You keep telling yourself that you can stop whenever you want to right? Well, it may not be as easy as you think. There are addictions out there where people don’t believe they are addicted and that just makes it harder to break the addiction. Here are a few things that you may want to watch out for:
1. Social Media
Instagram, Facebook, Twitter…you know the rest. New studies show that you might be among the 10% of social media users who really are hooked. The random pace of posts affects your brain the same way that cocaine does. Sharing details about yourself with others also creates a rush of positive feelings that leaves you wanting more.
2. Masturbation
Can’t stop pleasing yourself — or looking at porn? Doing it more, enjoying it less, and risking too much to do it? Maybe you have a strong sex drive. But there could be much more going on that you’re not letting on. If you have hypersexual disorder, your brain may be wired like that of someone with a drug or gambling problem.
3. Tattoos
Tattooing becomes problematic when it exceeds one’s ability to control it. That is, even in the face of no longer wanting tattoos, one continues getting them to resolve an impulse. Internal dialogue may become a vicious debate in which the impulse always wins. Despite all logic and reason, tattooing continues despite personal and social consequences.
Signs that getting tattoos is becoming a problematic behavior include but are not limited to:
Spending too much money on tattoos
Struggling to find employment due to professional appearance concerns
Health consequences (i.e., allergic reactions, skin infections, bloodborne diseases)
No longer finding meaning or appreciation in tattoos on one’s body
MUST READ: The FDA Doesn’t Want You To Have This Medicine
4. Exercise
A good workout can help you get over addictions, just as long as you don’t become hooked on the activity itself. Exercise helps your brain learn, which can speed recovery. But are you chasing that perfect body or…
… the high that your body feels every time you workout?
5. Shopping
We’ve all bought something we don’t really need. If that continues to happen, what you’re really looking for might be some dopamine, the feel-good-chemical for your brain. It could also mean you have impulse-control problems or anxiety issues. If you are hitting the stores a little too often — or the click “purchase” online a little too much, it can cause financial, legal, and social problems.
6. Plastic Surgery
Some people can’t get enough nips and tucks. That’s because many of them have “body dysmorphic disorder” and are obsessed with defects only they can see. This problem is caused by some of the same brain chemicals that play a role in addiction.
7. Being Rejected by Love
This is kind of hard to believe, but people can become addicted to the pain of romantic rejection. This has actually been studied, and brain scans have been done on people showing that it’s similar to a cocaine craving. You could understand why someone keeps ending up in dead-end relationships? Or why their relationship never seems to work out? You know that guy who makes the worst relationship choices possible, or that couple who’s “madly in love” but breaks up every other weekend? They may just have a mental illness.