Addictive personality is when an individual is addicted to something. It is often interlinked with substance abuse and behavioral compulsion. This can compel an individual to develop utmost passion for something that can emerge as an outrageous obsession or fixation.

1. What is an Addictive Personality?
Addictive personality is when an individual is addicted to something. It is often interlinked
with substance abuse and behavioral compulsion. This can compel an individual to develop
utmost passion for something that can emerge as an outrageous obsession or fixation.
However, the underlying reason
for getting carried away and
over-indulging in a compulsive
behavior can have a connection
to certain mental health
problems such as depression,
anxiety and poor impulse
control. Some of these
behaviors can be an attempt to
assuage the overwhelming
emotional pain or exhaustion.
Although there is a long-
standing debate about people
having addictive personality that
they are prone to greater risk of
addiction, there is no evidence
established till date supporting
this hypothesis. Experts believe,
apart from personality traits, many other factors also contribute towards addiction.
What are the personality traits that can be identified as signs of an addictive personality?
There is no standard definition that can explain the characteristics of an addictive personality
because addiction is a complex health issue. It can be a complex collection of behavior and
traits for people, who are at greater risk for addiction.
Some of the common traits of an addictive personality are:
• Excessive eating or binge eating
• Adopting excessively risky behavior
• Not able to control impulse
• Thrill seeking behavior
• Gambling
• Manipulating people and indulging in dishonesty to satisfy own impulse
• Not able to take responsibility
• Low self-esteem
• Becoming self-centered
• Lack of goals in life due to loss of focus

2. • Irritability and mood swings
• Social isolation
• Inability to maintain healthy relationship with family, friends, or colleagues
• Using alcohol to relax or numb emotions
• Over indulgence in social media
• Engaging in sexually risky behavior
• Developing an obsessive-compulsive behavior to shop and hoard things or objects
irrationally
• Swerving towards substance abuse to cope with overwhelming emotions
• Lack of satisfaction in general
• Showing compulsive habit of substance abuse and alcohol addiction
• Inability to refrain from addiction and substance abuse despite knowing its adverse
health effects
• Inability to control impulsive and adverse behavior
Is addictive personality linked to genetics?
Research suggests that people born to parents who have exhibited addictive personality or
had history of substance abuse are more likely to develop addictive traits. Additionally, people
with family history of depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder or obsessive-compulsive disorder
are more susceptible to develop addictive personality. However, genetic is not the only factor
responsible for developing addiction.
What are the factors responsible for addictive personality?
Childhood experiences:
Childhood trauma such as experiencing violence, emotional or sexual abuse can trigger an
addictive personality in early adulthood. The children who had neglectful childhood or an
indifferent family, exhibit a higher risk for substance abuse.
Environmental factors:
People usually begin using alcohol or drug under the influence of people in their environment.
Easy access to alcohol in the neighbourhood, school or college increases the risk of alcohol
addiction.
Grappling with underlying mental disorder:
People enduring mental health disorders such as depression, anxiety, OCD, bipolar disorder
and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are often subjected to substance abuse including
alcohol addiction to numb the emotional pain. But eventually the addiction takes a concrete
form in their lives adding risk for co-occurring disorder.
Addictive personality and inability to control impulse:
An addictive personality seeks constant stimulation in life making him/her restless and always
looking for excitement. They behave in an irrational way and their decision-making capacity

3. is heavily impacted. Their poor impulse control drives them to adopt new compulsive
behavioral traits that eventually trigger addiction.
There is a crucial difference between addiction and compulsion. However, the underlying
problem might share the same ground. A person having addiction tries to find pleasure to
make up for the void inside. An addicted person who feeds his/her craving with the addictive
substance is rewarded by the neurotransmitter dopamine (which makes a person feel
pleasure). When the person starts chasing the feeling of pleasure addiction takes a concrete
form.
How to recognize signs of addiction?
People get driven towards substance abuse to overcome their stressful situation, but they
eventually develop tolerance for the substance. It’s important to recognize the signs of
addiction at the earliest, which include:
• Continuous use of the substance irrespective of its negative effects
• Experiencing withdrawal symptoms, while trying to refrain from the substance
• Developing tolerance for the substance and gradual increase in intake
• Lack of interest in daily activities
• Decrease in productivity at home and workplace
• Self-isolation, isolating self from social gathering or family
How to help someone dealing with addiction?
People struggling with addiction find it difficult to speak about it to their near and dear ones.
Moreover, they lie to themselves and refuse to accept that their addiction has already taken
a concrete state. Therefore, to help your loved ones it is important to gain knowledge about
substance abuse and the problems associated with it. We should encourage our loved ones
to seek professional help immediately. We should show our support and stay involved in the
entire treatment process. Last but not the least, we should avoid judging our loved ones and
rather focus on helping them to deal with the situation and substance use disorder.
Get help today
Battling with addiction and substance abuse can be very overwhelming not only for the
addicted person but also for the entire family. One should immediately scout for a treatment
center for addiction to ensure long-term recovery.
Athena behavioral health is a top-notch de-addiction center in India. Our treatment
programs for addressing addiction include medical detox and our de addiction centers are
among the best in India. We treat all types of mental health disorder and addiction problems.
Our treatment plans include outpatient care and customized treatment programs that ensure
100 percent recovery. To know more about our treatment programs and facilities call us today
at our toll-free number 18008909897.
For more information please visit: - https://www.athenabhs.com