Behavioural Addictions  

Just as there are those who become addicted to alcohol, whereas others can drink moderately, there are people who can buy a lottery ticket occasionally and others who gamble at every given opportunity: with money begged, borrowed and stolen. Our clinicians are here to provide 24-hour addiction help and free rehab advice UK. For those who aren’t up to calling, we also provide free rehab advice online.  

Unlike addictions to illegal drugs, behavioural addictions involve accessing legal activities to a degree that takes over the person’s life and becomes incredibly problematic. The most common types of behavioural addictions that are encountered in treatment centres are:  

There have been instances where people have sadly died while in active addiction to video games due to dehydration/starvation simply because they cannot desist from gaming. Often, sessions will last for days where the individual will, literally, be sat in a chair gaming, nonstop, for days without stopping to drink or eat.

This is a contentious question and there is no consensus among the medical community. It is believed, by some researchers, that winning a video game may trigger a release of a chemical in the body known as dopamine. This neurotransmitter (brain chemical) is known to play a vital role in  many different functions, among them, pleasure, reward and motivation. This chemical also plays an important function in gambling and drug addiction. Indeed, recent studies have shown that there may be a link between the brains of those who are addicted to gaming and those dependent on substances.

Modern day dating sites and other associated social media apps could be said to be fuelling, or at least facilitating, sex addiction. The individual will, ordinarily, be very aware of the consequences of their addiction but are unable to stop. They break through the boundary of intimacy into compulsion.

This is where an individual is unable to focus on work tasks, chores at home, family life and social activities because of overriding thoughts about sexual activity. These can ruin, or at least severely impact, relationships, and finances. It is sometimes known as hyper-sexuality.

With the advent of mobile internet and smartphones, there are very few places where the internet is not accessible. Apart from emigrating to North Korea, someone addicted to social media can find themselves, literally, glued to their phone 24/7.

It is believed that there are several different types of Internet addiction:

This is where someone spends inordinate amounts of time in adult chat rooms and fantasy sites. They can damage and destroy “real world” relationships. Little attention is paid to “real life” spouse while the person engages in their fantasy life.

When people become overly involved in on-line relationships, and thus abandoning real world problems and intimacy: Dependency can arise. It is not uncommon for those caught up in this to use a fake identity and appearance, to over embellish their accomplishments and physical appearance. 

This type of dependency can inhibit real world interactions and relationships leading to unrealistic demands and expectations when meeting people off-line.

Gaining data, quickly, is the gift of the internet. Anyone, with just a smartphone, can access information at speeds previously thought impossible. Gone are the days of reference texts and library visits. However, this need to gain knowledge can, for some, be overwhelming and overriding. Indeed, seeking information for a work task can actually reduce productivity as the need for information becomes obsessive and the task suffers as a result.

Using a computer, in itself, for long periods can be problematic and lead to postural and vision difficulties. On a psychological level, such a dependency can lead to severe anxiety, rapid mood changes and severe social isolation.

Even when someone knows they are likely to lose all the money available to them, they cannot resist the urge to gamble. The belief in “lady luck” that they are on a “winning streak” or that they will “win it all back” override objective decision making.  

Essentially, this is where the person feels that their life is so out of control that the one thing, they can control is what they eat and when. There are many different types of eating disorder. Treatment can be a lengthy process and, with all addictions, is not curative but recovery orientated.  

Craving and overeating can cause significant health problems. Just as with over behavioural addictions, there is an instant reward when the person engages in their addiction, none more so than with food addiction.

Some people find it impossible to resist responding to social media posts or from creating content themselves. Every time their smartphone beeps: they react. 

Whereas, in days gone by, shopping was contained to Monday-Saturday daytime, the internet allows 24/7 access to retail. Someone with a shopping addiction can see their finances dwindle or be moved to steal from family, friends and employers. Buying something can make the person feel good and helps them to avoid negative feelings such as depression and anxiety. This is also known as oniomania. It is “socially acceptable” because it does not involve buying illegal drugs or harm someone else: directly.

Gone are the days of men in long coats having to reach for the top shelf in the newsagent or send cheques in the post to P.O boxes for mail order pornography. It is now available 24/7 365. Those with a pornography addiction often destroy relationships or, at the very least, become adept at manipulation and dishonesty. Because porn addiction is controversial in the medical/mental health community, there’s not a clear set of causes available. However, the causes of compulsive sexual behaviour may offer some clues. Things that lead to porn addiction could include: 

• Changes in brain chemical balances
• Brain pathway changes

Here at Find Me A Rehab we have clinicians who can offer free clinician addiction advice to find an addiction recovery centre. We provide free 24-hour addiction advice.  

 This can be a very difficult question to answer and there are normally many different contributing factors. For the person caught up in the middle of a behavioural addiction, there can be a feeling of euphoria when engaging in the activity. Indeed, with gambling, there can be significant financial gain (though often short term as winnings are lost through further gambling.) Trauma, stress, relationship breakdown, loss of a job, mental illness: all can be factors in addiction.  

A person with a behavioural addiction may have a family history of mental illness and/or addictions as well as having a mental health condition themselves. There may also be genetic factors at play. While these genetic factors cannot be removed, the addiction can be overcome.  

Where a person grows up in an environment where addiction is left untreated, this can often lead to someone developing addiction, themselves, later on. 

Peer pressure can also be a strong influencing factor. For those with poor impulse control or who seek sensation related experiences, addiction can follow.  

While there are clinical definitions, the most straightforward way to explain is to look at what degree of debilitation the behaviours are having on the individual. A person who buys a lottery ticket every Friday for a few pounds with the occasional scratchcard would not be considered an addict. Someone who spends their entire wages on scratchcards as soon as they get paid and/or uses money gained through deception/theft/coercion, etc would be said to be addicted. Similarly, someone who accesses pornography once or twice a week for a few minutes would not be addicted whereas someone who is accessing it for hours a day and lying to others to cover their tracks would be said to be addicted.   

A person’s behavioural addiction can be as destructive as a dependency on, say, alcohol or heroin. Those struggling with gambling will often use household finances to fund their addiction and rent/mortgage payments can be sacrificed leading to eviction. Sadly, those in employment with access to cash or company accounts often end up stealing from their employers/customers to fund their habit. With sex addiction there can be a breakdown in relationships as well as using money from household expenditure to fund the habit.  

The main aim of treatment is to try and restructure the thought process of an individual so that they do not look to these addictive behaviours for reward and/or pleasure. If the root cause can be identified and a less destructive positive outlet formed, then recovery can be achieved. Many behavioural addictions stem from underlying poor mental health and thus a combination of group and individual therapy can help to identify what drives addictive behaviour.  

Unlike physical addictions to substances such as alcohol and ketamine, medication does not, ordinarily, form a mainstay of treatment though there is a growing field of evidence that adjunctive medication can be very useful, when used alongside group and individual therapy, Naltrexone, Buspirone and Baclofen being useful examples.  

A crucial element of treatment is relapse prevention. This encompasses promoting abstinence and helping the individual identify patterns of abuse and how to avoid situations that would lead to a relapse as well as how to make positive changes.  

Different centres provide an array of therapies and treatments. All work around a nucleus of a group therapy approach and augment this with other therapeutic approaches. For those entering treatment for more than two weeks, a weekly session of individual therapy is usually included.  

The mainstay of treatment is a   group therapy approach, either based on 12 steps/SMART or an eclectic mix. With a 12-step approach someone is usually progressed to step 4 before continuing the work: post discharge. Other therapies often used include:  

This can be particularly useful for those who, while voluntarily engaging in treatment, have reservations about the efficacy of treatment.  

It is a short-term intervention and uses eclectic techniques, mostly motivational interviewing. MET can be an excellent tool where people know they need help but fear letting go of their addiction.

The main thrust of CBT is to help someone, caught up in addiction, to work out which thought processes are beneficial and which are not. When successful, it can help someone to reshape their core beliefs and thus reduce, and eventually remove, their compulsive drivers. It has a wealth of scientific research behind it.

CBT is based on the premise that problems in life are due to ways of thinking that are harmful and that these lead to maladaptive or “learned” behaviour and that these can be relearned when negative thought processes can be shifted. Ordinarily, it is about the here and now and now about past trauma.

Sometimes overlooked but can be incredibly powerful. It can help family members support the individual while also repairing damaged family dynamics which can sometimes be the spark leading to addictive behaviours. 

The essence of family therapy is to focus on improving relationships within families and change/challenge behaviours within family groups. It is not always about husband and wife: It can be any type of family group across many generations, same sex relationships are, most certainly, included. It maybe helping the family adapt to a change in circumstances such as divorce, retirement, relocation or life cycle events such as death, dying or aging. Parent and child difficulties can also be addressed.

Adjunctive therapies, such as this, can help someone tune into their thoughts and feelings, become more aware of them while also teaching more positive responses to stress other than addictive behaviours. 

This is not a new approach but has received a lot of press interest over recent years. It is embedded in the teachings of Hinduism and Buddhism stemming from the concept of sati (being in the present).  There has been some encouraging research, of late, which shows that this technique can assist with stress reduction and lowering anxiety as well as help someone to regulate their emotions

Without doubt the most important element of treatment. Discharge planning starts at admission. All centres provide a minimum of 12 months aftercare, with telephone support and an open invitation to a weekly support group for treatment centre alumni. Signposting to local 12 step or SMART groups is also part of this as can referrals to local statutory or private specialist therapy can also be essential.  

Aside from providing free rehab advice online, our clinicians provide free rehab advice UK. Call for 24-hour addiction help.