Addiction and effects

Addiction
The effect it has in society, family and government

Historically, addiction has been defined with regard solely to psychoactive substances (for example alcohol, tobacco and other drugs) which cross the blood-brain barrier once ingested, temporarily altering the chemical milieu of the brain.
Many people, both psychology professionals and laymen, now feel that there should beaccommodation made to include psychological dependency on such things as gambling, food, sex, pornography, computers, video games, internet, work, exercise, idolising, watching TV or certain types of non-pornographic videos, spiritual obsession, cutting and shopping so these behaviors count as 'addictions' as well and cause guilt, shame, fear, hopelessness, failure, rejection, anxiety, or humiliationsymptoms associated with, among other medical conditions, depression and epilepsy.

Addiction is a chronic relapsing brain disease. Brain imaging shows that addiction severely alters brain areas critical to decision-making, learning and memory, and behavior control, which may help to explain the compulsive and destructive behaviors of addiction

The term addiction is most commonly associatedwith a person's compulsive and habitual desire to consume a chemical substance, such as alcohol or other drugs. The addict's life is eventually dominated by the craving. It is estimated that up to 25 percent of the American population displays some form of addictive behavior.

Withdrawal symptoms are caused by psychological, physiological, and chemical reactions in the body that are brought on asthe amount of the addictive chemical in the blood begins to fall. Abrupt withdrawal from alcohol can result in uncontrollable bodily shaking, hallucinations, and seizures. Withdrawal from cigarettes can cause irritability and intense craving for nicotine. A coffee drinker may experience headaches and mood changes without the beverage. The hard drugs such as heroin and cocaine produce intense,sometimes violent, withdrawal symptoms. Abdominal pain, nausea, chills, tremors, sweating, hallucinations, and panic increase until eased by more of the same drug or treatment with medication to relieve the symptoms.
 Interestingly, in addition to chemical addictions there are many physical addictions too which we either love to crave for out of our ignorance or appreciate and strive to rush for dueto lack of proper information to the effect. Few of them may be cited here as prototype cases. Compulsive gambling begins with placing small bets on horses or playing low-stakes card games or craps. As the gambler experiences the exhilaration of winning, he or she engages in bigger, more frequent, and more irrational betting. Gamblers place ever-larger bets to make up for their losses and havebeen known to lose their jobs, their homes, and their families as a result of their addiction.
 
 Among addictions, no other is so willingly embraced than that of a workaholic, or a person addicted to work. On the surface, it might be difficult to tell if a person is a workaholic or just a hard and loyal worker. However, if work overshadows all other responsibilities in a worker's life, then theresults can be telling. Focusing on work, workaholics tend to neglect their families, leaving the responsibility of raising their children solely to their spouses. All other social obligations are often neglected, as well. Finally, workaholics tend to neglect themselves, experiencing deteriorating health as they push themselves to the limit at work without regard for sleep or food. Counseling toidentify the reason a person throws himself or herself into work is key for overcoming this addiction.
 
 

The Internet connects people all over the globe, exposing them to new cultures and offering vast amounts of information. But when the computer world begins to rival the real world, it becomes an addiction. Internet addiction insulates people from intimate settings and relationships. Some...