What happens when we’re too connected to our phones?
When we think about addiction, we usually jump straight to thinking about extremely harmful addiction. We think about alcohol addiction, drug addiction, and nicotine addiction. We don’t think about how somebody can be psychologically and emotionally addicted to sitting in front of the television for six hours every day as its content sends chemicals shooting around our brains, affecting our mood. The truth is that we can essentially become addicted to anything. However, some things are much more likely to become addictive because of what happens to our brains when we engage with them.
To learn about everyday things you didn’t know you could be addicted to, click through this gallery.
According to Samantha Conrad, a dermatologist at Northwestern Memorial HealthCare in Chicago, some lip balm has chemicals that dry out the lips, so you become dependent on it for your lips to feel normal and not dry.
Whitening strips that remove red wine and coffee stains are related to the addiction of bleaching your teeth. Bleachorexia refers to being addicted to bleaching teeth. It causes enamel to weaken, gum irritation, tooth pain, and sensitivity.
Moisturizing more than once daily has been seen to have the opposite of the desired effect. Joshua Zeichner, director of cosmetic and clinical research in the department of dermatology at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City, says, “By providing a false barrier to the environment, the skin does not have to work as hard as it normally would to maintain adequate hydration levels. If you were to quickly take away the moisturizer, your skin might end up dry and inflamed.
Exercise is one of the more obvious ones on this list. People become addicted to exercise because of how immensely euphoric the endorphins can make us feel.
Surgery can become an addiction for people quickly. It’s a slippery slope and some become addicted to cosmetic surgery, chasing perfection and a younger look. “Procedural addicts” will usually skip from office to office until someone agrees they should be operated on.
Eye drops can foster addictive behavior simply because when you use them a lot, you become dependent on them. One common ingredient is tetrahydrozoline, a vasoconstrictor that constricts the conjunctival blood vessels so that they appear smaller.
“Addiction psychosomatic,” says Kirby Farrell, a professor at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, who has written frequently about the topic. If you believe tattoos change what people think of you, you may believe that you can impress them with your tattoos. Tattoos can boost people’s self-esteem in this way.
Retail therapy is a real thing. There are many reasons why shopping can be addictive. April Lane Benson, author of ‘To Buy or Not to Buy: Why We Overshop and How to Stop,’ says, “Some of the motivators include wanting to feel better about yourself or to feel more secure. Shopping can also be a way to soothe oneself, to feel more in control, or to fill an internal void.”
Spurred on by social media, many people have become addicted to finding the perfect chairs, potted plants, and furniture, according to Lindsey Pratt, a therapist in private practice in New York City who specializes in addiction and recovery.
You probably won’t need to kick this one unless you’re listening to music excessively loud on your earphones (P.S. most of us are). Similar to how our brain reacts to food, music releases dopamine in our brain. This is what makes us feel good.
Tanning addiction is very common, especially amongst people between the ages of 18 and 30. A study by Georgetown University Medical Center concluded that one in five young white women who have used a tanning bed showed signs of dependence. Being tanned doesn’t just make us look a bit more alive, the UV light from beds and the sun release dopamine.
Trichotillomania describes addiction to twisting and pulling your hair out. It’s not just the hair on your head either—people will develop a compulsion to pull their eyebrow hair and eyelash hair out, too.
Addiction to diet soda stems from weight control and, in some cases, body dysmorphia. Sheri Heller, a licensed clinical social worker and addiction specialist based in New York, says she’s worked with people who can’t stop drinking diet soda even when it’s making them sick.
Another fairly common addiction, and one which we witness quite often in popular culture, is an addiction to shoes. It helps people to feel less inferior by creating an elite persona. This elite persona can be armored with a pair of expensive and beautiful designer shoes.
Binge-watching the occasional show is one thing, but if you’re in front of the TV all the time, it could be a bigger issue. Nielsen Media Research found that the average American watches four to five hours of television each day. Not only is it bad for people to have such a sedentary lifestyle for their physical health, but it’s also bad for them mentally for their lives to revolve around the television.
Posting on social media, getting likes and follows, and receiving new comments activates your dopamine system. This, external validation, and the social competition to live the best life all make it an addictive way to spend time.
Extreme sports are addictive because of the adrenaline they give off, as many people will already know. It’s been shown that when people who do these kinds of sports stop a lot, they experience withdrawal symptoms consistent with most addictive behavior.
It’s hugely acceptable in Western society to be busy, particularly in cities where it’s tremendously competitive. “Being busy can fill the void that is felt when being alone and truly experiencing what it is like to spend time with oneself, [which] is often avoided at a level of addiction,” says Pratt.
Negative self-talk can become ingrained into someone’s brain from a young age. It becomes a habit, one which is comfortable to return to, even if it doesn’t make a person feel good.
Romance and love can be addictive, according to a study published in the journal Philosophy. There is neurophysiological evidence that it has similar effects to chronic drug-seeking behavior.
Winning is addictive in the virtual world, and can be just as exciting, if not more, than in real life. Video game addiction makes people irritable and sees people needing more and more screen time to feel satisfied.
Pica is a type of eating disorder where someone chews items with no nutritional value. Interestingly, it can be indicative of an iron deficiency. Pagophagia (compulsive ice chewing) is a form of pica.
Cheese is addictive because of the protein casein in it, which attaches to dopamine receptors, triggering a craving for more cheese or similar foods.
A study in the Indian Journal of Surgery in 2008 explored hyalophagia, an eating disorder defined by someone’s addiction to consuming glass materials.
When you get a piercing, your body responds by releasing endorphins. The pain and pleasure systems in our brain are related in many ways and people often describe the feeling after getting a piercing as relaxing or a release.
For anybody who doesn't know, social media addiction is a very real thing. Social media platforms are designed to keep you scrolling by manipulating reward systems in your brain through the secretion of hormones.
Hoarding disorder or disposophobia is defined by the American Psychiatric Association as someone who keeps things that everyone else sees as valueless. It can impede their lives by not allowing them to move freely around their home, for instance.
Sources: (The Healthy) (Best Life) (JSRM) (The Indian Journal of Surgery)
Normal things you had no idea could be addictive
The truth according to science
HEALTH Addiction
When we think about addiction, we usually jump straight to thinking about extremely harmful addiction. We think about alcohol addiction, drug addiction, and nicotine addiction. We don’t think about how somebody can be psychologically and emotionally addicted to sitting in front of the television for six hours every day as its content sends chemicals shooting around our brains, affecting our mood. The truth is that we can essentially become addicted to anything. However, some things are much more likely to become addictive because of what happens to our brains when we engage with them.
To learn about everyday things you didn’t know you could be addicted to, click through this gallery.