HLTH 1000 Study Guide - Midterm Guide: Student Engagement, Endorphins, Caffeine
Document Summary
To be addictive, a substance or behavior must have the potential to produce positive mood changes, such as euphoria, anxiety reduction, or pain reduction. (199) Tolerance and withdrawal are important criteria for determining whether or not someone is addicted. (199) Addictions are characterized by four common symptoms: (1) compulsion which is characterized by obsession, (2) loss of control, (3) negative consequences, and (4) denial. (199-200) What makes an addiction different from a habit? (200: once a person recognizes and decides to change a habit, it can usually be broken. With an addiction, however, the sense of compulsion is so strong that the behavior can"t be controlled. Family and friends of an addicted person suffer many negative consequences. Often they struggle with codependence, a self-defeating relationship pattern in which a person is controlled by an addict"s addictive behavior. (200) Enablers are people who knowingly or unknowingly protect addicts from the natural consequences of their behavior.
