We all know what addiction is, right? Well, kind of.
Addiction often gets categorized and simplified down to alcohol, drugs, food, gambling and sex. I’d like to offer a perspective as a licensed addiction counselor (LAC) that broadens our understanding and mental frame of addiction.
Addiction is any behavior, socially acceptable or socially unacceptable, that effectively provides relief for that person. Though effective, addictive behavior often impacts what we refer to as “critical life areas.”
There are certain critical life areas we will focus on over the next several weeks. I will be addressing each of those areas and what the impact of addiction could look like in each. This is not meant to diagnose anyone or to be considered complete criteria for a clinical diagnosis, but rather a frame of reference to consider when dealing with behaviors in your own life and how they may be impacting important areas.
A behavior that impacts one or two critical life areas may not create a significant enough impact to consider changing the behavior. It is when a person chooses the behavior regardless of negative impact in one or more areas that it can become problematic.
As we continue this series, we will link new posts for each of the sections below:
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