Substance Use Disorders are commonly thought of as limited to alcohol and illicit drugs. But the range of addictions that affect our daily lives is much broader than what many of us think.
Whether we struggle with addiction to gambling, food, shopping, or prescription drugs, the hallmark of an addiction that needs the attention of a mental health practitioner centers around our relationship to the substance or behavior, and how that substance or behavior affects our lives.
If you find yourself ashamed after engaging in your addiction, hiding it from friends and family members, lying about how often you do it, or going into debt to support your use, then your relationship with this substance or behavior is not healthy. Similarly, if you have lost a job, or skipped work, meals, or nights of sleep, or if engaging in this addiction has cost you important relationships, your behavior likely needs immediate attention.
We all have things we enjoy. And we all have our vices. But when engaging in our hobbies – or even guilty pleasures – begins to infringe upon our basic needs, we have crossed a line. Our jobs, our families, our homes, our safety needs to be of paramount importance. When we begin to sacrifice these things and rationalize why our habits deserve our time more than the basic needs of ourselves or our loved ones, that is an addiction. And while you can recover from addiction, you may never get back what you lost.
