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Is a habit a sign of obsession, compulsion, or addiction? .
Everyone performs habitual actions, such as looking out when crossing the street, but when the behavior loses rationality and affects our daily lives and normal functional ability, it can be called compulsive. What is compulsive behavior? Compulsive actions afford relief from underlying anxieties. Acting compulsively is the payoff. The need to relieve or dispel the anxiety, stress and fear is the root cause of the compulsive action. The anxiety can be due to obsessions: just as when a unfounded terror of bacteria and germs results in ritual, compulsive washing. Compulsive behavior can also arise unknowingly like when you're biting your nails without realizing it. Common compulsions are counting, cleaning, arranging and checking things over again to assure oneself. If these actions get out of control like when you check that the door is locked numerous times every time you go out, the compulsion uses up time, adversely affects one's everyday life, and may have escalated to an anxiety disorder. What is an obsession? P> To give an example, people could say I have an obsession about going to the gym every day, but if I'm training to perform in a sports event, my going to train is driven by a beneficial mental process. If my obsession for attending the gym is emotionally driven, to alleviate emotional conflict, and I'm constantly thinking about exercising and get upset and distressed if I can't work out, then I probably have an obsession. My obsession has to be alleviated by attending the gym, which is now a compulsion. The compulsive act is the culmination of the obsession, resulting in a brief respite from the anxiety, stress or fear. What is an addiction? Addiction in the traditional sense refers to drug dependence demonstrated by inability to stop in spite of physiological damage. Tolerance to the drug and withdrawal effects are two of the criteria for addiction. Addiction is a compulsion basically indulged in for pleasure-seeking. Actually, neurologists say that any behavior that works on the reward pathways in the brain can be termed addictive. In this respect, addiction can also refer to such habits as overeating and overexercising. Though not traditionally regarded as addictions, and also described as impulse disorders, withdrawal symptoms do appear when impulsive habit cannot be carried out. Compulsions and addictive behavior show common ground as they both evidence wrong usage of certain systems of the physical brain. The impulsive habits are quick fixes for the buildup of tension. Every human being is susceptible to addiction that may be set off by behavioral and social circumstances. Specialists treat those with problems accordingly, but to be effective any approach needs to broach the underlying reasons for the anxiety that is behind the addictive behavior.
