Addictions
A loss of control over using a substance or over a behaviour despite harmful consequences.
Addiction is an illness in which a person loses control over using a substance — for example alcohol, medication or drugs — or over a particular behaviour, even though it causes ever more serious harm. Its features are a strong need or compulsion to reach for the substance, difficulty cutting down its use, rising tolerance, withdrawal symptoms and the neglect of other areas of life.
Addictions are common — problem drinking alone affects a few per cent of adults, and many people struggle with it for years before reaching for help. They often occur alongside depression, anxiety or other conditions, which makes it even harder to get out of the problem alone.
It is possible to come out of an addiction, and treatment is more effective the earlier it begins. It includes a consultation and diagnosis, psychotherapeutic work and, where needed, medication and cooperation with an addiction-treatment clinic.
The first step is an honest conversation with a specialist. Support from people close to you, self-help groups, avoiding the situations and places that trigger reaching for the substance, and building new, healthy habits in place of the old ones all help too.