Answer by Tracy Helps

Behaviours can be as addictive as substances and thousands of people struggle with behavioural addictions such as compulsive gambling, exercise addiction, compulsive over-eating or sex addiction. Just as a person becomes high when they take a drug or drink alcohol, in the case of a behavioural addiction the high is created by an internal release of feel good hormones.

For example, when somebody is gambling the anticipation of a win or the win itself creates this high. It is often asked that because the person is not intoxicated and therefore appears to have more control over their behaviour – can this really be considered addiction? Gamblers, sex addicts, compulsive overeaters experience the same degree of loss of control and powerlessness that drug addicts and alcoholics experience.

Some of the warning signs that we would look for are also the same for the behavioural addictions, amongst others:

• Does the person eat/gamble/have sex to cope with the pressures of daily living?
• Does the person eat/gamble/have sex despite the presence of significant consequences?
• Does the person eat/gamble/have sex to the exclusion of other activities?

One of the challenges for people struggling with a behavioural addiction is that they do not necessarily carry the effects of this addiction physically in the same way as they would if they were drug or alcohol addicted. So in other words they do not look sick. However, they experience extreme stress, destroy relationships, lose jobs, ruin their finances, are vulnerable to suicide, commit crime and generally experience total loss of control. Behavioural addicts require the same level of intervention as substance addicts – even though they might look fine and appear to be functioning as normal.