By Mark DaCosta-Sadly, many Guyanese are living with one or more addictions. While some addictions may be relatively non-disruptive to normal life – such as dependence on caffeine in coffee – others, such as addiction to alcohol, cocaine, or cigarettes could be disruptive, expensive, and life threatening. Experts say that one can also become addicted to activities, for example shopping, sex, or gambling which may interfere with one’s ability to enjoy a good life.
While it is known that addiction is a real medical problem, the question of whether or not there is such a thing as an addictive personality has not been settled by medical science. Experts are divided on the question of whether such a thing exists.
Experts who believe that some people have an addictive personality define it as, a hypothesised set of personality traits that make an individual predisposed to developing addictions. This hypothesis states that there may be common personality traits observable in people suffering from addiction. And those people are more likely to become addicted to something than other people.
On the other hand, some researchers say that there is no such thing as an addictive personality. One such expert is Ian Hamilton, associate professor in addiction at the University of York in the United Kingdom. He believes that the concept was invented by the pharmaceutical industry. Dr. Hamilton wrote that the idea that your personality determines whether or not you become addicted to a substance would have “suited the pharmaceutical industry very well. It kind of lets them off the hook. The message is: ‘if you’re weak enough to develop a problem with our product, it’s due to your personality, it’s nothing to do with us’.”
The question of whether or not such a personality type exists may one day be settled. Meanwhile, it is hypothesised that there are some traits correlated with addiction to harmful substances or risky behaviors, although causation has not been established.
People with the following traits may have a higher risk of developing addiction:
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Related to others who have developed addiction
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Experiencing other mental health disorders
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Adventurous and risk-taking
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Disconnected and cautious
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Obsessive and compulsive
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Apathetic
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Unable to self-regulate
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Comfort eating/binge eating
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Using alcohol to socialise or relax
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Checking one’s phone or social media too much
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Replacing sexual partners for a false sense of intimacy
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Impulse buying/excessive shopping
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Gambling
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Obsessing
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Drug use for coping
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Never feeling satisfied/needing more of a particular feeling
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An inability to stop using harmful chemicals
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An inability to curtail other harmful activities
Experts agree that if the “addictive personality” is a real thing, it would be a complex system of interactions between genetic factors, and environmental influences – it would not just be a simple, single personality type. So, it may take some time for experts to agree on a final finding.
In any case, experts recommend that if you are battling any addiction with which you want help, or if you are worried about becoming addicted, you should seek medical attention.
Guyanese who have such issues or concerns may contact the psychiatric department of the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation where advice, counseling and other services are available free of cost.
