behandlungsfeld sucht 1

Addiction

In medi­ci­ne, addic­tion refers to the irre­fu­ta­ble and irre­pres­si­ble desi­re for a cer­tain sta­te of expe­ri­ence. Ever­y­thing is sub­or­di­na­ted to this desi­re. Various forms of addic­tion are descri­bed in the fields of psy­cho­lo­gy and psych­ia­try. Sub­s­tance-rela­ted dis­or­ders are ill­nesses cau­sed by the use of a spe­ci­fic sub­s­tance, such as alco­hol, tob­ac­co, medi­ca­ti­on and ille­gal drugs. Non-sub­s­tance-rela­ted dis­or­ders refer to cer­tain beha­vi­ors that are car­ri­ed out to an exces­si­ve, addic­ti­ve ext­ent, such as gambling, PC/​Internet use, eating dis­or­ders, shop­ping addic­tion and sex addic­tion.

Sym­ptoms of addic­tion:

  • Strong desi­re for cer­tain sub­s­tances (so-cal­led cra­ving)
  • Redu­ced con­trol over con­sump­ti­on in terms of con­sump­ti­on style and quan­ti­ty
  • Deve­lo­p­ment of tole­rance with resul­ting increase in dose
  • Occur­rence of phy­si­cal with­dra­wal sym­ptoms
  • Rest­ric­ted beha­vi­or pat­tern
  • Deny­ing the addic­tion
  • Negle­ct of fami­ly, fri­ends, care­er and inte­rests
  • Negle­c­ting other aspects of life for the addic­tion
  • Con­tin­ued use despi­te obvious con­se­quen­ti­al dama­ge (phy­si­cal, psy­cho­lo­gi­cal and/​or social)

A per­son is said to be depen­dent if at least three of the abo­ve cri­te­ria occur over a peri­od of one year.