According to the Medical Encyclopedia, an addiction is "a dependence on a behavior or substance that a person is powerless to stop...'Addiction' has been extended...to include mood-altering behaviors or activities. Some researchers speak of two types of addictions: substance addictions [such as alcoholism or the inability to quit smoking] and process addictions [such as uncontrolled gambling or uncontrollable consumer spending]."

The emphasis on an addiction is that the person is out of control about the process and/or substance (for instance, some researchers consider smoking to be both a process and a substance addiction). Our society often interchanges the words "addiction" and "obsession", but this is often misleading. An obsession is not, necessarily, a bad or harmful thing; it might very well indicate intense creativity or insight and be very constructive. Furthermore, loving someone or something or exemplifying great passion should never be confused with an addiction.

In the absence of the addicting process or substance, the addict soon becomes incapable of "normal" behavior or human interaction. This article will help you to understand the difference between addictions and habits, and types of addictions and their causes. There is also a picture of the addictions tree and a brave confession from an addict.

The addictions list

Many of us don’t even know that we have an addiction, because "addictions" are usually relegated to just a few stereotyped ones: alcohol, drugs, gambling, and nicotine. But addictions can had about a wide array of different things.

How to tell if you are an addict

• You spend most of your time thinking about a certain substance, activity, inducing a certain feeling in yourself, or a person .
• You find that you consistently manipulate events around the substance, activity, feeling, or person in question.
• You know that the substance, activity, feeling that you crave, etc, is causing you problems but you continue doing it or trying to get it.
• You "spare no expense" to do or acquire the thing(s) in question.
• If you cannot have or do the thing(s) in question, you soon "go crazy"

Some causes of addictions

• Genetics. Genes cannot "cause" an addiction; but they can make a person more prone to becoming addicted to certain things.
• Environment. Humans can become conditioned; powerful childhood experiences and exposure to chemicals are two of the most potent ways of being conditioned. Conditioning may lead to addiction.
• Abuse. Many addictive behaviors start with an attempt to kill physical or psychological pain caused by another person.
• Emotional Disorders. Anxiety, depression, stress, frustration, are states of mind that a person tries to escape from. In seeking this escape, people often fall into addictive behaviors.

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