Differences Between Addictive
People and Non-Addictive People &
Their Behaviors
Introduction
Addiction, whether to substances or behaviors, is a complex
phenomenon influenced by a mix of genetic, psychological, and
environmental factors. The distinction between addictive and non-
addictive individuals can provide insights into behaviors, coping
mechanisms, and mental health frameworks that separate these
groups. This document delves into the differences, examining their
biological, psychological, and social aspects.
Substance addiction (or drug addiction) is a neuropsychiatric
disorder characterized by a recurring desire to continue taking the drug
despite harmful consequences. Non-substance addiction (or behavioral
addiction) covers pathological gambling, food addiction, internet
addiction, and mobile phone addiction.
Genetic Predisposition: How genes influence
addiction.
Genetic predisposition significantly impacts a person's vulnerability to
addiction by influencing how their brain responds to substances,
particularly regarding reward pathways, through variations in genes
that control dopamine signaling, metabolism of drugs, and overall
neurological function, meaning some individuals may be genetically
predisposed to develop an addiction more readily than others due to
inherited traits; however, it's important to remember that genetics are
only one factor, and environmental influences also play a major role in
addiction development.
Brain Chemistry: Differences in neurotransmitter
systems.
Different neurotransmitter systems in the brain are distinguished by the
specific type of neurotransmitter they utilize, leading to diverse
functions within the brain, with some key examples including the
dopamine system for reward motivation, serotonin system for mood
regulation, GABA system for calming effects, and the glutamate system
for excitation and learning.
Psychological Factors
Behavioral tendencies that might be captured through self-report
measures may provide insight into personality features that are
associated with substance addictions. Recently, impulsivity and related
constructs, such as sensation-seeking, have been examined to help
better understand their relationships with addictions. Here, we review
recent findings that show links over developmental epochs between
addictive behaviors and impulsivity, sensation-seeking, and other
constructs that are theoretically linked. These findings have significant
implications for generating improved treatments and interventions
aimed at preventing the development of addictive disorders.
Mental Health Issues: Role of anxiety, depression,
and other disorders.
The number of individuals experiencing mental disorders (e.g., anxiety
and depression) has significantly risen in recent years. Therefore, it is
essential to seek prevention and treatment strategies for mental
disorders. Several gut microbiota, especially Firmicutes and
Bacteroidetes, are demonstrated to affect mental health through
microbiota–gut–brain axis, and the gut microbiota dysbiosis can be
related to mental disorders, such as anxiety, depression, and other
mental disorders. On the other hand, dietary components, including
probiotics (e.g., Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium), prebiotics (e.g.,
dietary fiber and alpha-lactalbumin), synbiotics, postbiotics (e.g., short-
chain fatty acids), dairy products, spices (e.g., Zanthoxylum
bungeanum, curcumin, and capsaicin), fruits, vegetables, medicinal
herbs, and so on, could exert protective effects against mental
disorders by enhancing beneficial gut microbiota while suppressing
harmful ones.
Behavioral Patterns
Impulse Control: Differences in self-control and
decision-making.
While closely related, "impulse control" primarily refers to the ability to
resist immediate urges or actions, while "self-control" encompasses a
broader concept of managing behavior and choices, including decision-
making, to achieve a desired outcome, often by considering potential
consequences and delaying gratification; essentially, impulse control is
a key component of self-control when faced with immediate
temptations or impulses.
In particular, recent electrophysiological studies indicate that
single forebrain neurons reflect aspects of response omission strategy
and the temporal scheduling of response withholding when execution
of action needs to be controlled. In conclusion, the significant advances
in this field of research may help to explain neuropathologies that are
characterised by exaggerated impulsivity, or lack of self-control, as for
instance attention deficit disorders, frontal lobe syndrome, drug
addiction, or pathological
Environmental Influences
Access to Substances: Availability and exposure to
addictive substances.
This study examines how the availability of substances in the home
during adolescence and its influence on substance use in young
adulthood. Data are drawn from the National Longitudinal Study of
Adolescent Health (ADD Health). The final sample consisted of
approximately 15,000 cases from waves 1, 3 and 4. Multivariate
analyses indicate that the availability of substances in the home affects
young adult substance use and substance use in later young adulthood.
We also find that the availability of substances in the home during
adolescence is associated with an earlier age at first substance use. This
study offers further evidence for understanding how the home
environment affects substance use behavior among young adults. In
this case, exposure to substances in adolescence, and their easy
availability increases the likelihood of substance use in adolescence,
and increases use in young adulthood.
Lifestyle and Habits
Daily Routines: Differences in everyday behaviors
and routines.
One of the greatest challenges to lifestyle medicine is patient
adherence. Lifestyle diseases inherently require lifetime prevention and
treatment. Therefore, adherence to lifestyle medicine
recommendations must also be long-term. Long-term adherence
implies that a routine incorporating health recommendations has been
developed. Instead of focusing on the immediacy of adherence in
lifestyle changes, health care providers could consider helping patients
develop a routine to slowly incorporate those changes. This perspective
may enable greater long-term adherence to lifestyle change
recommendations.
Routines do not require conscious effort or thought. Although there are
multiple strategies to form a routine, an important one is to help
patients develop a structure to their day such that fewer decisions need
to be made. When presented with a choice, individuals typically pick
the option that is the easiest, quickest, and most enjoyable.
Impact on Relationships
Work and Professional Life: Impact on job
performance and career.
Reinforcement-based interventions are highly efficacious in the
treatment of substance use disorders, and their benefits can extend to
other areas of functioning as well. In particular, reinforcing
participation in job-related activities may be useful for improving
employment outcomes, which in turn may enhance quality of life and
decrease substance use. These secondary analyses compared
substance abusing patients randomized to reinforcement interventions
who selected and completed two or more job-related activities during
treatment versus those who did not. Patients who completed two or
more job-related activities during treatment had significantly greater
reductions in employment-related problems and improvements in
quality of life than those who completed only one or no job-related
activities, even after controlling for baseline differences that may
impact employment outcomes
Treatment and Recovery
Support Systems: Peer support can be defined as the process of
giving and receiving nonprofessional, nonclinical assistance from
individuals with similar conditions or circumstances to achieve long-
term recovery from psychiatric, alcohol, and/or other drug-related
problems. Recently, there has been a dramatic rise in the adoption of
alternative forms of peer support services to assist recovery from
substance use disorders; however, often peer support has not been
separated out as a formalized intervention component and rigorously
empirically tested, making it difficult to determine its effects. This
article reports the results of a literature review that was undertaken to
assess the effects of peer support groups, one aspect of peer support
services, in the treatment of addiction. Peer support groups included in
addiction treatment shows much promise; however, the limited data
relevant to this topic diminish the ability to draw definitive conclusions
Case Studies and Real-Life
Examples
1. Example of an addictive individual and their
journey.
People with addiction lose control over their actions. They crave and
seek out drugs, alcohol, or other substances no matter what the cost—
even at the risk of damaging friendships, hurting family, or losing jobs.
What is it about addiction that makes people behave in such
destructive ways? And why is it so hard to quit?
NIH-funded scientists are working to learn more about the biology of
addiction. They’ve shown that addiction is a long-lasting and complex
brain disease, and that current treatments can help people control
their addictions. But even for those who’ve successfully quit, there’s
always a risk of the addiction returning, which is called relapse.
The biological basis of addiction helps to explain why people need
much more than good intentions or willpower to break their
addictions.
2. Example of a non-addictive individual and their
coping mechanisms.
Recovery from drug addiction often poses challenges for the recovering
person. The coping mechanisms employed by these individuals to resist
temptations and manage stress play a key role in the healing process.
This study was conducted to explore the coping strategies or
techniques that individuals with addiction use to handle stress and
temptation while undergoing treatment.
A qualitative meta-synthesis approach was utilized to critically
evaluate relevant qualitative research. The Preferred Reporting Items
for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) 2020 guidelines
were used for article selection, with these standards applied to 4
academic databases: Scopus, PubMed, ProQuest, and CINAHL. The
present review included studies published between 2014 and 2023,
selected based on pre-established inclusion criteria.
CONCLUSION
The key difference between people with addictive behaviors and those
without is the inability to control their engagement in a particular
activity, even when it causes negative consequences in their lives,
leading to a preoccupation with the addictive substance or behavior,
often at the expense of other important aspects of life, relationships,
and responsibilities; while non-addictive individuals can moderate their
participation in activities and readily stop when necessary, without
experiencing significant distress or disruption to their daily functioning.
Behavioral science experts believe that all entities capable of
stimulating a person can be addictive; and whenever a habit changes
into an obligation, it can be considered as an addiction. Researchers
also believe that there are a number of similarities as well as some
differences between drug addiction and behavioral addiction diagnostic
symptoms. The purpose of this study is to consider different
approaches in this field.
This is a descriptive research using content analysis method. First,
differences and similarities of various perspectives on addiction and
addiction behavior in different substances were obtained, thereafter,
the data was coded and categorized, subjects were discussed and
major issues were extracted.
Behavioral addiction such as internet addiction is similar to drug
addiction except that in the former, the individual is not addicted to a
substance but the behavior or the feeling brought about by the
relevant action. In addition, the physical signs of drug addiction, are
absent in behavioral addiction. Others have stated that behaviorally
addicted individuals have certain symptoms and will undergo the same
consequences brought about by addiction to alcohol and drugs as well
as other obsessive behaviors.
Similar to substance abuse prevention, programs aimed at
addicted individuals and specialized training can educate adolescents
about the warning signs of online addiction, in order to assist the early
detection of this disorder. For prevention of behavioral addiction (such
as internet addiction) authorities, cultural institutions and parents
should monitor the use of internet and teach to the adolescent and
children, the useful and appropriate methods of internet use.