individuals can become addicted to behaviors, events, experiences, people, or substances.

 

Not intentionally. Yes, it's a multi-layered, multi-factoral issue with a wide range of causes and responses -- but there's a reason why you get a lot of crack addicts holding up their corner shop for money to buy crack and you don't get that many people who are compulsive pot smokers doing the same thing. Pharmacology isn't the only important factor, but it IS important. (That was the point that I believe the woman at my conference was trying to make.)

And one of the ways in which it's important is that certain drugs tend to evoke much more compulsive and self-destructive behaviours. That said, the most self destructive people I've known have all been boozers.

 

Last edited: Oct 20, 2021

Yeah, not a fan of Gabor Mate. What deep emotional trauma do you suppose all those bubble gum addicts have?

I tend to lean more towards Stanton Peele myself.

 

I tend to believe that addictions to substances like alcohol and certain drugs often entail a higher element of physiological addictions (as in the body gets used to being supplied with that substance and creating a demand / urge for resupply), while many behavioral addictions tend to be more easily accessible in comparision. For example: it takes more effort to organise illegal drugs then to spend 12 hours in front of the screen browsing the web. Yet, the latter can actually be symptomatic of a severely crippling behavioral addiction.