Addictive Personality
The addictive personality is a difficult one to work out. Why are some people more prone to it than others?
My own personality has always been very addictive and through my life I have had this confirmed on many occasions.
My earliest memories of having an addictive personality was when I was about 13 years old. I tried a cigarette, and sadly I never gave up, and still smoke to this day. This is something I need to address now before they could kill me or at the very least give me cancer.
When I started to go out clubbing and down the pub, I got a taste for alcohol. This was to follow me around and be a demon to me for many years. This ultimately left me as an alcoholic, and in need of help some 20 years later. Thankfully I overcame the addiction and I am completely tea-total nowadays.
Gambling was very much an issue in my earlier life, late teens and through to my middle twenties. I was chasing the big win, but I never did achieve it! OMG! I wasted a fortune in the process. It was nothing for me to spend an entire Saturday in the bookies and then leave at tea-time without a penny in my pocket.
Through many of the darker moments in my life I was prescribed anti-depressants, which for me was a nightmare. GP’s invariably just pass people off with anti-depressants. What they don’t tell you is they are very addictive, and it took me 10 years and a lot of therapy to get myself off them.
I wonder if an addictive personality is something you are born with. Maybe your brain is wired in such a way that it is easy to become addicted to all sorts of things that ultimately are not good for you. If that is the case, is this the way I was born?
Nowadays I have much stronger willpower that enables me to resist so many things that you can become addicted to.
Do you think, or do you have an addictive personality? I would love to hear.
3 Comments
James
March 17, 2018 at 8:02 am
Very honest post and congrats on battling through the alcohol and gambling addictions. Luckily, I’m pretty sure I don’t work like that. My wife is concerned she does though, as her dad had issues with alcohol and also drug dependency. They were factors in his death at the age of 49. So I do wonder if we’re born with these tendencies – that maybe it’s a genetic thing. Which does make you worry for your kids I suppose. Maybe something to watch out for?
David @ DadvWorld
March 17, 2018 at 10:41 am
Firstly, well played for discussing your difficult personal experiences, I’m sure it will help others feel able to discuss their issues past or present too.
Secondly, I think you’re probably right, I’d imagine there’s scientific evidence to say as much… Google it?!
People with addictive personalities do tend to get over one addiction and move into something else and hopefully land on something that won’t destroy their life. You often hear of people recovering from alcoholism and then becoming addicted to work and/or something else. It must be hard wired into you.
Maybe it’s why you’re such a prolific blogger! If you’re going to be addicted to something though, sharing your experiences and helping others is probably the best thing!
Great read Nigel 🙂
James
March 17, 2018 at 8:05 pm
Interesting post. Like you I’ve got a bit of an addictive personality but managed to just stay on the outskirts of serious problems through the years though I think the need for an instant hit has got in the way of sticking to long-term plans. Mindfulness, meditation and exercise have been big game changers for me in managing things better.
It’s been a long time since I looked into the science but I think there are indications it can be something you’re born with or develop quite young. With me, it could be nurture also as a lot of people around me had addictive personalities. I also recall there being some links to the addictive personality and OCD. The brain is kind of stuck in a loop where it needs the instant gratification of a chemical release.
As a dad it’s going to be a challenge as obviously, I want my boys to avoid gaining ‘addictive personalities’.I just read an interesting article (prompted by your post) that has a modern take on the famous marshmallow test at https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/strategic-thinking/201703/the-marshmallow-myth.
That article suggests that the way forward is not so much delaying gratification but more to do with discovering gratification in other positive things that help towards a goal which is definitely something I want to try and teach to my kids.