In the article you can get acquainted with the concept of “addictive behavior”, forms of behavior; characteristics of adolescence as a risk factor. I also recommend conducting testing among students in grades 8-10. The results will be discussed at the Prevention Council.
Addictive behavior is one of the forms of behavior that is expressed in the desire to escape from reality by changing one’s mental state by taking certain substances or constantly fixating attention on certain subjects or activities (types of activity), which is accompanied by the development of intense emotions. This process captures a person so much that it begins to control his life. A person becomes helpless in front of his addiction. Willpower weakens and makes it impossible to resist addiction.
Download:
Preview:
Article.
Addictive behavior
Addictive behavior is one of the forms of behavior that is expressed in the desire to escape from reality by changing one’s mental state by taking certain substances or constantly fixating attention on certain objects or activities (types of activity), which is accompanied by the development of intense emotions. This process captures a person so much that it begins to control his life. A person becomes helpless in front of his addiction. Willpower weakens and makes it impossible to resist addiction.
The choice of addictive behavior strategy is due to difficulties in adapting to problematic life situations: difficult socio-economic conditions, numerous disappointments, collapse of ideals, conflicts in the family, loss of loved ones, abrupt change familiar stereotypes. The reality is that the desire for psychological and physical comfort is not always possible to realize. It is also characteristic of our time that there is a very rapid increase in changes in all areas public life. The load on adaptation systems is very high. The founder of the theory of stress, G. Selye, speaking about adaptation, writes: “Adaptability is probably the main distinguishing feature life." “There are two ways to survive: struggle and adaptation” (21).
Addictive personalityin his attempts, he is looking for his own universal and too one-sided way of survival - avoiding problems. The first sign of these disorders is a feeling of psychological discomfort. Psychological comfort can be disrupted for various reasons, both internal and external. Mood swings always accompany our lives, but people perceive these conditions differently and react to them differently. Some are ready to resist the vicissitudes of fate, take responsibility for what is happening and make decisions, while others find it difficult to tolerate even short-term and minor fluctuations in mood and psychophysical tone. Such people have low tolerance. As a way to restore psychological comfort, they choose addiction, seeking to artificially change their mental state and obtain subjectively pleasant emotions. Thus, the illusion of solving the problem is created. This way of “fighting” reality becomes fixed in human behavior and becomes a stable strategy for interacting with reality. The beauty of addiction is that it represents the path of least resistance. “The subjective impression is created that, thus, by turning to fixation on some objects or actions, you can not think about your problems, forget about worries, get away from difficult situations, using different options for addictive implementation” (11).
Forms of addictive behavior.
The desire to change mood through an addictive mechanism is achieved with the help of various addictive agents. Such agents include substances that alter mental states: alcohol, drugs, medications, toxic substances. Artificial changes in mood are also facilitated by involvement in certain types of activity: gambling, computer, overeating or fasting, work, prolonged listening to rhythmic music.
Alcoholism. “According to the World Health Organization, the alcohol problem, considered only from a medical aspect, ranks third after cardiovascular and tumor diseases. The role of alcohol abuse in modern society especially increases taking into account the psychological and social consequences associated with this phenomenon. economic consequences” (10).
The beginning of the development of alcohol addiction can be the first meeting with alcohol, when intoxication is accompanied by intense emotional experiences. They are recorded in memory and provoke repeated alcohol consumption. The symbolic nature of drinking alcohol is lost, and the person begins to feel the need to drink alcohol in order to achieve a certain desired state. At some stage, due to the effect of alcohol, there is a rise in activity, an increase in creativity, mood and performance improve, but these sensations are usually short-lived; they can be replaced by low mood, apathy and psychological discomfort. “The appearance of such a state is one of the options for the development of alcoholic addictive behavior, since a person begins to strive to “reproduce” it, for which he intensively resorts to alcohol.”
Addiction. In most cases, the use of narcotic substances is associated with the desire for new sensations, to expand their spectrum. New methods of administration, new substances and different combinations of these substances are being sought in order to achieve maximum effect. The most common are soft drugs. There's quite a lot going on with soft drugs quick transition to stronger substances.
People who abuse drugs try to attract people into their circle more people are prevented from leaving this environment. In parallel with personal disintegration, serious disorders develop in the organ and mental levels. The increasing need to increase the dose can lead to loss of control and death from overdose. Drug addiction is often associated with criminal activity, because the problem of having funds to purchase drugs is always relevant.
Reception medicines in doses exceeding therapeutic ones - leads to a certain relaxation, it seems that intelligence and the ability to control one’s condition increase. The risk of addiction occurs when these drugs begin to be used regularly as sleeping pills. Symptoms appear physical dependence(frequent cases of use, attempts to stop taking and relapses). The slightest psychological discomfort becomes a reason to take tranquilizers.
Taking medications household chemicals. The desire to take highly toxic substances usually arises in adolescence out of curiosity and is of a collective nature. The effect is that a state develops “reminiscent of intoxication, dizziness, “takeoff,” elevated mood, carelessness. Visions (hallucinations) such as fast-moving cartoon frames may occur” (10).
Gambling is not associated with the use of state-altering substances, but is characterized by characteristic features: constant involvement, increased time spent in the gambling situation; repression of previous interests, constant thoughts about the game process; loss of control (inability to stop playing in time); state of discomfort outside game situation, physical ailments, discomfort; a gradual increase in the rhythm of gaming activity, the desire for risk; decreased ability to resist fatal addictions.
Work addiction is dangerous simply because it is considered an important link in a positive assessment of a person and his activities. In our society, in the field of industrial relations, in almost any work collective, specialists who devote themselves entirely to their work are highly valued. Such people are always set as an example to others, they are encouraged financially and verbally, reinforcing their characteristic style in their behavior. Workaholism is difficult to recognize not only by others, but also by the workaholic himself. Unfortunately, behind the external generally accepted respectability of workaholism there are deep disturbances in the emotional sphere of the individual and in the sphere of interpersonal contacts.
Food addictions. We are talking about food addiction when food is not used as a means of satisfying hunger, when the component of getting pleasure from eating begins to predominate and the process of eating becomes a way of distracting from something. Thus, on the one hand, there is an avoidance of troubles, and on the other hand, a fixation on pleasant taste sensations occurs. Analysis of this phenomenon allows us to note one more point: in the case when there is nothing to occupy free time or fill out spiritual emptiness, reduce internal discomfort, turns on quickly chemical mechanism. In the absence of food, even if there is no hunger, substances that stimulate appetite are produced. Thus, the amount of food eaten increases and the frequency of food intake increases, which entails weight gain and vascular disorders. This problem is especially relevant in countries with a high standard of living, along with which there is high level stress. The development of food addiction is also possible in situations where food is accessible due to the characteristics of the profession (bar, restaurant, canteen).
The other side of food addiction is starvation. The danger lies in a unique way of self-realization, namely in overcoming oneself, conquering one’s “weakness.” This is a specific way to prove to yourself and others what you are capable of. During the period of such a “struggle” with oneself, a heightened mood and a feeling of lightness appear. Food restrictions begin to become absurd. Periods of fasting are followed by periods of active overeating. There is no criticism of one's behavior. Along with this, serious disturbances in the perception of reality occur.
Features of adolescence as a risk factor
formation of an addictive strategy of interaction with the world.
Adolescence is one of the crisis stages in the development of human personality. It is characterized by a number of specific features. This is the age of cardinal transformations “in the sphere of consciousness, activity and the system of relationships. This stage is characterized by rapid human growth, the formation of the body during puberty, which has a noticeable impact on the psychophysiological characteristics of the teenager. The basis for the formation of new psychological and personal qualities is communication in the course of various types of activities - educational, industrial, creative activities, etc.” (13). Natural at this age are the desires to manifest adulthood, develop self-awareness and self-esteem, and interest in one’s personality, one’s capabilities and abilities. In the absence of conditions for the positive realization of one’s potential, self-affirmation processes can manifest themselves in distorted forms and lead to adverse reactions and consequences.
In this regard, there is a danger of choosing an addictive line of behavior. A significant factor may be insufficient information for adolescents about what, how and why is happening to them, and what the consequences may be. Information is needed to gain the necessary sense of freedom and awareness of choice, as well as to learn to take responsibility for what happens to you. The extent of escape from reality is dangerous not only in adherence to such extremely severe forms of addiction as alcoholism, drug addiction, and the use of pharmacological and toxic substances. The problem of escaping reality is global in nature. There are a large number of “soft” manifestations of addictions, but they are also destructive. The tendency to move from one form of addictive behavior to another is real and dangerous. In connection with this, the crisis of adolescence becomes a significant risk factor, because... adequate perception reality for adolescents is complicated, first of all, by the changes occurring in them, the complex processes of formation.
The normal developmental path of an adolescent: Life self-determination. Development of a time perspective - plans for the future, self-determination in the questions: what to be? Who to be? Active search yourself and experimenting in different roles. Teaching. Formation of worldview. Taking leadership in peer groups and submitting to them when necessary. Formation of individuality.
Abnormal line:Confusion of roles. Shifting and mixing time perspectives: thinking not only about the future, but also about the past. Concentration mental strength on self-knowledge, a strongly expressed desire to understand oneself to the detriment of relationships with the outside world. Loss of work activity. Mixing the forms of roles in leadership. Confusion in moral and ideological attitudes (4).
In connection with the problem of escaping reality, a relevant question concerns the characteristics of overcoming difficulties and emotional stress. The difficulties that teenagers face and various stressful influences require them to have certain strategies for overcoming obstacles. The adolescent’s personality undergoes “either progressive development with the formation of adaptive behavior, or maladaptation and self-destruction” (19). Various shapes Adolescent behaviors represent options for coping with stress. Adolescence is a period in which demands on psychophysiological potentials increase. Personal development during adolescence and future prospects depend on how a teenager responds to the environmental demands placed on him, what methods and styles of coping with stress are manifested and consolidated in him.
To summarize the above, we can highlight the following features of adolescence, which are a group of risk factors in the formation of addictive behavior:
Increased egocentrism;
A craving for resistance, stubbornness, protest, struggle against educational authorities;
The desire for the unknown, risky;
Increased passion for growing up;
The desire for independence and separation from the family;
Immaturity of moral convictions;
Painful response to pubertal changes;
Tendency to exaggerate the complexity of problems;
Negative or unformed self-concept;
Hypertrophied behavioral reactions: emancipation, grouping, hobbies;
Low tolerance of difficulties;
Preview:
Methodology for identifying addictive behavior.
The technique developed by V.D. Mendelevich allows us to identify an individual’s psychological tendency to develop alcohol and drug addiction.
The questionnaire consists of 116 statements, 41 of which reflect a person’s tendency to drug addiction, 35 to alcohol addiction, the remaining 40 statements are neutral.
Instructions
“Using this scale, please indicate the extent to which you agree or disagree with each of the following statements:
1 - completely disagree (not at all like that);
2 - rather disagree (rather not);
3 - neither one nor the other (both this and that);
4 – rather agree (rather so);
5 - completely agree (exactly so).”
Questionnaire text
1. I tend to be disappointed in people.
2. Believing in omens is stupid.
3. It often happens that I get offended by my parents or friends.
4. I am often late for school (work) or a meeting due to unforeseen incidents along the way.
5. People around me often surprise me with their behavior.
6. My parents often try to treat me like a small child.
7. I like to plan my time to the smallest detail and down to the minute.
8. It seems to me that I feel what is happening around me more acutely than others.
9. Parents themselves are to blame for the fact that their children start taking drugs (“injecting drugs”).
10. For me there are no absolute authorities.
11. As a child, there was a period when I passionately loved counting things (the number of windows, steps, car numbers).
12. If parents or other adults talked more with children about the dangers of drugs, then few would become drug addicts.
13. It’s easier for me to endure a scandal than a monotonous, measured life.
14. I believe in damage and the evil eye.
15. Before doing anything, I try to foresee all the dangers that may await me.
16. If I'm passionately busy with something, I often don't even notice what's happening around me.
17. I live and act by the saying: “Hope for the best, but prepare for the worst.”
18. It’s not easy to convince me of anything.
19. I have often been deceived (being deceived).
20. The unknown is very painful and painful for me.
21. I get annoyed when people stare at me on the street, in a store or in transport.
22. Life is of little interest when there are no dangers in it.
23. I don’t respect those who break away from the team.
24. Some people can heal a sick person with one touch.
25. Life must be joyful, otherwise there is nothing to live for.
26. I have a good sense of time and, without looking at my watch, I can tell exactly what time it is.
27. If I want to do something, but those around me think that it is not worth doing, then I am ready to give up my intentions.
28. As a child, I often refused to be alone.
29. I often feel bored when I have nothing to do.
30. In life you have to try everything.
31. I can easily fall asleep at any time convenient time(both night and day).
32. After I go to the forest to pick mushrooms, I can retain memories of mushrooms for a long time.
33. I like to dream about what I will spend my possible future lottery winnings on, and what I will do with the promised gift.
34. I often think: “It would be nice to become a child.”
35. I often have difficulty finding the right words for my feelings.
36. It’s not difficult for me to lend money to a friend to buy alcohol.
37. I tend to live my life trying not to burden myself with thoughts about what might happen to me in the future.
38. I love it when people tell fortunes on cards or on my hand.
39. I am good at copying other people's facial expressions and gestures.
40. When I am woken up at night or early in the morning, for a long time I cannot understand what is happening around me.
41. I like music loud, not quiet.
42. I have feelings that I cannot give a completely precise definition.
43. A person should try to understand his dreams, be guided by them in life and extract warnings from them.
44. It’s hard to take me by surprise.
45. All the “miracles” known to me can be explained very simply - deception and tricks.
46. I am considered a naive person because I often get into trouble.
47. Drugs are “soft”, and they do not cause addiction.
48. I sometimes felt that someone was forcing me to do something through hypnosis.
49. My friends consider me a romantic.
50. I believe in miracles.
51. Even a mentally healthy person sometimes cannot be responsible for his actions.
52. I am often puzzled by the behavior and actions of people whom I have known for a long time.
53. You can’t trust anyone - this is the right position.
54. The happiest time of life is youth.
55. As a child, I was afraid that my mother might leave me, leave home and not return.
56. I tend to remember unpleasant events that actually happened to me better than my own predictions about the possibility of their occurrence.
57. I like to consult with friends (or adults) about how to act in a difficult situation.
58. I would agree to live, albeit briefly, but wildly.
59. I could inject a drug (heroin) into my vein as a bet.
60. I was often not appreciated according to my merits.
61. I can always tell exactly how much money I spent and how much I have left.
62. As a child, I couldn’t get used to kindergarten (nursery) for a long time and didn’t want to go there because of this.
63. I trust my friends completely and am convinced that they will never deceive or betray me.
64. The dangers of drug use are clearly exaggerated.
65. There are still few bright events in life.
66. I don't like long trips by train or bus.
67. Dirty glass irritates me, because then the whole world seems dirty and gray.
68. When I'm bored, I usually go to bed.
69. Parents (or adults) often reproach me for listening to excessively loud music.
70. It is very painful to wait for anything.
71. I could, after some preliminary explanation, fly a small (sport) airplane.
72. I often wake up in the morning a few seconds or minutes before the alarm goes off.
73. If there was a fire and I had to jump from a fifth-floor window onto an awning deployed by firefighters, I would do it without hesitation.
74. I feel sorry for naive people.
75. I get embarrassed when people look into my eyes for a long time.
76. Only strong people can risk everything, for example in a casino.
77. Those who sell drugs are to blame for a teenager becoming a drug addict.
78. I like driving very fast, not slow.
79. I trust the predictions of horoscopes and follow the recommendations contained in them.
80. I am very interested in lotteries.
81. Predicting the future is useless, since much does not depend on you.
82. I am able to describe my feelings with ease.
83. There have been times in my life when I did something and then didn’t remember what it was.
84. I think that curiosity is? not a vice.
85. It happens that people with loud voices scare me.
86. I had (have) many hobbies (interests, hobbies).
87. When I stay at home, I often feel uneasy from loneliness.
88. I'm not superstitious.
89. I was told that I have a good ability to imitate people’s voices or habits.
90. There are people whom I trust unconditionally.
91. It happens that during a conversation with a stutterer, I myself begin to speak confusedly and with hesitation.
92. The most painful thing in life is loneliness.
93. If I start playing a game, it is often difficult to tear me away from it.
94. It happens that I can do out of spite even something that turns out to be unprofitable for me.
95. I have always been and am attracted by mystery, enigma, and mysticism.
96. It happened that on the street I agreed to play with “thimble holders”.
97. I know many guys who use or have used drugs.
98. As a rule, I set my alarm clock so that I not only have time to get everything done before leaving home, but also have a few minutes left.
99. In my life, I often encounter (have encountered) an unimaginable combination of unfavorable circumstances.
100. I am ready to completely submit and even entrust my fate, but only to someone I truly respect.
101. I like to take risks.
102. Among my friends there are people who have the gift of persuasion.
103. It is often impossible to tear me away from an interesting activity, game, or activity.
104. I could jump with a parachute.
105. I don’t care what others think about me.
106. Many things in life surprise me.
107. I can argue with anyone.
108. I would enter the lion cage with the tamer if he told me it was safe.
109. If I am asked for something, it is difficult for me to refuse.
110. It’s easier for me to come up with my own own examples than to memorize examples from a textbook.
111. I am never bored.
112. Often I do not expect any action from myself.
113. As a child, I had tics, or a variety of repetitive movements, for some time.
114. I love to dream.
115. I am attracted to everything new and unusual.
116. “Accidents” often happen to me and all sorts of incidents happen.
Processing and interpretation of results
Data processing consists of summing the scores separately for each scale, while paying attention to the nature of the processing of values for direct and reverse questions. For direct questions, points are calculated in accordance with how they are marked by the test takers (“5” - 5, “4” - 4, “3” - 3, “2” - 2, “1” - 1), for reverse questions points are counted vice versa: “5” - 1, “4” - 2, “3” - 3, “2” - 4, “1” - 5).
Drug addiction propensity scale: direct questions - No. 1, 3, 4, 16, 19, 24, 26, 48, 50, 52, 54, 59, 76, 79, 80, 89, 91, 96, 97, 100, 107 , software, 116; reverse questions - No. 2, 12, 29, 30, 41, 45, 53, 61, 65, 67, 69, 72, 77, 78, 81, 86, 112, 114.
Alcohol dependency scale: direct questions No. 3, 5, 14, 15, 16, 17, 19, 20, 24, 26, 30, 43, 48, 76, 79, 84, 91, 95, 97, 100, 107 , 112, 113, 116; reverse questions - No. 21, 29, 38, 41, 44, 64, 65, 67, 75, 77, 81.
The interpretation of the results is carried out in accordance with the following criteria.
The editors of the American Journal of Psychiatry in 2008 expressed the opinion that Internet addiction is a “compulsive-impulsive” disorder, that is, a disorder accompanied by obsessive states. Therefore, it should be included in official directories mental disorders, experts say.
Among the types of Internet addiction, scientists have identified addiction to online games, cyber sex, as well as communication via email and instant messages.
According to experts, addicted Internet users have many similarities with other “drug addicts.” For example, they experience an impulsive attraction to the object of their addiction and negative feelings when abstaining. They require more and more advanced equipment, software, and more hours spent on the Internet.
Description of gambling addiction pathological condition, was given by E. Kraepelin more than 100 years ago. This condition was classified as a personality disorder, along with pathological collecting, but scientifically based criteria for morbid addiction to gambling were first systematically set out only in the American Classification of Mental Disorders. It recognizes the main signs of pathological gambling as “a chronic and progressive inability to resist the impulse of the game, the behavior of the player, which jeopardizes, violates and destroys personal, family and professional status. Characteristic problems are large debts and subsequent failure to pay them, breakup family relations, fraud and prohibited financial activities." Similar diagnostic criteria are given in International classification diseases.
Based on epidemiological studies, it has been found that this disorder affects approximately 0.5% of the population, and in the United States it is in the range of 0.5 -1.5%, while it is most common in men.
General patterns addiction diseases
Episodes of altered states of consciousness upon contact with an object (or activity) - addictions that manifest themselves in “ special conditions consciousness";
The insurmountability of addiction, characterized by paroxysmal, impulsive behavior beyond the struggle of motives.
It is impossible not to note one more feature of all dependent patients, namely, a violation emotional development, characterized by the following features:
1) difficulty in defining (identifying) and describing one’s own feelings;
2) difficulty in distinguishing between feelings and bodily sensations;
3) a decrease in the ability to symbolize, as evidenced by the poverty of fantasy and other manifestations of the imagination;
4) focusing more on external events than on internal experiences.
There is no exact data on what is the cause of these emotional disorders.
The works of foreign experts also propose theories of the emergence and development of addictive states.
Leon Wurmser attempted to describe the main features of a dependent personality, which are as follows.
Drugs, alcohol, gambling, surfing the Internet or playing on the computer are constantly used as artificial protection; they are used to get rid of overwhelming emotions. At the same time, there is some connection between meaningful feeling and preferred type of addiction. For example, some players say that they only play when they are very irritated, that the game has a calming effect on them.
Most people suffering from addiction diseases exhibit a so-called “core of fears” (phobic core), on which subsequent pathology is based - usually with accompanying fears (and desires) built into various structures, restrictions, obligations that accompany physical and emotional intimacy and love affairs. The meaning of their life and aspirations, everything that they crave more than anything in the world and on which they depend, is also concentrated in one object or one situation. In the case of gamblers, such an object is a roulette or a gaming machine, and the situation is a game; in the case of cyber addiction, a computer.
Where there are fears, there are always protective fantasies - fictitious protective figures or systems that balance existing fears in a special way. Such a search for protection from an object of fear and an alarming situation almost inevitably leads to addiction, as soon as a suitable factor is found - a gambling game, a love partner, a fetish, a drug, a system of ritual actions or a psychoanalyst. In the most typical situation, addiction gives rise to a defensive fantasy, which best protects against fear and anxiety. “Defenders,” who cause addiction in the patient, are significantly overestimated and are perceived as elevated to an extreme degree: omnipotent, all-giving, all-forgiving, or, conversely, destroying everything, condemning everything, taking everything away. So, most players have one or two favorite gaming machines, which, in their opinion, are better than others - more “honest”. Often they say this: “I feel safer with my device,” “my device has never let me down,” “I know that if I invest 10 thousand in it, it will start giving back.” At the same time, cases when everything happened differently are never taken into account.
Torn between the fear of being judged by others and uncontrollable needs, dependent personality acquires a pronounced emotional instability and unreliability. It is the unreliability of people suffering from addiction that so amazes others and drives the patients themselves into despair.
It is assumed that the dependent personality is created as a frame on which addiction-fetishes are strung. Characteristics of this type personality are extreme lack of independence, inability to refuse - to say “no” (what is commonly called weak will) due to fear of being rejected by other people, vulnerability to criticism or disapproval, reluctance to take responsibility and, as a result, unconditional submission significant people. All this characterizes a passive life position, when a person refuses to be the first to come into contact with others and make decisions independently.
The stages of development of addictive behavior are as follows:
1) a “crystallization point” appears in connection with the experience of an intense positive emotion (or the elimination of a negative one) during a certain action. There is an understanding that there is a substance or method, a type of activity with which you can relatively easily change your mental state. In the case of gamblers, this intense positive emotion is often the first big win. Many, even years later, remember the state that arose when they managed to “get money just like that”; in the case of cyber addiction, such emotions are caused by the abundance of information on the network, understanding by the virtual partner, fascinating graphics or the plot of the game;
2) a dependent rhythm is established, which is expressed in a certain sequence of appeals to the means of dependence. For many players, there is a certain regime for going to gaming establishments. For some this may be once a week, for others it may be mandatory to visit the gaming room every night. For Internet addicts, this is the desire to be online.
3) dependence is formed as an integral part of the personality. During this period, people resort to the subject of addiction only in connection with life difficulties. There is an internal struggle between natural and addictive lifestyles. Gradually, the dependent style displaces the natural one, and becomes part of the personality, a method of choice when meeting the real demands of life; during this period, in situations of increased control of special responsibility, it is possible to control one’s addiction. This is manifested in more frequent visits to gaming salons. However, if conflicts begin to arise in the family over the spouse’s excessive passion for gambling, this may stop him from visiting gambling establishments for a certain period of time;
4) a period of complete dominance of dependent behavior, which completely determines the lifestyle and relationships with others; a person becomes dependent and alienated from society. For players at this stage, the game becomes a lifestyle, its main goal. At this stage, many players have had their families destroyed and their jobs lost.
Diseases of addiction are characterized following signs:
1. Syndrome of altered susceptibility of the body to the action of a given stimulus ( defensive reactions, resistance to it, form of consumption);
2. Mental dependence syndrome (obsessive attraction, mental comfort during the period of consumption, whether it is a drug, alcohol or a gaming machine);
3. Physical dependence syndrome (compulsive craving, loss of control over the dose, withdrawal syndrome, physical comfort in intoxication).
The last of these signs is more pronounced in people suffering from addiction to any chemicals, and among players, but to a lesser extent, it can also occur. In any case, these three syndromes distinguish a person suffering from the disease of addiction from a healthy one.
Diagnostic signs of “pathological gambling”
In 1980, gambling addiction was first classified as a disease by the American Psychiatric Association, and today it is coded F63.0 in the International Classification of Diseases and is defined as “a disorder involving frequent, repeated episodes of gambling. gambling ah, dominating in the life of the subject and having a destructive effect on all spheres of a person’s life and personality, his physical, mental, emotional and social health leading to a decrease in social, professional, material and family values.”
Obsessive gambling is recognized as an emotional illness. Living with such a disease turns into a self-destructive existence. The house is filled with bitterness and despair. Life becomes unbearable.
In the West, the following diagnostic signs are characteristic of “true” pathological gamblers:
Such patients have a higher level of intelligence (IQ on average 120) compared to the population norm;
Pathological gamblers turn out to be, as a rule, “workaholics” with high professional achievements;
The pathological gambler personality is characterized by avoiding difficult conflicts by lying, exaggerating and distorting facts. They tend to be overly critical of their spouses, friends, and family members. Such persons are characterized by adventurism and risk in business;
Features players have during informal communication - they often get bored among people. They tend to continue their business activities after work with the help of telephone conversations;
Players tend to be good organizers but poor performers. Because of this, they initiate various projects, but rarely bring them to completion;
Gamblers usually don’t borrow money as long as they have a certain amount of it, but if they do, they do it as much as possible. possible quantities and with increasing frequency. In general, players believe that money should be spent, not saved. They prefer to have money in cash rather than in the form of checks or credit cards;
Play is the most attractive way for them to gain pleasure and relaxation, which in the process of development gaming addiction usually fade away.
In 1981, R. L. Custer described " mild signs"pathological gaming, which, in his opinion, lies in the behavioral characteristics characteristic of people with big risk development of pathological gambling addiction. These signs are additional to the main diagnostic criteria for pathological gambling addiction. At the same time, R.L. Custer emphasized that “soft signs” are useful not only for establishing a diagnosis, but also for differentiated treatment recommendations, since they allow one to distinguish a patient with a “game” character structure in the early stages.
In its development, gambling addiction goes through characteristic stages, described in detail by R. L. Custer.
Analysis of gaming breakdowns during the psychotherapy of players made it possible to detect and describe the development of phases in the patients’ behavior (abstinence, “automatic fantasies,” increasing emotional tension, decision-making, repression decision taken, implementation of the decision). Consequently, there is a game cycle, the understanding of which is important for the formulation of psychotherapeutic tasks in working with such patients.
Abstinence phase. It is characterized by abstinence from gambling, mainly due to lack of money, pressure from the immediate environment, or a pronounced depressed state due to another gaming failure associated with the inability to control one’s gambling impulse.
The “automatic fantasies” phase. Its main characteristic is the increase in spontaneous fantasies about the game. The patient usually replays in his imagination the state of excitement and anticipation of winning that accompanies the beginning of the game, and represses episodes of loss. These fantasies can arise either on the basis of memories of one’s past gaming experience, or be of an arbitrary nature, based on memories of the gaming passion of heroes of works of fiction or films, and actually divorced from the real situation. The name “automatic” reflects their occurrence either completely spontaneously or under the influence of indirect stimuli. Thus, in one of our patients, game combinations were formed involuntarily when accidentally observing car license plates.
The phase of increasing emotional tension.
Main feature This stage is an increase in emotional tension, which, depending on individual personal and physiological characteristics, may have a melancholy-depressed, irritable, anxious or mixed character, combining increased but unfocused activity with nervousness and irritability. Sometimes this mood is accompanied by increased fantasies about the game. In other cases, it is perceived by the patient as completely meaningless and even directed away from the gaming impulse (increased sexual desire or the desire for intense physical and intellectual stress).
The decision phase to play. Typically, the decision to play occurs in two ways:
a) the patient, under the influence of growing fantasies in a “telegraphic” style, plans a way to realize his desire. Usually this is some kind of gaming behavior that is “very likely to win,” in the patient’s opinion. This method of deciding to play is characteristic of the transition from the first stage of the disease to the second;
b) the decision to play comes immediately after the gaming episode, and it is based on the irrational belief in the need to win back. This decision-making mechanism is characteristic of the second and third stages of the disease, when the interval between gaming episodes is filled with desperate attempts to stop, and each failure is perceived as something fatal and inexplicable.
The phase of repressing the decision. This is the most important stage, which determines the defenselessness of the conscious “I” in relation to the desire to play. The essence of this phase is that the intensity of the patient’s perceived desire to play begins to decrease, and an “illusion of control” over one’s behavior arises, which, as a rule, is a reflection of irrational thinking patterns. Sometimes at this time the economic and social status sick. The combination of the above conditions leads to the fact that the patient, without realizing the risk for himself, meets the circumstances that provoke a gaming breakdown (receiving a large amount of money in his hands, drinking alcohol, trying to gamble for fun and relaxation, etc.).
The implementation phase of the decision made. It is characterized by a pronounced emotional excitement and intense fantasies about the upcoming game. Very often, players describe this period as a state of “trance” and say that they “become like zombies.” Despite the fact that constructive counterarguments still arise in the patient’s mind, which are immediately swept aside by the entire set of irrational thinking patterns described above. At this time, the player is dominated by false ideas about the ability to control himself and take a reasonable approach to the issue of the probability of winning. There is a confusion of ideas about the influence on gameplay(size of bets, choice of combinations, various ritual actions) with the ability to control the outcome of the game (win or loss). In most cases, until all the money is lost, the game does not stop.
The most important step towards overcoming gambling addiction is recognizing that there is a problem and actively needing to deal with it. healthy image life.
There are no specialized centers for treating gambling addiction in Moscow. Clinics existing in Moscow that treat drug and alcohol addiction, can, of course, take a player for treatment, but only if he also has problems in their direct profile. Treatment at a rehabilitation center costs from $3 thousand to $5 thousand for 35 days.
There are still drug treatment clinics. They treat on an outpatient basis and, as the doctors themselves say, only at a medical level. Work with a specialist psychologist is not provided in dispensaries.
Leading experts in the field of addiction therapy believe that the following view of gambling addiction as a disease most accurately reflects the true picture:
1. The disease is primary and is not a consequence of any other disease or behavioral disorder.
2. The disease is chronic (incurable) in the sense that it does not go away over time and even after a long period of abstinence, the gambler can begin to play with renewed vigor and even greater consequences.
3. Progresses. If the disease does not stop its development, the symptoms will worsen over time. It tends to relapse (return) and at this time manifests itself in an acute form.
4. The disease can be fatal - players often end up committing suicide or dying from alcohol or drug use.
An obsessive gambler usually goes through four stages:
The winning stage is a casual game, dreams of winning, increasing bets, big wins.
Losing stage - playing alone, leaving work, large loans, unpaid debts, remortgages, lies.
Stage of despair - damaged reputation, break with family, friends, repentance, shifting blame to others,
panic, job loss, illegal actions.
The hopelessness stage is a feeling of hopelessness, thoughts of suicide and possible attempts, arrests, alcohol, emotional collapse and symptoms of insanity.
Treatment of such people is a complex and lengthy process, because it is necessary to work with all those areas of a person’s life that are affected by painful addiction. This explains why many attempts by specialists or patients fail. Influencing only one of the areas (medicines or consultations with a psychologist, change of place of residence, work, spouse, artificial isolation, etc.) will obviously result in a negative result.
What is needed is a complex impact, the patient’s desire to get better and, most importantly, actions based on recommendations for recovery obtained from the experience of those people who have successfully solved their problems.
Diseases should be treated by specialists competent in these matters.
- Absorbed in gambling, for example, constantly returning in thoughts to past gambling experiences, deliberately abandoning gambling, or, conversely, anticipating and preparing for the next gambling opportunity, or considering a way to obtain funds for this.
- Continues the game with an ever-increasing rise in bets in order to achieve the desired thrill.
- He made repeated but unsuccessful attempts to control his gambling addiction, play less or stop altogether.
- Shows anxiety and irritability when trying to play less or give up gambling altogether.
- Plays to escape from problems or relieve dysphoria (in particular, feelings of helplessness, guilt, anxiety, depression).
- Returns to the game the next day after a loss in order to win back (the thought of losing haunts him).
- Lies to family, doctor, and others to hide the extent of gambling involvement.
- Committed criminal acts - such as forgery, fraud, theft, appropriation of someone else's property in order to provide funds for gambling.
- It jeopardizes and is even ready to completely break off relationships with loved ones, quit work or study, and give up the prospect of career growth.
- In a situation of lack of money due to gambling, he shifts the solution of problems to other people.
- Gaming behavior is not associated with a manic episode.
Speaking about the psychological characteristics of problem gamblers, most researchers point to a loss of control over own behavior, and this applies to all variants of gambling - from betting to slot machines (O"Connor, Dickerson, 2003). Australian researchers A. Blaszczynski and L. Nauer (Blaszczynski, Nower, 1997) identify three subgroups of problem gamblers: 1. with behavioral disorders; 2. emotionally unstable; 3. antisocial gamblers, prone to impulsive actions, thereby emphasizing the heterogeneity of the group of addicts.
Although morbid gambling is more common in men, in women this addiction is more common. severe forms. Women are drawn into dangerous hobbies three times faster and are more difficult to respond to psychotherapy. Unlike men, women are more likely to be addicted to gambling mature age, and for other reasons. The most common of them is personal problems from which they try to escape into the game. This most often occurs between the ages of 21 and 55, and in 1-4% of cases passion takes such forms that require the help of a psychiatrist. Every third pathological gambler is a woman. So, in recent comparative study 70 male problem gamblers and 70 female gamblers showed a more progressive development of addiction in women by stages: social gambling; intense gambling; problematic gambling. Gender differences between men and women also included the fact that gambling in women was more often accompanied by a depressive disorder, and in men by alcoholism (Tavares et al., 2003).
It should be noted that persons participating in the game relatively often abuse alcohol and other psychoactive substances, that is, they engage in combined forms of addictive behavior. “Players” are typically characterized by difficulties in interpersonal relationships, frequent divorces, violations of labor discipline, frequent change work.
Criteria for pathological gambling (F 63.0 according to ICD-10)
Repeated episodes of gambling within one year;
The resumption of these episodes, despite the lack of material benefit, disruption of social and professional adaptation;
Inability to control the intense attraction to the game, to interrupt it with volitional effort;
Constant fixation of thoughts on gambling and everything connected with it.
If, as a result of participation in gambling, problems arise in any area of life, and if a person cannot stop gambling on his own or stops, and then “breaks down” again, this is an addiction. The degree of the disease is determined by the level of destruction in all areas.
Signs of a pathological attraction to gambling were described by Dostoevsky, himself a gambler. If we talk about this attraction from the point of view of a professional, it has signs like any other disease:
a) loss of control and inability to predict consequences (went into the casino for an hour and left a day later; wanted to risk 50 rubles, but lost 10,000);
b) sleep disturbance, memory loss;
c) physical suffering (pain in the heart, malnutrition);
d) concentration of thoughts and actions around the game;
e) play as a means to improve one’s condition;
f) problems in the environment (scandals in the family, problems at work).
According to the American Classification of Mental Disorders, a diagnosis of gambling addiction can be made by detecting at least four of the following nine signs:
1) frequent participation in the game and obtaining money for the game;
2) frequent participation in gambling for large sums of money for a longer period of time than the subject previously intended;
3) the need to increase the size or frequency of bets in order to achieve the desired excitement;
4) anxiety or irritability if the game is disrupted;
5) repeated loss of money in the game and borrowing it “until tomorrow” in order to win back the loss (“hunt for winnings”);
6) repeated attempts to reduce or stop participation;
7) increasing the frequency of play in situations where there is a threat of the need to fulfill one’s social and professional responsibilities;
8) sacrificing some important social, professional or entertainment activities for the sake of the game;
9) continuing to gamble despite an inability to pay mounting debts, or despite other significant social, professional or legal problems that the subject knows well will arise as a result of the gambling.
The following are signs of gambling addiction:
· To achieve pleasure from the game, you have to raise bets and play for large sums.
· After stopping the game, anxiety and emotional discomfort arise.
· After a loss, even a big one, a person comes to win back.
· A person thinks about the game when he is not playing.
· Continuing the game threatens work and study.
· To maintain the opportunity to play, a person begins to deceive relatives and friends.
· Play becomes a way of escaping problems.
· The game leads to violations of the law. For example, to waste of money, theft.
T.P. Korolenko and T.A. Donskikh (1990) identify a number of signs characteristic of gambling as one of the types of addictive behavior. These include:
1. Constant involvement, increasing the time spent in the game situation.
2. A change in the range of interests, the displacement of previous gaming motivations, constant thoughts about the game, the predominance and imagination of situations related to game combinations.
3. “Loss of control”, expressed in the inability to stop playing both after a big win and after constant losses.
4. States of psychological discomfort, irritation, anxiety, developing at relatively short intervals after the next participation in the game, with an irresistible desire to start playing again. Such states, in a number of ways, resemble withdrawal states in drug addicts; they are accompanied by headaches, sleep disturbances, anxiety, low mood, and impaired concentration.
5. Characterized by a gradual increase in the frequency of participation in the game, the desire for increasingly higher risk.
6. Periodically arising states of tension, accompanied by a gaming “drive”, an all-overcoming desire to find an opportunity to participate in a gambling game.
7. A rapidly increasing decrease in the ability to resist temptation. This is expressed in the fact that, having decided to “quit” once and for all, at the slightest provocation (meeting with old acquaintances, talking about the game, the presence of a gambling establishment nearby, etc.) gambling resumes.
In the American Classification of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV, 1994), a diagnosis of pathological gambling is made when five or more items from section A and section B are present.
Absorbed in gambling, for example, constantly returning in thoughts to past gambling experiences, deliberately abandoning gambling, or, conversely, anticipating and preparing for the next gambling opportunity, or considering a way to obtain funds for this.
Continues the game with an ever-increasing rise in bets in order to achieve the desired thrill.
He made repeated but unsuccessful attempts to control his gambling addiction, play less or stop altogether.
Shows anxiety and irritability when trying to play less or give up gambling altogether.
Plays to escape from problems or relieve dysphoria (in particular, feelings of helplessness, guilt, anxiety, depression).
Returns to the game the next day after a loss in order to win back (the thought of losing haunts him).
Lies to family, doctor, and others to hide the extent of gambling involvement.
Committed criminal acts - such as forgery, fraud, theft, appropriation of someone else's property in order to provide funds for gambling.
It jeopardizes and is even ready to completely break off relationships with loved ones, quit work or study, and give up the prospect of career growth.
In a situation of lack of money due to gambling, he shifts the solution of problems to other people.
Gaming behavior is not associated with a manic episode.
The following symptoms of a pathological gambler are distinguished:
1. Absorption, preoccupation with the game (remembers past games, plans future bets, thinks about how to find money for the next game);
2. When playing, he gets excited and raises the stakes;
3.Has difficulty trying to interrupt the game or trying to control its progress;
4. Feels anxious or irritated when it is necessary to limit bets or stop the game;
5. Plays to escape from his problems or to cheer up (to get away from guilt, anxiety, depression);
6. Makes attempts to win back the day after a loss;
7. Deceives family members or therapist in order to hide the true extent of his involvement in the game;
8. Commits illegal actions such as forgery, deception, theft or embezzlement to finance the game;
9. Takes risks due to passion for the game. Gambling causes the risk of losing a job, close friends, the opportunity for promotion or education;
10. Borrows money from friends, acquaintances, and relatives in order to pay off debts incurred due to gambling.
Gambling addiction researchers have developed a test.
Test: Do you have a gambling problem?
You should answer based on the last 12 months.
1. Did you bet more than you could afford to lose?
a) never;
b) sometimes;
c) most often;
d) almost always.
2. In the last 12 months, have you needed to play for a larger amount to achieve the same level of excitement?
a) never;
b) sometimes;
c) most often;
d) almost always.
3. When you played, did you return to the game the next day to win back the money you lost?
a) never;
b) sometimes;
c) most often;
d) almost always.
4. Have you ever borrowed money or sold property to be able to gamble?
a) never;
b) sometimes;
c) most often;
d) almost always.
5. Have you ever felt that you might have a gambling problem?
a) never;
b) sometimes;
c) most often;
d) almost always.
6. Has gambling ever caused you any health problems, including stress and anxiety?
a) never;
b) sometimes;
c) most often;
d) almost always.
7. Have you been criticized for your gambling or told that you have a gambling problem, regardless of whether you thought the criticism was fair?
a) never;
b) sometimes;
c) most often;
d) almost always.
8. Has your gambling problem ever caused financial problems for you or your family?
a) never;
b) sometimes;
c) most often;
d) almost always.
9. Have you ever felt guilty about the way you play or what happens while you play?
a) never;
b) sometimes;
c) most often;
d) almost always.
Counting technique: “never” - O points, “sometimes” - 1 point, “most often” - 2 points, “almost always” - 3 points.
Points for answers to all 9 questions are summed up. End result:
About the points - there are no negative consequences of gambling. You can gamble occasionally, socially, or for leisure—gaming is not a problematic addiction. 1-2 points - you can gamble at a level that does not lead to negative consequences. If you gamble frequently, this result may indicate a high enough risk that warrants further investigation.
3-7 points - you are gambling at a level that can lead to negative consequences. The result indicates a level of risk for further investigation.
8-21 points - you are playing at a level leading to negative consequences. Perhaps control over your gambling addiction has already been lost - the higher the result, the more intense the gambling, the more serious your problems may be. It is necessary to examine your gambling addiction and its consequences.
There is another survey technique for identifying addiction. It was developed by scientists on the problems of gambling addiction (gambling addiction). They are intended for anyone who may have problems in this area and are intended to help the individual decide whether he or she is a pathological gambler.
1. Have you ever missed work or school to gamble?
2. Has gambling ever brought you unhappiness?
3. Has gambling ever had a bad effect on your reputation?
4. Have you ever felt remorse after playing?
5. Did you gamble to pay off debt?
6. Has gambling reduced your ambitions?
7. After losing, did you feel that you had to come back as quickly as possible and win back?
8. After winning, did you have a firm conviction that you need to come back and win even more?
9. Do you often play until you lose everything?
10. Have you ever borrowed money to gamble?
11. Have you ever had to sell anything to play?
12. Is there a concept for you of “gambling money” that you use only for gambling?
13. Has gambling caused significant financial harm to you or your family?
14. Have you ever played longer than you planned?
15. Have you ever played to forget about troubles?
16. Have you ever broken the law to get money to gamble?
17. Have you suffered from insomnia due to thoughts about gambling?
18. Do problems, disappointments or frustrations make you want to get away from it all and play?
19. Do you have a habit of celebrating your wins in gambling?
20. Have you ever thought about suicide after losing?
Most obsessive players will answer yes to at least seven out of twenty questions. After answering these questions, the next step to recovery is to recognize yourself as an addicted gambler.
Denial of this fact is a symptom of his illness.
Addictive behavior is usually perceived as a borderline state between the norm and dependence. In the situation with teenagers, this line is especially thin. In a more general sense, addiction is understood as various ways escape from reality - with the help of games, psychoactive substances, obsessive actions, and other types of activities that bring vivid emotions. The natural ability to adapt and overcome difficult life circumstances in such adolescents is reduced.
“Any types of addictive behavior in children are a “cry for help”, a signal of the need for urgent intervention to keep the child a full-fledged member of society.”
Conditions for the emergence of addictions
It is impossible to identify clear causes of addictive behavior. To develop this type of response, a combination of personal characteristics and an unfavorable environment is necessary.
Typically, the following personality traits are identified that provoke addictive behavior in adolescents:
- Active demonstration of superiority against the background of an inferiority complex.
- Tendency to lie.
- Comfort in heavy crisis situations combined with depression and discomfort in the normal routine of life.
- Deep fear of persistent emotional contacts with others, combined with actively demonstrated sociality.
- Avoidance of responsibility.
- The desire to blame innocent others for the harm caused.
- High anxiety, dependent behavior.
- The presence of stable patterns and stereotypes of behavior.
Addictive behavior in adolescence develops when the listed features are combined with the following conditions:
- Unfavorable social environment (parental neglect of the child, alcoholism, family quarrels, neglect of the child and his problems).
- The teenager's inability to tolerate any discomfort in the relationship.
- Low adaptation to school conditions.
- Instability, immaturity of personality.
- The inability of a teenager to independently cope with addiction.
- The desire to be special, to stand out from the gray mass of ordinary people.
- Gambling, desire for thrills.
- Personal immaturity.
- Low psychological stability or mental immaturity.
- Difficulties with self-identity and self-expression.
- Feeling of loneliness, defenselessness.
- Perceiving your everyday circumstances as difficult.
- Emotional scarcity.
The role of the family in the formation of addictive behavior
The main source of addictive behavior in adolescents is the family. Diagnosis and treatment of addictions outside the family environment are ineffective and pointless. At the same time, the opposite is also true - the presence of an addictive personality in a family (no matter a child or an adult) causes its gradual degradation and transition to a destructive category. Destructive families are characterized by:
- Special ways of self-expression based on compensating for one’s negative emotions on family members or self-affirmation at their expense.
- Specific ways to solve problems that arise in the process of life and communication.
- There must be dependencies and codependencies, in which any problems, illnesses, tensions lead to the destruction of the fragile balance in the relationships of family members.
A relationship has been established between the presence of addictions or codependency in parents and addictive behavior in their children. This connection can manifest itself even across generations, leading to the development of addictions in the grandchildren of people with alcoholism or drug addiction. Many people with addictions developed them as a consequence of codependency in themselves or their parents.
Formation of the soil for the development of addictive behavior of adolescents is facilitated by following types dysfunctional families:
- Single-parent family.
- An immoral family characterized by alcoholism, sexual promiscuity or violence.
- A criminal family whose members have criminal records or are associated with the criminal world.
- Pseudo-prosperous families that do not have visible defects in structure and dependencies, but in such a family unacceptable methods of education are used.
- Problematic families in which constant conflicts occur.
Family problems become especially obvious once a child reaches adolescence. The requirements and rules established by parents cause protest and a desire to leave care. Gaining independence and getting rid of parental control are among the leading goals of adolescents. The psychology of addictive behavior states that in the process of “escape” from the family, a group of authoritative peers takes the place of parents. This group becomes a new source life rules, norms of behavior, moral guidelines and life goals.
Adaptation to living conditions or self-regulation to increase emotional background and richness of life is the main goal pursued by addictive behavior. Types of addictions include the following ways to achieve these goals:
- Eating disorders (anorexia, starvation).
- Chemical dependencies (drug addiction, substance abuse, alcoholism, smoking).
- Ludomania or gambling is an addiction to games (gambling and computer addiction are usually separated).
- Religious fanaticism, sectarianism.
The first three of specified types dependencies provide an easy and fast way to get bright positive emotions. The fourth type of addictive behavior helps the addict feel involved in something significant, to receive some kind of analogue of a family that fully approves and supports him.
The degree to which an addict is involved in addictions can vary greatly from rare episodes that do not affect daily life, to the point of severe dependence, completely subjugating the subject. Therefore, sometimes there are different degrees of severity of addiction, the mildest of which is bad habit, and the most severe is biological dependence, accompanied by changes in mental and physical state.
Diagnosing addictive behavior in adolescents is not difficult. Problems at school, smoking, drinking alcohol are obvious signs that require immediate active intervention. It is much more effective and important to identify and eliminate risk factors and conditions that contribute to the emergence of addictions.
Treatment of addictive behavior
The main method of treating addictive behavior is psychotherapy. When treating adolescents with severe addictions, hospitalization with a course of detoxification may be required to remove accumulated psychoactive substances from the body.
Most schools of psychotherapy view addictive behavior in adolescents as a symptom of general family dysfunction. Therefore, the main target of treatment is the family as a whole. Without family involvement, even a successfully completed course of treatment does not guarantee complete well-being in the future - after all, the teenager returns to the same family that caused the addictive behavior to develop.
General goals when working with an addict's family are:
- To identify factors contributing to adolescent substance use.
- To make parents aware that addictive behavior is a family problem.
- Convince them of the need for joint treatment.
- Change dysfunctional parenting patterns.
- Restore the influence of parents on a teenager.
- Normalize relationships between family members.
- Eliminate parental problems that support the child’s addiction, including various dependencies in the family.
- Work out individual approach to treatment.
Strategic family psychotherapy
This approach involves identifying discrepancies between the family hierarchy and the traditional one and its subsequent correction. IN ordinary families parents control their children. In families where a teenager develops an addiction, he begins to control his parents, remaining dependent on them financially and emotionally. In the process of psychotherapy, the doctor helps to establish relationships in the family in which parents occupy the highest level of the family hierarchy. Communication between parents and children, in addition to the emotional component, includes clearly defined expectations for the child’s behavior, the rules of his behavior and the measures that will be applied in case of violation of these rules. After the normal hierarchy is restored, the teenager cannot control his parents, due to which constructive behavior is restored.
Functional family psychotherapy
This type of therapy includes a number of standard steps, which are modified individually in each case. At the beginning of treatment, the therapist reviews their expectations for treatment and helps them formulate positive goals for all family members. Next, he determines which family relationships need modification. Decreases during treatment negative perception family members of an addicted teenager, the family atmosphere improves, and behavior patterns change.
Structural family psychotherapy
This approach considers the family as a whole as the patient. The goal of treatment is to create a balanced, favorable family structure and improve its functioning. Activities for this are selected individually depending on the type of family relationship. It is important to coordinate changes with the pace of life of the family and the expectations of its members.
Prevention of addictive behavior
Traditionally, all prevention measures are divided into primary, secondary and tertiary depending on the time of intervention.
Primary prevention of addictive behavior in adolescents involves preventing children from becoming involved in any type of addiction. It is aimed at working with a population that is completely unfamiliar or insufficiently aware of the effects of psychoactive substances. This type of prevention includes informing about the consequences of addictions, introducing teenagers to work, and involving them in active work, popularization sports sections, art schools, tourist organizations. It is also important to inform parents and teachers about early signs addictions in a teenager.
Secondary prevention is aimed at early detection of adolescents who have started using psychoactive substances and helping them to prevent physical dependence.
The objectives of tertiary prevention are the rehabilitation of people with addictions, their return to active life and the prevention of relapse.
Childhood mental trauma and addictive behavior
Addictive behavior resembles a rejection of the surrounding world, in which the individual isolates himself from society, using any kind of entertainment in the form of Internet entertainment, sex, gambling, and excessive spending of money. This problem occurs not only in adults, but also in adolescents.
Causes of addictive behavior
The basis for alienation from reality is the lack of interaction or disruption of communication in the environment in which the child grows up. Hormonal changes that develop in adolescents lead to a surge of emotions and the appearance of aggressiveness (see). They are influenced by parents, friends, classmates, with whom the child often cannot find a common language.
The psyche of adolescents is not fully formed, and young people themselves are not sufficiently adapted to adult life. Addiction is also associated with the use of various psychotropic drugs. For some, addiction is almost invisible, for others it is combined with normal behavior and only rarely appears. Sometimes there is a violation of demeanor, expressed to the point of extremes. A high degree of severity can lead to the development of psychosomatic diseases.
There are many forms of addictions that can be combined and move from one to another. For example, having given up drinking alcohol, a teenager starts smoking, and having given up computer games– engage in extreme sports, developing a new addiction.
Read about for diseases of a neurological and psychiatric nature.
Find out about typical signs and treatment.
Types of addiction
Addiction that occurs in adolescents is similar to adult addiction. There are chemical and non-chemical. The first is associated with the use of substances that affect nervous system, causing saturation of pleasure centers. Such means include:
- alcohol (see);
- substance abuse;
- cigarettes;
- hookah smoking;
- medications.
Non-chemical addiction consists of any activity that leads to the destruction of mental health. This includes:
- gaming addiction;
- gluttony;
- workaholism;
- sectarianism;
- sexual behavior;
- masochism;
- listening to specific music.
The emergence of addiction can lead to the development of asocialization, as well as to the emergence in a teenager of:
- bipolar associative disorder ();
- psychosomatic pathologies;
- homicidal or suicidal tendencies;
- paranoid schizophrenia;
- degradation;
- sociopathy.
Provoking factors
There are certain points that cause a teenager to become prone to addictions. In this regard, consultations with psychologists who can determine his personality type and psychological portrait are important.
Children at risk include:
- vulnerable;
- often sick;
- susceptible to criticism;
- victims of domestic violence;
- with a strict upbringing.
According to psychological research There are 4 main reasons:
- economic;
- social;
- biological;
- individual.
The formation of the human body and the formation of personality lies in the development of mental health and stability of the body. A teenager begins to behave more confidently after taking psychotic drugs (abuse of energy drinks, caffeine, alcohol).
The disorders that these substances lead to begin to develop in adolescence, and the acquired consequences are more often identified in adulthood. Thus, fear of the dark turns into fear of looking in the mirror, and loneliness transforms into persecution mania. In addition, it joins deviant behavior(not in line with social norms).
Prerequisites for the development of addiction can also be head injuries: concussions, bruises, increased intracranial pressure, and mental retardation. There are the following personality types in teenagers:
- Hyperthymic. They have a non-standard appearance and speed of thinking; intellectual activity, creativity and creativity predominate in their lives. They stand out among others with their leadership qualities.
- Hyperexcitable. Teenagers are too impulsive and emotionally overexcited. They are unable to control their behavior and desires, are restless, irritable and impatient. They cannot calmly take criticism towards themselves and take everything with hostility. The development of addiction is typical for preschool children.
- Hysterical. It is manifested by thirst and desire to become noticed and recognized. They talk demonstratively, exaggerate certain events, trying to impress others, sometimes even with fictitious stories. They are also capable of lying, slandering themselves, or attributing incurable illnesses and suffering.
- Epileptoid. Adolescents experience personality changes reminiscent of epileptic disorders. They are in aggressive state and constantly come into conflict.
- The unstable type is characterized by weakness of will and apathy. Teens are naughty, don't comply normal rules behavior, they need to be constantly monitored. But they are afraid to obey other people. At school, such children are lazy and constantly run away from lessons. Capable of committing petty crimes such as hooliganism and theft.
These personality types sometimes do not occur independently, but are combined with each other, leading to the development of addiction. Psychologists or psychotherapists must diagnose addictive disorder. A test for addictive behavior is carried out in order to find out the neglect of a particular addiction (alcohol, nicotine, gaming), as well as to identify its effect on the body. Not only teenagers, but also their parents should take the tests.
Helping teenagers with addictive behavior
Depending on the severity of the addictive disorder, treatment is carried out by specialists in psychotherapeutic sessions or in a psychiatric clinic. In cases of mild impairment, special techniques are used to help a teenager get rid of addiction to games, overeating, and shopaholism.
With alcohol, drugs or drug addiction Therapy is provided in a special department, carrying out detoxification of the body. Then they help the teenager regain mental health.
Preventive measures must be carried out in sanatorium-resort places to saturate the life of a teenager with new impressions. Addictive disorder in most cases is destructive in nature. The earlier bad habits are detected, the easier it is to get rid of them with timely complex therapy.
There are no independent people, and every person has some kind of addiction, according to narcologists and psychiatrists. Addictive behavior goes beyond the usual, and is a borderline state between the norm and pathological addiction. Drug use, overeating and starvation, the need to endlessly buy things - all this is addictive behavior.
Addictive behavior - what is it?
Several decades ago, “addiction” was considered a term in the work of narcologists and meant various types of chemical substances. Today, addictive behavior is a form destructive behavior aimed at self-destruction. An addict is a person who tries to avoid reality with its problems by leaving it with the help of a certain kind of addiction to substances, phenomena, objects. In addiction, a person develops a strong emotional connection or attachment to the object of addiction.
Causes of addictive behavior
The concept of addictive behavior includes many reasons or prerequisites for its occurrence:
- Biological reasons. In 1990, the American scientist K. Blum conducted research on the genetics of alcoholism and discovered an addictive gene, which he nicknamed the “reward gene.” Later, in a study of people prone to smoking and overeating, this gene was also identified. Another reason is that the pleasure center in the addict’s brain is not activated properly and the person begins to compensate for the lack of pleasure with the help of synthetic substances or compulsive actions.
- Social reasons. Conditions conducive to the development of an addictive personality:
- parental neglect
- family conflicts, high-profile scandals;
- neglect of the child’s problems and feelings;
- parents “fill out” problems with alcohol and drug use.
Psychologists separately highlight the reasons associated with personal characteristics development of an addict (often this manifests itself in adolescence):
- emotional scarcity;
- desire to stand out among peers;
- low level of adaptability to difficult conditions;
- personal immaturity;
- defenselessness;
- desire for sharp, exciting sensations.
Signs of addictive behavior
The tendency to addictive behavior is not always recognized in the early stages and it is difficult to determine the emerging type of addiction. Signs by which you can recognize an addictive personality:
- fear and intolerance of loneliness;
- fear of being rejected;
- vulnerability in response to criticism;
- out of fear of being rejected, agrees with others, even if they are wrong;
- no sense of responsibility;
- deceit;
- anxiety and emotional lability;
- ritualism and stereotypical (repetitive) actions in behavior;
- preference for artificial reality;
- persistent changes in psychophysical state.
Types of addictive behavior
Addictive behavior and its types in traditional psychiatry and narcology:
- Addiction. The desire for new, unknown sensations completely displaces everything that is not related to drugs from a person’s life.
- Alcoholism. The tendency to relax and “drown” your problems in alcohol leads to the rapid formation of alcohol dependence.
- Sexual addiction. Don Juanism is a disorder of sexual behavior that is typical for those who grew up in an emotionally cold family or were victims of sexual abuse in childhood.
- Food addiction. Anorexia and bulimia are eating disorders. Fasting is for an addict a way of self-realization through overcoming the “weaknesses” of the body. With bulimia, food becomes a way to distract a person from sad thoughts and feelings of inferiority.
- Internet addiction. Leaving real world into a virtual illusory one.
Treatment of addictive behavior
Persistent addictive behavior is difficult to treat if the addict is not aware of his or her addiction. The main treatment is carried out by a psychiatrist, and in case of chemical addictions it is accompanied by treatment from a narcologist. Correction of addictive behavior, except drug therapy includes psychotherapy. Addictive behavior in psychology is successfully corrected by behavioral therapy methods.
Addictive behavior - books
When a loved one changes and not for the better, difficulties arise in understanding what is happening to him. Literature on this topic does not replace consultation with a specialist, but helps to “shed light” on the problems that have arisen:
- “Guide to Addictology” by V.D. Mendelevich et al. The book explains what addictions and addictive behavior are in a strictly scientific style.
- “Liberation from addictions or the school of successful choice” A.V. Kotlyarov. The manual was written for patients. Contains useful techniques, metaphors, parables.
- “On addictions and addictive behavior” V. Kachalov. What are the dependencies?
- “Prevention of addictions in children and adolescents” Trubitsyna L.V. The publication is dedicated to an important aspect of addictive behavior – prevention.
