
There is no addictive personality treatment, simply because there is no such thing as an addictive personality at least form a clinical psychology standpoint.
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Traits Of An Addictive Personality
The editorial staff of Rehabs.com is comprised of addiction content experts from American Addiction Centers. Our editors and medical reviewers have over a decade of cumulative experience in medical content editing and have reviewed thousands of pages for accuracy and relevance. Our reviewers consistently monitor the latest research from SAMHSA, NIDA, and other reputable sources to provide our readers the most accurate content on the web.
An addictive personality is a set of personality traits that make an individual more prone to develop addictions to drugs, alcohol or other habit-forming behaviors. Know someone who might have one?
Here are a couple of red flags to look for:
