Amazing addictions you've never heard of before

For most people, the word "addiction" is firmly associated only with drug addiction, alcoholism and smoking. However, in recent years, scientists have become increasingly convinced that addiction can also be expressed in an irresistible desire to perform some action, that is, a person can suffer from behavioral addiction. Where is the line between normal human behavior and drug addiction?

Job

These days, you hear the word "workaholic" a lot, but not all people who spend a lot of time at work fit the description of this term. True workaholics work until they are blue in the face and will find any excuse to bring piles of paperwork home and continue working. Workaholism is a compulsive disorder, so such people are distinguished by their dedication to their work, regardless of whether they like their work or not. Like any addiction, workaholism can negatively affect other areas of life, such as relationships with family and friends, and even a person's physical health.

Internet

Despite the fact that the Internet has become widely accessible only in recent years, the number of people addicted to it is growing every day. The World Wide Web draws you in and entangles you in its web. A person may be convinced that this is just an innocent pastime, but employees of the Internet Addicts Rehabilitation Center cite alarming figures - the number of people addicted to the Internet today is from 5 to 10%. Like most addictions, Internet addiction is characterized by the fact that it interferes with a person's normal life, setting only one priority - to spend as much time online as possible.

Caffeine

A cup of coffee in the morning and during lunch break is the norm for most people. But there are people who simply cannot imagine their life without caffeine. They are horrified if the coffee runs out, and they may not drink it at all, but get the same stimulating effect from energy drinks, which contain a huge amount of caffeine.

Read also: Caffeine: Dispelling the myths

The thing is, the body produces adenosine, a substance that causes drowsiness and slows down the activity of nerve cells, and when caffeine is added to adenosine, the activity of nerve cells, on the contrary, increases. Caffeine also increases the production of dopamine, a hormone that activates the pleasure centers in the brain - this is another reason for addiction.

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Love

Some people just love to love. Being in love puts a person into a state of excitement and affection, inspiring him and giving him a great mood. Some people are obsessed with these feelings. As a rule, addicts in love swear eternal love to one object of passion today, and tomorrow they cannot live without another.

Negative

All people complain and mope, but there are those who do it endlessly. They see only the negative in any situation, for them the glass is always half empty, no matter how much you prove that there are also bright spots in life. Such people see everything only in gloomy tones and look for a reason to be dissatisfied. Addictive behavior is characterized by the desire to escape from reality by artificially changing one's mental state. Thus, a person has a surge of brain activity when he thinks about something negative.

Dermatillomania

It may seem strange, but there are people who literally cannot live without squeezing a pimple or biting off a hangnail. Dermatillomania is obsessive in nature. A person is irresistibly drawn to the skin, despite the fact that it can cause harm, for example, a person knows that his action may result in bleeding or a scar, but he still continues his manipulations.

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