RE: What is the Difference Between an 'Addiction', a 'Compulsion' and an 'Obsession'?
May 15, 2009 at 11:58 pm
(This post was last modified: May 15, 2009 at 11:59 pm by Oldandeasilyconfused.)
@EVF
An addiction is a compulsion but a compulsion is not necessary an addiction,as there may be no compulsion to repeat the behaviour.
An obsession is fixation on a belief. EG Romantic love often entails a fixation on one person,without say the compulsion to phone that person 50 times a day.
my understanding is that OCD is the combination of obsessive thought and compulsive behaviour. One of the most commonly known is perhaps the cleanliness obsession/ compulsion,where the person say washes his hands a hundred or more times day.
An addiction is characterised by a payoff, which is often the production of dopamine. IE physical addiction is based on pleasure. Obsession is not. It's based on fear. EG dirt=germs=disease=death
The nature addiction is complex and controversial, with competing paradigms,each with a powerful following; IE Alcoholics Anonymous uses the illness model of addiction,which is widely accepted. The other view is the social learning model favoured by many government agencies including my State Health Authority. The second approach effectively argues that being a learned behaviour,addiction can be unlearned,and therefore cured. Proponents of the illness model reject that claim saying addictions CANNOT be cured,only controlled by total abstinence.
A recovering alcoholic, I have no idea which view is right, although I suspect it's both. Total abstinence is the only approach which works for ME. I make no claims of principle.
An addiction is a compulsion but a compulsion is not necessary an addiction,as there may be no compulsion to repeat the behaviour.
An obsession is fixation on a belief. EG Romantic love often entails a fixation on one person,without say the compulsion to phone that person 50 times a day.
my understanding is that OCD is the combination of obsessive thought and compulsive behaviour. One of the most commonly known is perhaps the cleanliness obsession/ compulsion,where the person say washes his hands a hundred or more times day.
An addiction is characterised by a payoff, which is often the production of dopamine. IE physical addiction is based on pleasure. Obsession is not. It's based on fear. EG dirt=germs=disease=death
The nature addiction is complex and controversial, with competing paradigms,each with a powerful following; IE Alcoholics Anonymous uses the illness model of addiction,which is widely accepted. The other view is the social learning model favoured by many government agencies including my State Health Authority. The second approach effectively argues that being a learned behaviour,addiction can be unlearned,and therefore cured. Proponents of the illness model reject that claim saying addictions CANNOT be cured,only controlled by total abstinence.
A recovering alcoholic, I have no idea which view is right, although I suspect it's both. Total abstinence is the only approach which works for ME. I make no claims of principle.
