characteristics of addictive behaviours
Cards (7)
- in 2005, Griffiths suggested some criteria that needs to be met in order to be diagnosed with an addiction.
- saliencewhen the particular activity becomes the most important activity in the addict's life and dominates their thinking, feelings and behavioureven if the person is not actually engaged in the addictive behaviour, they will be thinking about the next time they will be.
- mood modificationthe subjective experience that people report as a consequence of engaging in the particular activity.the person's drug or activity can have the capacity to achieve different mood modifying effects at different times.for instance, a nicotine addict may use cigarettes first thing in the morning to get the arousing "nicotine rush" they need to get going for the day.
- tolerancethe process whereby increasing amounts of the particular activity are required to achieve the former effects.e.g. a heroin addict's need to increase the size of their "fix" to get the type of intense "rush" they once get from much smaller doses.
- withdrawal symptomsthe unpleasant feelings, states and/or physical effects that occur when the particular activity is discontinued or suddenly reduced.such withdrawal effects may be psychological - extreme moodiness or irritability, or physiological - nausea, sweats, headaches, insomnia.
- conflictconflict between the addict and those around them (interpersonal conflict) or from within the individual themselves (intrapsychic conflict), which are concerned with the particular activity.continual choosing of short-term pleasure and relief leads to disregard of adverse consequences and long-term damages, which in turn increases the apparent need for the addictive activity as a coping mechanism.
- relapsethe tendency for repeated reversions to earlier patterns of the particular activity to recur, and, for the most extreme patterns typical of the height of the addiction, to be quickly restored after many years of abstinence or control.