Negative Addictions: Addiction Can Be

¶ … Negative Addictions:

Addiction can be described as the continual use of substances or behaviors that alter the mood of an individual and have adverse consequences. The adverse consequences associated with addiction originate from the fact that it's a very strong and unconscious habit that is usually hard to drop. Every addiction is hard to drop because of the inner compulsion of repeating the behavior or consuming the substance over and over again. However, there are two types of addiction i.e. positive addition and negative addiction. Positive addictions are behaviors that promote the growth and success of a person in a particular field such as becoming an athlete or a swimmer. Consequently, positive addictions can be regarded as those with advantages and benefits that are beyond the price.

Negative addictions are behaviors or excessive use of harmful substances and range from those with minimal negative consequences to those with huge negative impacts on the individual. In most cases, negative addictions grow stronger with time even though the fact is not necessarily or typically true in every case. In the past few years, the concept of negative addictions has mainly been linked primarily with the use of illicit drugs and alcohol despite of the challenge from researchers and clinicians. Therefore, the nature of negative addiction is that it's any habit or behavior with serious detrimental effects to the self. The habits or behaviors are not entirely linked to the use of alcohol or illicit drugs or any illegal activities. This is primarily because negative addictions are considered as forms of habits that destroy a person's body and self (Pressley, 2010).

From my personal experience, I have discovered that negative addictions are not necessarily involvement in illicit activities or immoral behaviors but rather any activity that is driven by an inner compulsion to repeat it over and over again. An example of such activity is shopping for various items such as clothes, shoes, and bags. In some cases, shopping is used as a means of relieving stress, a form of controlling anger, and being in a depressing condition. The negative thing associated with this practice is that the individual may buy unnecessary items since the practice is carried out without proper consideration. Furthermore, shopping has the ability of becoming a negative addiction if it leads to the purchase of items that will no longer fit the individual after a short period of time. While shopping is a good activity, it turns to a negative addiction if it's driven by a state of tension and anticipation.

Similar to positive addictions, negative addictions are recurring habits or behaviors that are learned or acquired through trial and error or through observation of other people. When an individual is continually exposed to the substance or behavior with some level of satisfaction, the urge or craving for the substance or behavior emerge gradually following repeated practice and experience. The craving or urge for the habit or substance is a person's way of anticipation to enjoy it since he/she considers it to be good.

The likelihood of an individual to be addicted to a substance or habit is hindered if the person has never experienced it. On the other hand, the probability of the addiction to develop is also hindered if the person does not have a pleasurable or experience. However, what is pleasurable varies from person to person since what is pleasurable for one may not be for another (Chakravarthula, 2001).