Reply #49: That's not an addiction. [View All]

[Deep13]

If stopping use does not cause physical withdrawal symptoms, it is not an addiction. I know colloquially people speak of psychological depedencies as addictions, but strickly speaking they are not. One may eat to control anxiety, but returning to a survival diet will not result in actual withdrawal symptoms (vomiting, nausea, chill, headaches, DTs). I have first hand experience of this. If I don't snack during the day, I get low blood sugar and my stomach becomes uncomfortable, but I do not get withdrawal symptoms.

If a person is physically addicted, that fact is true regardless of what else is going on in the persons life. Generally speaking, however, the dependence of an addictive drug is so powerful that the drug eventually becomes the focus of ones life. I know a prosecutor who was disbarred because he could not keep his nose out of the evidence room. Cocaine became more important than his health, family or career. I am sure the examples are endless.