Classic and modern addictions

A smoking, alcohol or drug addiction falls under the classic addictions. But today we also know the so-called modern addictions. Think of binge watching, excessive texting, chronic Facebooking and extreme gaming.

One more episode… One more game of FIFA… Quickly checking my Facebook… Everyone is 'guilty' of all this. And is that bad? No dude, should be possible. But sometimes it doesn't stop there and the urge to watch, play games, scroll more and more gets the upper hand and influences your life. And that is not the intention. Too much Netflixing, Facebooking, Instagramming, WhatsApping or gaming falls under the heading of 'modern addictions'.

The difference between classic and modern addiction

The modern addictions are all "behavioral addictions." These can be compared to the classic 'gambling addiction'. The characteristics of the addiction are almost the same. Tolerance continues to increase (you need more of it to achieve the same effect), it sedates (let you forget bad feelings), you suffer from withdrawal symptoms when you stop taking it, et cetera. Yet modern addictions do differ from classic addictions.

No trauma, but a Facebook addiction

Where there is often a trauma behind a classic addiction, this does not necessarily have to be the case with a modern addiction. It is often an escape from reality. The dopamine effect plays a major role in modern addiction. Unlike smoking, alcohol or drugs, a modern addiction is not about taking a stimulant, but your own behavior is addictive. The behavior produces the same rewarding effect as a shot, and the addiction is an activity overvalued by the brain.

The socially accepted modern addiction

Another difference between the classic and modern addictions is that the modern addiction is not as objectionable as the classic variants. Do you immediately have to stop smoking, alcohol or using drugs about gaming, apping, Netflixing, Facebooking and Instagramming is usually thought differently. Everyone does it and it's great fun!

Teeth less?

As long as texting, Netflixing or whatever modern addiction doesn't negatively affect your life, there's nothing to worry about. If you think it could all be a bit less, we have a tip for you:

The most important thing is that you focus on the 'craving'. A craving is the longing for and the sense of… You now have to scroll through your timeline, you really can't turn off that series even if it is 01:00 at night, you are now going to send even more WhatsApp messages in the hope that to get back… Scale the craving from 0-10 and endure the thrill without reaching for the smartphone or downloading a series. It will take some effort; in that respect it is like a nicotine addiction. Source: intermediair.nl. 

Then this one. When are you actually addicted to alcohol?

The following 11 addiction characteristics are associated with an alcohol addiction. The severity of the addiction can also be read from this model. In mental health care they call this the DSM-5 criteria. We speak of problem drinking when at least two of the following criteria occur within a period of one year. Read all DSM-5 criteria here.