Do I have an addiction?

Whenever we see or hear addiction what comes to our mind is drugs, alcohol and any other thing related but it’s much more than that, Anybody can be addicted to anything, anyhow and anywhere. The oxford English dictionary defines addiction as the fact or condition of being addicted to a particular substance or activity.  And according to Harvard Health Publication in their article “understanding addiction” they say the word addiction is derived from the Latin term “enslaved by” or “.bound to. “This therefore means addiction entails much more than substances...activities, people (more so loved ones), gadgets, rooms, music, sport like soccer, gambling among others. many people don’t realize their addictions rather think that they just love or like certain things or activities.

Some people also get addicted to rare activities like leisure, loneliness, stealing, sleeping. And there is always discomfort whenever someone does not do a certain them. Therefore they have to look left, right and center in order for these activities to be fulfilled.

It took one good friend of mine time to admit that he was addicted to his phone until it broke down. He felt like his world had come to an end, could not easily access online information, hardly communicate, went to bed early and other things he used not do. I realized this was his addiction.

 I have a personal friend who can literally do nothing the moment internet goes off. Of course he is a computer scientist yes, but he cannot do without the internet. In case anything challenges him he runs to the internet as soon as possible, he is good at asking Google, accesses tutorials on you tube, reads news online and tweets a lot. He openly confesses his love for the internet in broad day light and one can also witness it because he sits on his computer from morning to night. Only getting lunch and tea breaks, and also some stretches then gets back to his PC. When he goes to bed, he stays on his phone until his eyelids cover the pupil. Now this is an addiction which is not on a substance.

An addiction doesn't grow overnight, it’s a gradual process which starts slowly and develops with time from a second, minute, hour, day, month and year. Neither is recovery from addiction a drastic change, it takes time around 21 days to recover from activity addiction and 90 days from a substance.

However addictions can be harmful whether substances or activities. Substances like alcohol marijuana, cigarette can cause damage to body organs and tissues. The activities like internet usage, sleeping, loneliness, theft can affect our relationships with people, make us miss out once in a lifetime events. Therefore one needs to seek help from rehabilitation centers, counselors, religious leaders (because many addictions are sin). Check your self, see what you are addicted to and make some adjustments before it’s too late.