We will briefly examine four common behavioral addictions; it is important to note that there are many more behavioral addictions, yet there are not many researches conduct on those behavioral addictions. Therefore, the addictive behaviors we will examine consists of many research conducted on them.
Compulsive Shopping/Buying Disorder (CBD)
One of the commonly known behavioral addictions is compulsive buying disorder (CBD). Many "experts define compulsive buying [i.e. shopping] disorder (CBD) as a disorder associated with compulsive thoughts or impulses to purchase unnecessary or large amounts of items despite negative consequences" (Karim 11). Individuals that have CBD have "an increasing level of urge or anxiety that can only lead to a sense of completion when a purchase is made" (Black 15). For people who suffer from CBD, "buying something creates a feeling related to the euphoria that alcohol induces, said Bonny Forrest, a psychologist in San Diego. [Similar to alcoholics], it's hard to keep away from that rush of pleasure" (CNN). In addition, CBD is portrayed as a disorder that affects women only, yet "about 6% of women and 5.5% of men are compulsive buyers, according to a 2006 study from Stanford University in the American Journal of Psychiatry" (CNN).
Sex Addiction
Experts classify "sex addiction...as a debilitating problem which may include impairment in physical health function, cognition, impulse control, attachment, intimacy and mood or it could simply be convenient excuse for an individual's indiscretions" (Karim 9). Nowadays in the U.S.A., about 13% of the population which is approximately "40 million people" (LifeSiteNews) are logging onto porn websites which is a way for psychiatrist to measure if an individual is addicted to sex by how much he/she logs onto porn websites. Out of the 40 million people, "9 million may qualify under the strict clinical definition of a 'sex addict'" (LifeSiteNews). Many psychiatrists believe that sex addiction affects a large portion of the population in the U.S.A. and also western cultures in general is because they are "saturated with a 'softer' porn that is potentially just as deadly" (LifeSiteNews); examples of "softer" porn seen in the western culture can be Victoria's Secret ads or David Beckham's underwear ads for H&M.
Gambling Addiction
People with a gambling disorder are "too seriously involved in terms of time invested and money wagered and they continue to gamble despite substantial and negative personal, social, family, and financial effects" (Karim 4). Gambling disorder is often caused be "unpleasant feelings such as stress, depression, loneliness, fear, and anxiety" (Help Guide) which can also worsen the addiction.According to the American Psychiatric Association, gambling disorder affects about "1 to 2 percent of Americans" (MIT News); many psychiatrists believe that the statistics of how many people are affected by this disorder is underestimated as many people are afraid to seek treatment for gambling disorder. In fact, many "experts on pathological gambling have shown that the prevalence of this disorder is linked closely to the accessibility and acceptability of gambling in society" (PBS), and our accessibility to gambling has increased as time pass; for instance, "in Iowa, the legalization of casinos more than tripled the addiction dilemma" (PBS).
Internet Addiction Disorder (IAD)
The general definition of the disorder is "'the compulsive overuse of the Internet and the irritable or moody behavior when deprived of it' (Mitchell 2000" (Karim 8). The Internet Addiction Disorder is one of the recently discovered behavioral addictions, yet "65% of people claim they use the Internet to escape their problems" (Anson Alex). With the research that has been performed, it has shown that "people with Internet addiction have demonstrable changes in their brains - both in the connections between cells and in the brain areas that control attention, executive control, and emotion processing" (Forbes); these affects occur to brains when individuals are addicted to "addicted to cocaine, heroine, special K, and other substances" (Forbes). In addition, "studies have found that people with [IAD] have fewer dopamine receptors in certain areas of the brain" (Forbes); however, those receptors may be repaired. Considering that people often have to use the Internet to perform their tasks, IAD occurs when "it absorbs too much of [one's] time, causing [one] to neglect [his/her] relationships, [his/her] work, school, or other important things in [his/her] life" (Help Guide). People often become addicted to the Internet when they want to escape from their problems (i.e. depression, anxiety, etc.), in which the Internet brings them comfort.
In general, main people may be suffering from these disorders and others as well, yet many people are underwhelming informed about these disorders; thus many people will not know if they have such disorders. Further studies on behavioral addictions are needed to understand how these disorders work, but it is difficult for psychiatrists and other experts to research on it because how they conduct their research is based on how many people admit and seek help for their behavioral addictions. For further information on types of of behavioral addictions and understand how it occurs, please visit the Other Information tab.