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I came across this picture on a site when I was surfing through the internet and then this topic came to my mind "an addiction or a phase".
Addiction has to do with the inability to stop using something, a substance or engaging in a particular behavior even though it is causing mental and physical harm. Addiction is not having control over an habit or what you’re doing.
However, an addiction can gets out of control because you would need more and more to satisfy your craving and to get your satisfaction, and when this get out off hand some people can go extra miles just to quench this craving by causing harm on others too, this is when it has taken over and reduce self-control.
Addiction do not only refer to depending on hard drugs such as heroin, marijuana or cocaine. Some addictions also involve the inability to stop partaking in activities such as gambling, eating, or working and these are the non-substance addiction.
While Phase has to do with a process of a period of time. A phase can be said to be a series of a time of events of when an action is being taking place. It can be a gradual process or development of something.
In this context, I would prefer to define the word "Phase“ as the Psychological process of behavioral changes that occurs during the process of attaining to the level of an addiction. And this has to the with the two (2) categories of the elements of addiction and they’re the substance and the non-substance.
For Instance, with the non-substance addiction, a man can be experiencing a bad day at work or even with his home in terms of relationship, family or anything and then decides to stop by at a bar spot for a drink just clear his mind off heavy burdens and after a drink the he get better as the case maybe and if his experiences persist, I mean same bad day everyday and same method of self-relieve, He can get influenced by this method into drinking and thereby make gateway for addiction to come in. Only if he gets to see another way out of his problem that’s when the process can be reversed.
Some people can get obsessed with their work to the extent that they become psychologically and physically exhausted, all they could think of is work and if your relationship, family and social life are affected and you never take holidays or even breaks, you may be addicted to your work. But this isn’t me saying you working isn’t good. This actually means your brain next to relax and have the option to think aside work.
In addition, most persons tend to get addicted to the something or a behavioral pattern by the increase of their usage. Let’s take the internet as an example, there is an increase in the invention of different phones and mobile apps. People may spend so many hours even their entire day everyday surfing through the internet or gaming while neglecting other aspects of their lives. In the process of paying more attention to the internet or their mobile phones addiction sets in. This is why you find some people who can hardly put their phones away for few minutes.
Take for instance again, I can tell you I like beans so much or I am addicted to eating beans. I didn’t just like beans all of a sudden or in one day, It started by a process. It could be it started when I was a child how my mom make me eat beans all the time for protein or to make me taller and she’ll tell me the benefit of eating it, I’ll be so excited to eat it because I wanted to get more protein and even grow taller...lol. Growing up, those words sticked to me and I eat beans all the time. I wouldn’t say am addicted to eating beans always because I can consciously decide what to it aside beans.
The process of addiction takes a long time in becoming part of ones life, but only if the person is redeemed quickly as soon as behavioral changes are seen or take personal control by stopping the habits.