Addiction and Obsessive Behavior: How to Recognize Warning Signs

Even psychotherapists find it difficult to distinguish between manifestations of addiction and manifestations of compulsive behavior. “From the point of view of an ordinary person, the symptoms are almost identical, the therapist’s client himself is sure that he suffers from obsession, although the real problem may lie in addiction. Still, it is important for psychologists to be able to distinguish between these types of disorders, because the choice of the right treatment depends on this, ”explains psychotherapist Christine Hammond.

Despite superficial similarities, the underlying causes of these problems are different. The therapist tries to understand: does the client perform certain “rituals” consistently and constantly? Or is his behavior due to some kind of constant dissatisfaction?

Let’s take gambling as an example. The psychotherapist’s client says that he regularly buys lottery tickets, spending about 500 rubles at a time. This may be a manifestation of obsession, addiction, or a combination of both.

For example, if he buys tickets every time in the same place, on the same day of the week, choosing the same numbers, and believes that he will definitely lose if the ritual is violated, this is a vivid example of obsessive behavior. For such a person, it does not matter whether he managed to win in the past by observing these rules. The main thing is to follow the established ritual.

Dependence in this case can manifest itself in fantasies about winning: a person constantly imagines how and on what he spends the money won. These dreams fascinate and absorb him almost entirely, he can spend the whole day thinking about potential opportunities.

Obsessive behavior

For obsessive people, rituals become a part of everyday life. Here are some examples:

• They always comb their hair the same way — since they were teenagers.
• They check if the door is locked several times a night.
• They spend hours analyzing a conversation, trying to figure out all the details.
• They wash their hands every time someone touches them.
• They use only a cleaning agent with chlorine for cleaning, it seems to them that nothing else can clean the dirt.
• They constantly build objects in even rows.
• They count the number of signals by closing the car door.

“The true cause of compulsive behavior is fear (whether justified, exaggerated or far-fetched). A person suffering from obsessions is afraid that the violation of rituals will lead to some negative consequences (a fire will start, something important will be missed, they will become infected, they will die, they will ruin their reputation, they will lose something or someone), ”explains Christine Hammond.

addictive behavior

Dependent people constantly feel dissatisfaction, and only the object of their addiction helps to get rid of it for a while. For example:

• They relax with alcohol.
• They take prescription drugs to numb the pain.
• They constantly buy new clothes because they are always unhappy with their appearance.
• They are constantly gambling, hoping for easy money.
• They exhaust themselves with sports, getting a «high» from the release of adrenaline.
• They watch pornography to feel attractive.
• They smoke to relieve stress.
• They watch soap operas to feel the atmosphere of romance.
• They play computer games to feel successful.
• They eat a lot of sweets to quickly get a burst of energy.

“All this, in one form or another, is an attempt to escape from the unsightly reality into the world of pleasant fantasies. A fantasy of a life without stress, without pain, without anxiety, with a beautiful body, wealth, constant adventure, passionate relationships, success, boundless energy. This life in the world of dreams leads to addictive behavior,” explains Christine Hammond.

Combination of compulsive and addictive behavior

Obsessions and addictions can mutually exacerbate each other — both the desire to avoid obsessive fears and the desire to escape from reality increase.

A person suffering from both problems may, for example, use exclusively a chlorine cleaner for two reasons at once: first there is a fear that nothing else can clean the dirt, and then there is a kind of dependence on the smell of chlorine, accompanied by fantasies of a perfectly clean house and life without dirt.

Or an avid computer game player imagines how to become the best in the world, and believes that in order to be successful, it is necessary to get some kind of achievement in the game — and three times.

“Because compulsions and addictions can coexist and reinforce each other, successful treatment requires separating these problems and tracing their root causes. In the process of therapy, as some symptoms weaken, others often appear, for which it is also important to find the causes and deal with them. It’s not an easy path, but the result is worth it,” sums up Christine Hammond.