I tend to get really excited about things, like new hobbies and activities, and this felt a little bit addictive, too. I’d heard people talk about addictive personalities on occasion, so I wondered: Do I have an addictive personality? “The term is used colloquially to refer to people who have tendencies that appear to lead to addiction-like behaviors,” says George Koob, Ph.D., director of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA). “Addictive personality” is a term often used in association with alcoholism, but you can also feel addicted to other things, like certain activities, people, foods, or physical objects. According to J. Wesley Boyd, M.D., Ph.D., an associate professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School’s Center for Bioethics, behaviors like gambling, frequent social media use, or even video gaming can also be addictive. “For people who are addicted to these behaviors—and even those who just derive intense enjoyment from them—engaging in these behaviors can result in the release of dopamine, a neurotransmitter that is the final common pathway of basically every drug of abuse,” he says. He also notes that you can even be addicted to another person in a dating relationship because of this neurochemical response. That said, an unhealthy addiction is very different from healthy enthusiasm. “Being addicted to something means it has taken over your life and that you are sacrificing important things in your life in service of the addiction,” says Boyd. Koob describes addiction similarly as “being stuck in a cycle in which a person binges on a substance, feels discomfort when the substance wears off, and is preoccupied with procuring and using the substance again.” (And again, this doesn’t apply only to physical substances—it can also be behaviors or experiences.) On the flip side, “enthusiasm means that you might love something and even that you might look forward to it much of the time, but you are not and will not compromise basic important elements in your life,” Boyd says. Some experts believe that the term “addicted” is used too loosely to explain behaviors that are closer to enthusiasm, so Boyd uses exercise as an example of this distinction: An enthusiastic exerciser will look forward to workouts but probably won’t work out when they’re sick, he says. An exercise “addict,” on the other hand, might continue exercising even when they have the flu, despite adverse outcomes. “There are definitely individuals who are prone to become addicted in various ways,” Boyd says, noting that addiction is often a combination of both genetics and the environment. “Some of this is based on personal history, but much of it is determined by having a family history of addiction.” In her book Unbroken Brain: A Revolutionary New Way of Understanding Addiction, health journalist Maia Szalavitz reports that no single personality profile has been linked to addiction, despite decades of research on the subject. If you think you’re addicted to something because of who you are or because of your personality, you’ve been led astray. There are a few signs and signals to watch for that might signal that you may have a higher risk for developing an addiction. These signs include: If you can’t stop the behavior on your own, it’s time to seek professional help. Boyd recommends Alcoholics Anonymous or other self-help groups as a way to cope, in addition to making an appointment with a psychiatrist or psychologist who specializes in working with people who have addictive behaviors. The NIAAA also offers a Treatment Navigator to help you find providers in your area. If you think you might have an addiction, consider reaching out to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration via their helpline, at 800-662-4357. The National Drug Helpline also offers 24/7 help to people who are struggling with addiction: Call 844-289-0879.
