In this life, we tend to fall in love with some things and a have little degree of fondness for others. Natural philia is alright until the thin line between likeness and fixation is crossed. Now, that's a problem. If you find yourself loving something so much you can't seem to leave it for anything else in this world or live without it. Then you might actually have what is called ADDICTION. Too much of everything is said to be bad. But being hooked to a particular thing is much worse off.
Causes of Addiction
There is no single cause of addiction and it can be hard to figure out why some people become addicted and others don't. Researches believe that there are several factors that can influence the development of addiction.
1. Genetics: There appears to be a genetic link to addiction. If your parents or other family members have struggled with or are struggling with addiction, you have a higher chance of developing an addiction too. But keep in mind that there are other factors that affect the development of addiction.
2. Your Brain: Substances and activities that are associated with addiction all increase the levels of a chemical messenger called dopamine in the brain. Dopamine activates the pleasure and reward areas of the brain, making you feel positive and good. Because these feelings are pleasurable, you want to repeat the behaviour that created the feeling.
3. Childhood Experiences: Some traumatic childhood experience (e.g., emotional, physical, or sexual abuse) can trigger addiction when people seek comfort or an escape from the pain of past experiences. Young adults also may have friends who use alcohol and other drugs, and peer influence can lead to experimenting with addictive substances.
4. Mental Health: Addiction is more common in people with other mental health issues such as depression or anxiety. It is thought that people with mental health issues use addictive substances or activities to help them feel better, but in fact, the opposite happens.
5. Stress and Coping With Feelings: Some people may turn to substances or activities to relieve stress or help them cope with certain situations and feelings. Feelings of not belonging as a result of race, gender, or ethnicity can cause people to turn to addictive substances for relief. Addiction can also be influence by poverty and not doing well in school (either academically or socially). Addiction is not caused by personal weakness or lack of willpower.
Detriments of Addiction
Asides the well pronounced, widely proclaimed, and well documented health/physical (organ damage, hormone imbalance, cancer, pre-natal and fertility issues, gastrointestinal disease, HIV / AIDS), and psychological (depression, anxiety, memory loss, aggression, mood swings, paranoia) effects of addiction, there are other consequences - though considered minute and often shelved in the dark room - of utmost importance that affect the life of the victim.
1. Lose Factual Time: Time is the most expensive to manage. Addicts however aren't concerned about this. People with addiction problem generally find themselves doing the wrong thing always. They allocate unnecessary time to their addiction and neglect their basic duties. Time ought to be used for productive means are wasted engaging in so called - 'self satisfactory task'. I used to be addicted to video games. I remember I'd skip tutorial classes or leave school abruptly just to quench my thirst for video games. I'll always end up wasting precious time which was supposed to have been spent in the four walls of the classroom or doing productive things.
2. Narrow Scope: Addicts tend to channel their thinking and resources towards engaging in their cravings. They do not think outside the box. All that occupy their faculty is how to quickly have a little time to themselves to satisfy the urge. These drives their mind and concentration away from basic necessities of life. Addicts map out plans on how to relish their addictions. Something they'll never do to other facets of their life like academics, family, social activities and career.
3. Uneasy, Clumsy and Queasy: have you ever met with an addict? If no, I'm sure you've seen them in movies. They always appear unruly, irrational, irresponsible, queasy at achieving simple tasks. They behave rashly and are always in a rush. Why? So as to create avenue to quickly have a dose of their hook. Addicts are always restless especially when they're yet to have a feel of their addictions.
4. Weird and Bad Names: Yea, so true! Addicts get christened with not-so-good names. Some are often strange while most are bad altogether, not befitting a responsible fellow. Names like FFO (For Food Only), 'Tetelabi' - a gambler is born -, Igbo (Indian Hemp), junky, brewery are typical examples. There used to be a boy in my class back in secondary school who loved Nintendo Gameboy more than his books so he was baptized 'Gameboy' till we left school. I used to be called Playstation 2 too due to my addiction to Sony Playstation console. I was shocked to hear a girl answer KMK literally meaning 'Komooko' in Yoruba. It implies she's a sex addict and will jump at every chance to have sex. Addiction unconsciously make the society give you names that could later come to haunt you if not now, then the nearest future.
5. Starvation: Addicts deny themselves of essential needs so as to satisfy their urge. They'll rather gather money and spend on their hook than divert it to fundamental and radical use. They starve themselves and their family of personal needs and will only do the bidding of their cravings.
6. Low/No Propensity to Save: Only in rare cases will you see an addict with fat bank balance. Most addicts have rendered their account dormant just to quench the thirst for their addiction. The thought of saving do not cross their mind. They divert their income to source(s) of addiction. If they finally endeavour to save some meagre amount, it is always momentarily because whenever they're feeling itchy, they could draw off all their savings to that respect.
We'll discuss tips on how to survive addiction next week. Thanks for joining me on another educative episode of Midweek Drive. Hope to have you again next week. Enjoy the rest of the week!
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Author: LAMBE OLANREWAJU
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We are all addicted to something
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