Can you be medically dependent on substances that aren't chemicals?
Talia Schmidt, From U-Wire
Issue date: 3/1/07 Section: Entertainment
(U-WIRE) EUGENE, Ore. -- Crack cocaine and heroin, it's generally accepted, are addictive. But are chocolate, shopping or gambling really on the same level as these potentially deadly drugs?
When it comes to defining addiction, viewpoints differ. One professor said that people can be addicted to anything that "provides fast, strong rewards," like sex and gambling, while another said that some people who say they're addicted to non-chemical activities should "shut up and grow up."
Psychology professor Ulrich Mayr said that addiction is a shortcut to feeling good. He said that over time, the brain learns the body can feel good easily with access to drugs. It's a shortcut because the person doesn't have to do the hard work he or she normally does to achieve the same feel-good high.
"Drugs replace the hard work of getting there," he said. "It's stronger than what you could achieve in normal life."
He also said that a person learns quickly that he or she will feel a certain way after consumption.
"If you didn't have the ability to anticipate feeling good or the ability to feel good, you wouldn't get out of bed in the morning," said Mayr.
Though he's not a specialist in addictions, he believes that people can be addicted to anything.
"You can be addicted to anything that provides fast, strong rewards without too much effort," he said. "We're addicted to driving our car, to eating a good meal every night, drinking a glass of wine at night."
"They're critical only if they interfere with everyday life."
Mayr believes that there's a means by which people can train themselves to be addicted to more productive things.
"It's called therapy," he said.
In therapy, he explained, people gradually learn the importance of holding off and giving up the immediacy associated with substance addiction. He believes it is essential to work hard to achieve the pleasure once gained by drug use.
But one of Mayr's colleagues uses the term addiction more carefully and for specific situations and scenarios.
When it comes to defining addiction, viewpoints differ. One professor said that people can be addicted to anything that "provides fast, strong rewards," like sex and gambling, while another said that some people who say they're addicted to non-chemical activities should "shut up and grow up."
Psychology professor Ulrich Mayr said that addiction is a shortcut to feeling good. He said that over time, the brain learns the body can feel good easily with access to drugs. It's a shortcut because the person doesn't have to do the hard work he or she normally does to achieve the same feel-good high.
"Drugs replace the hard work of getting there," he said. "It's stronger than what you could achieve in normal life."
He also said that a person learns quickly that he or she will feel a certain way after consumption.
"If you didn't have the ability to anticipate feeling good or the ability to feel good, you wouldn't get out of bed in the morning," said Mayr.
Though he's not a specialist in addictions, he believes that people can be addicted to anything.
"You can be addicted to anything that provides fast, strong rewards without too much effort," he said. "We're addicted to driving our car, to eating a good meal every night, drinking a glass of wine at night."
"They're critical only if they interfere with everyday life."
Mayr believes that there's a means by which people can train themselves to be addicted to more productive things.
"It's called therapy," he said.
In therapy, he explained, people gradually learn the importance of holding off and giving up the immediacy associated with substance addiction. He believes it is essential to work hard to achieve the pleasure once gained by drug use.
But one of Mayr's colleagues uses the term addiction more carefully and for specific situations and scenarios.
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