If you do something too much, is it an addiction?

This article deals with addictions and how to differentiate between a repetitive behavior and an actual addiction

There are habits and everyday things we do that can be an addiction; or it can merely be something of the norm. Drinking, gambling, and eating problems, for instance, aren't necessarily addictions. A specific setting can sometime trigger an increase in these things, but don't directly relate to a deep emotional factor. If you drink or do certain behaviors with friends, it can sometimes just be an excessive behavior. 

The difference between a habit and an addiction is usually willpower. However, because these two things are very similar, there has been a lot of question of how to actually diagnose an addiction.

Question:
What is the difference between doing something excessively and doing something as an actual addiction? Do you think it is easy for people to claim others have addictions when they really don't? Or, just the opposite, do you think people who actually have addictions go undiagnosed?

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

There is a difference between doing something excessively and doing something that is an addiction. I beleive that if you do something excessively you have the will power to stop it. If it is an addiction, then the person does not have that ability to stop it on their own and they feel that they do that because they need to or in order to sruvive. I think it is easy to claim that you have an addiction, though you are really probably just over exagerating. You can go undiagnosed with an addiction but that means that you haven't noticed that you potentially have a serious problem.
--Ivona Golowiejko

Shai Hayes said...

The difference between doing something excessively and having an addiction is that a person cannot function without their choice of addiction, drugs, alcohol, etc. Something that is done excessively is most likely easier for someone to stop, where as recovering from an addiction is much more difficult. However, there is a similarity between the two, therefore, it is easy for someone to claim that they have an addiction even though they really dont, or a person may act as though they do not have an addiction and they really do.

RubenS said...

I think an addicition is when a person persistently does something and can't control themselves where as a person doing something excessively is aware of it and can stop. I believe it is hard to know if someone has an addiction because to them it can seem normal and to others anything out of the normal seems like the person has something wrong with them.

Anonymous said...

I think doing something extensivly is when the person over does it too much or they need that thing to go through there everyday lives.You can do something as an actual addiction but it dosent have to be extensively.I do think it is easy for other people to claim that other have an addiction because that the automatic reaction to most people, when they actually really dont know for sure. I think people that do have addictions are well aware of it.

Danielle Gopie

Mike Nahmias said...

The difference between doing something excessively and doing something as an actual addiction is that you can stop doing something that you like to do excessively. I think it's easy for people to claim others have addictions when they really don't, and I'm sure a lot of people with addictions go undiagnosed. Most people who are addicted to something think that they're not and they can just quit when they feel like it.

kadian Thompson said...

I think if a person have a addiction to something, it would be very hard for them to stop doing that activity on a regular basis, and i think doing something excessively means you do things a lot but unlike addiction you can control what you are doing.I do think people who have addictions go undiagnosed because they do not think there is a problem in what they are doing and they won't see that until they get help.

Rosalie Luciano said...

i feel that an addicition is something you cannot correct even if you know its something silly. like being addicted to video games, it sounds silly, but you cant find it in you to correct your habbits. yeah people joke about others being addicted to something, thats just it, people joke about things so serious like addiction that you dont know when someone is being serious towards you or not. addiction in my eyes is characterized as something you cant go without every single day, and if you do you are miserable inside and out. when youre not in the shoes of the one with the addiction, i believe its so easy to say you have an addiction than for those going through it to say, yeah i have an addiction.

Rachael Thatcher said...

I think that the difference between doing something a lot and having an addiction is being able to stop if you wanted to. If you have an addiction, you need to do whatever it is so that you can function, whereas doing something a lot because you like it means that you can live without it. If someone is able to give the action up without suffering they are not addicted.

lscerrato said...

The difference between doing something excessively and doing something as an actual addiction says a lot about each other. When you do something excessively this means you do things over and over way too much but you still have the power to control it and stop whenever you want to. On the other hand, An actual addiction isn't controllable because your mind doesn't tell you when to stop. You aren't aware of this and have no control.

adinino said...

I agree with everyone else, there is a difference between doing something excessively, and doing something as an addiction. This is because when you have an addiction, you don't know how bad it actually is, when you're doing, and you don't have any control over it. While when you do something excessively, you have some type of control over it, and can stop.

Tina said...

Excessively doing something is doing it because you enjoy it and it brings you happiness so you do it a lot. An addiction is excessively doing something without being able to stop doing it easily. If someone has an addiction it's very hard for them to stop rather than if someone just excessively does something they could stop whenever with less effort put in. I think many people with addictions go undiagnosed because they're in denial of their addiction and think they can stop whenever and it's that they choose not to stop when they do actually in fact have an addiction and do not stop not because they enjoy it but because they cannot easily stop.