For many people today losing your cellphone is a major issue. Just a couple of months ago I was walking my dog and when I was getting close to home I wanted to text my son to get ready for something. The problem was I didn't have my phone on me. The bigger problem was I remembered looking something up on my phone earlier in the walk. Where on earth did my phone go!
Image source: nano banana (AI)
Now for a few moments there was panic. The question of what am I going to do? As many people know a phone is a person's lifeline. It does banking. It holds contacts. It's where my Clash Royale game is. My photo's and music are on there. If it gets lost that sucks. I lose my life. If it gets hacked? I could lose my life and have all my bank accounts drained.
Luckily my wife had her phone and with Life360 tracker we went back to find the phone quickly. (it fell out of my pocket when my dog pulled me to chase a squirrel)
There is a horrible feeling when a cellphone is lost
Now most people have their phones with them at all times. When they go out, when they sit at their couch, even when they go to the washroom. Having their phone by their side is like having a trusty companion with you. Even if it means doom scrolling and wasting way too much time from your life and accidentally forgetting their phone or losing it? Panic.
Which is a feeling that many people dealing with addiction face every single day. For people with substance abuse issues? When they have their substance of choice on them and available when they need it? It makes them feel good, they don't worry about their next batch, and things aren't that bad. Sure they lose friends, lose time from their day, it affects their health but the same could be said for cellphones.
Of course in today's society substance abuse has a stigma while cellphone use typically doesn't.
However, for someone addicted to something whatever it might be there is a very real awful feeling when they don't get what they need. For some things like a cellphone it is that feeling of dread. With substances it can be a feeling of dread but also accompanied by feeling physically sicker than you have ever felt in your life.
As a pharmacist I'm well aware that not all addictions are the same. I often get the questions is this medication addicting and my answer is typically nuanced.
As an example:
Thyroid replacement medication. Is it addicting?
Well the quick answer is NO. However if you think about it? People use it and feel better fairly quickly. They have more energy, they function better, they lose weight and have better mental clarity. Do they want to stop their medication? Well, no. They will fight to continue getting their medication because they know if they stop they will start feeling crappy soon enough. In this case though use of the medication (at the proper dose) has no side effects, improves the person's quality of life and is purely beneficial. If they stop their body goes right back to running in slow motion. Sure they can stop anytime. No there isn't a psychological need for the medication. The addiction is just wanting to feel normal and operate properly.
How about propranolol? Is it addicting?
It's a blood pressure medication and most people would say NO. As a pharmacist I might actually say yes, but not in the way you think. Long term use of propranolol can make the body hypersensitive to its natural adrenalin. If you stop suddenly then blood pressure can spike which is medically dangerous. Or I could use prednisone. Long term use and the body stops making its natural corticosteroids. Stop using it suddenly after long term use and it can be life threatening.
It causes a physical dependence where the body needs it even if the person has no psychological craving for the drug.
How about benzodiazepines like xanax (alprazolam)? Is it addicting?*
It's an anxiety medication. Give it to someone with anxiety and it helps them relax and feel better. Some like it help people sleep better. Medically reducing anxiety and helping people sleep are good things. Unfortunately when it wears off and the anxiety comes back? People reach for their anxiety medication. If you stop taking it and can't sleep? People take it so they can get a nights rest. Psychologically a person ends up wanting the drug so they feel better but physically, it is dangerous if they stop. Long term use of alprazolam and you stop suddenly? Depending on how long, how much and how susceptible? Possible seizures and death
Now some addictions aren't physical or psychological. For years I had one coca cola a day. I enjoyed my cola and it became part of my daily routine. I could stop anytime and I didn't get any physical side effects. I didn't get anxiety if I didn't have any and it didn't ruin my life (although I'm not sure it didn't harm my teeth). It was just such an integral part of my daily routine that I enjoyed a cola.
However, routines can be hard to break. Once you get into a habit it becomes the default for your brain. I go to a restaurant and I just order a cola out of habit. I wake up in the morning and I turn off my alarm and check my email out of habit.
Still habits are hard to break. The brain gets into a routine and it just keeps going with it.
So addictions? Is it habit which is hard to break? Is it a physical dependency that makes it impossible to function without? It is a psychological need because it helps you feel better? Where do you draw the line on addiction? Is it only addiction if it ruins your life? Or is it addiction if it just wastes your time?
So when the Hive Learners asked about addictions and is it a choice to quit or is it a biological imperative?
It is really hard to answer because "addiction" is a broad term. Asking someone to stop their thyroid medication because "medication is bad" is a poor choice. There is an absolute biological need and "quitting" is absolutely a bad idea.
For other things like Coca Cola? It's a habit to be broken. It isn't easy because it can become deeply ingrained and not particularly harmful. Quitting is a choice and willpower can easily be sufficient.
For other substance abuses? The physical withdrawl is so severe and the rewiring of the brain so extensive that quitting isn't just a matter of willpower. It needs the person committing fully to giving up something which their brains wants more than life. That means getting help and finding a path which is not obvious to many people stuck in it.
As a pharmacist I've seen many many people addicted to all sorts of different substances. I've seen the harm those addictions can do. I've seen lives ruined and I've seen families ripped apart. I look at them and know one thing for certain: I never want to start. Getting addicted isn't about "strength" or "just saying no" its a slippery slope that is easy to fall down and hard to crawl back out of. For me? Stay away from the slippery slope...no matter how much fun people seem to be having when they are "skiing downhill".
Anyways, that's my take on the Hive Learner topic "Addiction". I wish I could write a better article but I have work in 30 minutes so I hope you enjoyed my quick version on the topic. As always, Thanks for reading this far and as always, I love getting comments.
