Addiction Psychology - Science topic

AA/NA program is about acceptance, and about letting go. Members follow the 12 steps, through reflection and through looking deep within themselves. Many do recover 'if they have the capacity to be honest (with themselves)', and as they, members often say 'it works if you work it'. Addicts/Alcoholics usually start going to the meetings when they hit their rock bottom, and they are left with limited options, if any. Those who are persistent, work the steps, and want to stay clean and sober, lead a good life, with everything they need in their life. Their meetings are very emotional, there is a sense of fellowship, they laugh and cry together, and through the program, many achieve high spiritual growth. So, I believe that this is a successful recovery program, however, a person has to work want his/her recovery, and have Faith.

And no, this is not about religion as we know it. Hope that this was helpful.

Social media & COVID-19: A global study of digital crisis interaction among Gen Z and Millennials (who.int)

Before we start an article or research on emotional pain, I think we should look closely about the main components or dimensions that make up emotional pain, and through which we can find a treatment that enables us to overcome or alleviate it in the individual who suffers from it.

I am not a superstitious believer, nor can a scientist believe in superstitions, but there are miracles that everyone believes in.

There are four kinds of tools available to measure social networking addiction.

1) Tools that measure generalized internet addiction such as Internet addiction scale (Young, 1998), Pathological Internet Use Scale (Morahan-Martin & Schumacher, 2000), Online Cognition Scale (Davis et al., 2002), and Internet-Related Problem Scale (Armstrong et al., 2000).

2) Since Facebook has recently been one of the most popular media, many measures have been developed to measure Facebook-related addiction (Çam & Isbulan, 2012; Andreassen et al., 2012b; Sofiah et al., 2011).

3) Two scales that assess generalized social media addiction are Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale (Andreassen et al., 2016) and Social media disorder (Van den Eijnden et al., 2016).

4) Tools that measure social networking addiction such as Addictive tendencies toward SNS (Wu et al., 2013) and Social networking addiction scale (Shahnawaz et al., 2013).

However, a closer look at these tools revealed that none measured social networking addiction except for the last two. The first category of tools measures generalized internet addiction while the second category of tools measures a very specific parameter that is Facebook. The third category of tools which are of recent origin measure social media addiction. In a review on social networking sites, Kuss and Griffiths (2017) categorically stated that “social networking and social media use have often been interchangeable in the scientific literature, but, they are not same” Also, they stated that “Facebook addiction is only one example of SNS addiction.”

I would suggest some type of delay mechanism that the user can adjust, say from 5 minutes to 24 hours. A simple time delay can provide a new perspective on the desired object. It may simply not appear as attractive after a short wait.

The sharp economic downturn and turmoil in the financial markets, commonly referred to as the “global financial crisis,” has spawned an impressive outpouring of blame. The efficient market hypothesis (EMH)—the idea that competitive financial markets exploit all available information when setting security prices—has been singled out for particular attention. Like all successful theories, the EMH has major limitations, even as it continues to provide the foundation for not only past accomplishment, but future advances in the field of finance.

Despite the theory's undoubted limitations, the claim that it is responsible for the current worldwide crisis seems wildly exaggerated. This essay shows the misreading of the theory and logical inconsistencies involved in popular arguments that EMH played a significant role in (1) the formation of the real estate and stock market bubbles, (2) investment practitioners' miscalculation of risks, and (3) the failure of regulators to recognize the bubbles and avert the crisis. At the same time, the author argues that the collapse of Lehman Brothers and other large financial institutions, far from resulting from excessive faith in efficient markets, reflects a failure to heed the lessons of efficient markets. In the author's words, “To me, Lehman's demise conclusively demonstrates that, in a competitive capital market, if you take massive risky positions financed with extraordinary leverage, you are bound to lose big one day—no matter how large and venerable you are.”

Finally, behavioral finance, widely considered as challenging and even supplanting efficient markets theory, is viewed in this article as complementing if not reinforcing efficient markets theory. As the author says, “it takes a theory to beat a theory.” Behavioralism, for all its important contributions to finance literature, is described as not a theory but rather “a collection of ideas and results”— one that depends for its existence on the theory of efficient markets.... Ball, R. (2009). The global financial crisis and the efficient market hypothesis: what have we learned?. Journal of Applied Corporate Finance, 21(4), 8-16.

It's true! Please see the following RG link.

I took the survey to help. A good piece of work!

I think addictions treatment should not just focus on the old model of abstinence and 12 steps. There are many newer techniques including acupuncture and holistic approaches which should be integrated into the treatment protocol. The old approach of "confront, confront..." does not work with every addict. Use of the "Stages for Change" model ( Prochaska and DiClemente) along with a full blown assessment of where the client is and their support system and beliefs is vital.

I click 'recommend' and 'follow' after I read/quote other scholars paper/journal to acknowledge their work and it is politely means I thank you to them for sharing the ideas/information plus I wanted to know what on their next research for me to keep learning. Except for those doesn't wish their paper to be acknowledged via Research Gate.

You can use OpenDNS Family Shield - can block categories and individual websites at the router level. It is free.

Giovanni Portuesi & Duane A Lundervold great! Definitely good articles are needed! Will be happy to provide more details if needed!

Generally speaking musicians are no different to other professionals working in creative or stressful (performance) settings and so their health education requirements will be little different and should cover issues such as

- mind/body interaction

- stress and its management

- healthy lifestyle

- mental health

- help seeking

- etc etc

However, there may be one or two very specific issues

- e.g. specific stresses of performance e.g. critical solos. Mindfulness or cognitive approaches, exercise, yoga etc could all be helpful

- working in orchestras etc with strong personalities, dealing with demanding colleagues - materials on dealing the difficult people work well

- hearing damage from exposure to peak noise from instruments such as brass

I would suggest the best approach is a quick literature review, consultation with colleagues (you have many experts in regional universities), and then a brainstorm of the musician specific issues. In combination this should give you a good platform. Finally I should add that mention should be made of the health benefits of music participation as this is also an important aspect.

Addiction may begin with attitudes towards addiction in early years. There was a time when, e.g., the Swedish king asked people to grow their own tobacco in their gardens! Here our take on attitudes in schools:

In his classic book, The Theory and Practice of Group Psychotherapy, Yalom (2005) discussed internet support groups and their effectiveness. These groups can "take the form of synchronous, real-time groups...or asynchronous groups, in which members post messages and comments, like a bulletin board." (p. 520). These groups can be professionally directed or self-directed.

There is a Single Case Archive at http://singlecasearchive.com/

Rutgers University has a Pragmatic Case Archives at http://pcsp.libraries.rutgers.edu/index.php/pcsp/issue/archive

Non parametric ANOVA

In places of acceptance of using narcan in addiction treatment narcan  may well be administered by a lay person. Regulations and laws seem to vary widely among countries.  The availability of nasal  administration may help.   

In a far as  attitudes may possibly impact rebound , yes to your question, but location or administrator credentials would obviously not impact the chemistry. Earlier timing may in effect  be life saving..

There is excellent research on neural and pharmacological aspects of addiction. please see proceedings of last three years of addiction therapy and education conferences by OMICS  

Dear Julio, 

links on nail biting: 

most important and relevant for psychotherapy is discovery of neuroplasticity in neuroscience-refers to capacity of the brain to make changes in its own internal biology  as part of any learning experience-and principles which govern these changes-  you can find references to research in the book by Dr. James Zull,THEART OF CHANGING THE BRAIN, and my book, NEUROPLASTICITY-BIOLOGYOF PSYCHOTHERAPY..

We looked at the problem of how to average relative performance across different objects in these publications:

I'd probably recommend looking at material that discusses harm reduction in the context of substance abuse, as that tends to focus on empowering drug users so that they can identify risk and try to minimise it in their drug-taking behaviour. The harm reduction approach also makes it easier for people to slowly access recovery/rehabilitation services on their own time, empowering them to make their own decisions about what is right for them and when.

Some articles that may be a useful starting point:

Substance abuse professionals attitudes regarding harm reduction versus traditional interventions for injecting drug users. Bonar, Erin E. ; Rosenberg, Harold. Addiction Research & Theory, 2010, Vol.18(6), p.692-707.

Empowering the disempowered: harm reduction with racial/ethnic minority clients. Blume, Arthur W. ; Lovato, Laura V. Marlatt, G. Alan ; Tatarsky, Andrew. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 2010, Vol.66(2), pp.189-200

Harm reduction by a “user-run” organization: A case study of the Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users (VANDU). Kerr, Thomas ; Small, Will ; Peeace, Wallace ; Douglas, David ; Pierre, Adam ; Wood, Evan. International Journal of Drug Policy, 2006, Vol.17(2), pp.61-69

Dear Austin,

The Addiction Severity Index - ASI (McLellan, 1980) is a semi-structured interview for substance abuse assessment and treatment planning.

Milton Erickson used metaphors in his naturalistic hypnosis to control severe pain.

 Dear Beatrice,

Thank you for your answer. I have met the Norwegian Group but not the paper from Belgium. 

A helpful resource is a book entitled, "The Heart and Soul of Change" edited by Duncan, Miller, Wampold, & Hubble (2010). The editors and contributors make a compelling case that common factors (e.g., therapeutic relationship/alliance, collaboration in goal setting, hope, empathy, etc.) are far more important than specific factors (i.e., techniques and interventions associated with treatment models such as CBT, MI, or 12 Step Facilitation). A chapter devoted to substance abuse and dependence treatment summarizes research from Project MATCH, COMBINE, and the Cannabis Youth Treatment Study and conclude, essentially, that all treatments are equally effective. My takeaway - Treatment effectiveness hinges less on which treatment is provided and more on establishing a collaborative relationship, seeking feedback about the effectiveness of interventions, and altering the treatment course based on the feedback.

Hi Christine,

In addition to the AA (Alcoholic Anonymous) model and the CBT (Cognitive-behavioral therapy) approaches to the treatment of substance-related disorders, there are strengths-based approaches such as motivational interviewing (MI) and solution-focused brief therapy (SFBT), etc. They attempt to elicit the client's motivation, cooperation, and strengths from the very beginning in the treatment process. Please see the following links.

Perhaps it is all very simple - people would not take drugs if the drugs did not make them "feel better" when they take them (conditioning/learning). If that is so then these people (who take drugs) do so to experience positive emotions and avoid negative emotions. Our brains are wired in such a way as the ensure our survival (and the survival of the species) by maximising positive (feeling good) emotions and minimising negative (feeling bad) emotions. Perhaps at the end of the day it is all about conditioning - and not necessarily a "medical" (illness) condition. Comments?

Thank you Margaret.

The students I am referring are in a safe collegiate recovery program that includes a residence hall that is substance free. They are all in recovery and are required to attend meetings and have a sponsor. I am searching for evidence-based research that supports the requirements or presents alternative evidence.

Thanks Prof  Lewis，Prof  Susana  and Prof John！

Hi Catalin, 

Your question is very thoughtful. Researchers studying behavioral economics have indeed tried to address more of the "mathematical" nature behind the problem. The idea of probabilistic discounting is in line with what you are proposing, I think. Check out the attached article. I would also make the argument that behavior analysts strongly emphasize the importance of the person's environment or the nature of the games. 

Thanks gals and guys!

Dear Farimah,

     I have published a number of papers on this subject.  I have attached one.  Others are posted at www.williamwhitepapers.com

Bill

Maybe this will also help: http://www.diapedia.org/metabolism/brain-glucose-metabolism they say: ~100 g/day of glucose in a 70 kg individual. No direct mention of linearity but you might find something in their references

Since you are not one of the PIs could you forward this question to someone who can answer it?

I worked voluntarily with an adult chronic alcoholic when the services seemed to fail him and attitudes in the hospitals etc were harmful. I simply worked a motivational program whereby he felt it safe to move from behind the mask of addiction. Harrowing but sober now eight years.

There have been a number of studies by various governments around the world on the effects of media upon sexual acting out that have shown that there is no relationship between pornography consumption and sexually acting out. There is a United States government study on violence in the media and engaging in violence that has had the same result. It seems as thought there is a barrier within some people about acting out their desires/interests and others who will violate that proclivity. We know very little about that difference. 

The National Scientific Council on the Developing Child is a working group based at Harvard doing extensive work in examining resilience for adverse childhood events in general.  This includes the chaotic home environments that can be experienced by children of parents with substance use issues, rather than specific adverse experiences.  The research focuses on the mechanisms of resilience and how to promote resilience in children; however, the findings are equally relevent for adults.  

Individuals need strong social interaction, coping and stress management skill sets, as well as warm, supportive relationships to navigate life and thrive. Individuals growing up in homes with substance abuse and many other parental challenges often do not receive adequate warmth and nurturing within their family of origin because of the ways that parental substance use alter family systems.  Adaptive social interaction and coping skills are frequently absent in adult children of substance users as well, as the opportunities to learn those skills from parents can be infrequent or absent.  

Through supportive mentoring relationships through work, education, softball leagues, what have you, as well as counseling and various other experiences adults can build these skills and capacities over time and be resilient.

You could try using the Treatment Motivation Questionnaire (Ryan, Plant 1995) It was normed on a community sample of adult drinkers and divides motivation into several domains; internal motivation, external motivation, confidence and help seeking

Seeking Safety, a book by Lisa Najavits, if definitely worth checking out if you haven't already. The book specifically addresses substance abuse/PTSD co-occurrence and suggested treatment. 

I dont know if this is of much help. I was part in putting out a special issue of Nordic Journal of Alcohol and Drug. It is social Scientific scholars that writes in the special issue... Here is a link to the issue:

There is a dearth of outcome data for all treatment modalities for all substance use disorders.  That said, the general consensus of clinicians IN THE UNITED STATES is against substitution (medication) therapy for stimulants (cocaine, methamphetamine, methylphenidate, d-amphetimine, a-amphetimine, dextroamphetamine, e.g. all DOPAMINE upregulators).  [In response to Dr. Rich's comment, I think the original question was aimed at stopping individuals from using methamphetamine using non-medicinal means.  Yes methamphetamine can induce psychosis, but clinicians can stop this not by treating psychosis directly but by trying to get meth users to stop using it.]  So, for clinicians wanting to take an abstinence-based approach, it seems that "talk therapy" like CBT and support-group therapy like 12-step programs (NA, AA, CA, etc) have shown success - but only anecdotally - we don't really know how effective these modalities are and for which patients they work, and how well they work, in achieving long-term remission from methamphetamine (stimulant) use disorders.  I think that, like with all substance use disorders, the best results will be obtained by keeping patients in long-term outpatient treatment following intensive residential treatment.  As Dr. Buttfield said "support" is the key, whatever the particular structure of a pt's aftercare plan.  Given how little real outcome data we have, the best strategy is probably to apply all available treatment modalities and hope that something helps.  But the *anecdotal* results so far are not terribly encouraging; most pts with stimulant use disorders have great difficulty achieving remission for any meaningful period of time.  In other words, the average Px for a pt presenting with stimulant use disorder is not terribly auspicious.  

For now, it seems that the only two viable non-medicinal treatments are direct therapy (CBT or otherwise) and mutual support therapy (12 step or other group therapy approaches).  I really hope that more treatment modalities will be developed for patients suffering from stimulant use disorder.  Remember also that most SUD patients have high comorbidity with other psychiatric disorders (which contribute to the difficulty of achieving absence/remission) -- it is important to Dx and Tx these as well as SUD itself.  

A final comment on the Karila et al article cited above, which reviews medicinal/pharmacological Tx (Rx) treatments.  There are really three types of strategies in medication, and I think it is important to categorize potential medications as such (1) "blockers" - e.g. medications that stop the stimulant from acting, such as naltrexone.  The problem with naltrexone, which works very well with both opioids and alcohol and has shown promise with stimulants, is PATIENT NON-COMPLIANCE.  Patients may take the medication during a study, but often will stop in conjunction with resuming use.  As such, it is not really a treatment, except in long-acting forms such as the monthly IV injection of naltrexone (Vivitrol in the US, manufactured by Alkermes).  The problem with this, again, is that patients will often decline to take medication that blocks the psychoactive effects of the substance they want to use.  Blocking strategies have had weak results so far EXCEPT in conjunction with rigorous aftercare programs, such as those required of physicians in recovery and pharmacists in recovery.

 (2) "Mitigating medications".  In my opinion, these show the most promise.  Bupropion, for example, is a very WEAK stimulant (and antidepressant and anxiolytic in some patients) - and if it can provide enough dopamine/norepinephrine/adrenaline upregulation that a patient will resist the urge to use a much stronger stimulant, then it is BY FAR a better alternative 

(3) substitution (harm reduction).  As Karila et al note, substitution with d-amphetamine, a STRONG stimulant, logically shows promise.  However, as with any substitution strategy, the patient remains dependent on a substitute stimulant with dangerous morbidity - but which may arguably be substantially less harmful than dependence on methamphetamine.  The Karila review, written in 2010, concludes "Despite the lack of success in most studies to date, increasing efforts are being made to develop medications for the treatment of methamphetamine dependence and several promising agents are targets of further research."  I am unaware of any such compounds emerging as likely candidates for medicinal treatment in the past several years.  

Furthermore, LONG-TERM COMPLIANCE is something that is rarely studied in the RCTs cited by Karila.  Unfortunately, there seems to be an inverse relationship between the effectiveness (measured in terms of pt quality of life) and pt compliance on medication.  With a blocking strategy, you get LOW LONG TERM COMPLIANCE, and with a strong-substitution strategy, you get much higher compliance (naturally) but then you are really just switching the patient from methamphetamine to a stimulant with less deleterious effects, while you try to keep the dose at a steady level (very difficult given rapid tolerance and relatively flat dose-response curves of many stimulant-substitution alternatives).  I am personally (subjectively) much more optimistic about opioid substitution therapy than I am about stimulant substation therapy for that reason -- but I have no data to  back up this conjecture.  

I tend to agree with Aida in that both the PANSS & BPRS are used to determine the severity of symptoms that are present when the tests are being administered. In my opinion, retrospective use of these tests based on recall should not be used as this will lead to a lot of ambiguity and patients might not necessarily be able to recall all aspects of what these questionnaires seek to determine.

Dear James,

Neurobiol Learn Mem. 1995 Mar;63(2):116-32.

Spatial working and reference memory in rats bred for autonomic sensitivity to cholinergic stimulation: acquisition, accuracy, speed, and effects of cholinergic drugs. Bushnell PJ, Levin ED, Overstreet DH.

....This study was conducted to determine whether the selected differences in cholinergic autonomic sensitivity would be expressed as differences in cognitive ability based on choice accuracy in appetitive tasks. The working and reference memory of rats of these two strains was thus assessed using operant delayed matching-to-position/visual discrimination (DMTP/VD) and the radial-arm maze. A Long-Evans (L-E) reference group was included in the DMTP/VD study.----

J Exp Anal Behav. 2014 Nov;102(3):346-52. .

Responding by exclusion in Wistar rats in a simultaneous visual discrimination task. Felipe de Souza M, Schmidt A.

Selective cognitive deficits in adult rats after prenatal exposure to inhaled ethanol. shiro WM et al. 2014

The effects of acute pharmacological stimulation of the 5-HT, NA and DA systems on the cognitive judgement bias of rats in the ambiguous-cue interpretation paradigm. ygula R, Papciak J, Popik P. ur Neuropsychopharmacol. 2014 Jul;24(7):1103-11

I am strongly agree with the answers/discussions of Prof.Mahmoud Omid, Prof.Krishnan Umachandran, & Prof.Kamal Eddin Bani-Hani. 

Hi Henrik,

Perhaps you could consider the use of psychoactive substances in a hedonic management point of view. This means that the use of substances is considered in a hedonic management system, among other means of hedonic management that are competing in the system. If we consider the whole range of addictions, with or without substances (behavioral addictions), and interpersonal addictions, it is clear that the use of psychoactive substances is an addiction among others.

From there, it is possible to analyze the hedonic management system of the individual and its dynamics over time. Conventionally, three parameters can be considered:

These three parameters are used to describe two extreme theoretical hedonic systems:

Note: In this model, the addictions are considered on a continuum between pathological addictions (extreme) and non-pathological addictions (even positive), everyday life addictions.

From such a model, one can easily imagine, in the context of a non-pathological hedonic system, various recreational or controlled uses of psychoactive substances, when an individual also presents a varied hedonic system and a flexibility and adaptability in the functioning of this system.

Eric

There seems to be such a set for smoking cues, which also includes

tested neutral pictures:

series (with neutral counterparts), version 1.2. Carbondale, Integrative

Neuroscience Laboratory, Department of Psychology, Southern Illinois

University.

For drinking/alcohol there is a specific set called "The

Geneva Appetitive Alcohol Pictures" (GAAP), as described in Billieux et al. (2011). The pictures are avaiable in the Supplementary Material of the Publication on the original publisher's website (http://www.karger.com/Article/FullText/328046).

Stritzke et al. (2004) is another interesting paper about such drinking and smoking cues from what the authors call the "Normative Appetitive Picture System". However, I found no newer information about this system or how you get access to the picture set.

Additionally, you could of course use pictures from the International

Affective Pictures System (IAPS) (Lang et al., 2008), which have been used in lots of different experiments. But you would have to go through the set and see how many of them you can use. You will not be able to use many of them, but a few could be interesting for your project.

You can find a link to send in a request to get access to the IAPS pictures

here: http://csea.phhp.ufl.edu/Media.html#topmedia

References:

I don't see that there is a problem per- sae with using CTB. Cognitive types of therapy can be quite the useful adjunct to JUST substance abuse/psycho- educations, and traditional dependency therapies--including medicinal therapies. I very much prefer to use an eclectic approach to treat ANY types of dependencies, including challenging thought process', because it helps to get to the surface core of triggers, and thinking that leads to behaviors, that lead to using once again

Thanks for listening

Donna

Davis et al. (2002) revealed that problematic Internet use consists of four dimensions: diminished impulse control, loneliness/depression, social comfort, and distraction

Young (1996) found that Internet use in dependents caused moderate to severe problems in their real lives due to their inability to moderate and control use. Yet,  internet itself is not revealed to be addictive. Dependents were less likely to control their use of highly interactive features than other on-line applications. It is possible that the reinforcement of virtual contact with on-line relationships fulfill unmet real life social needs.

Both researcher stress diminished impulse control and loneliness. Young stresses the clinical aspects of the addiction. She and coworkers study (2014) prefrontal control and internet addiction: a theoretical model and review of neuropsychological and neuroimaging findings.

Front Hum Neurosci. ;8:375. (Brand M, Young KS, Laier C3.)

Young et al. put forward that in particular executive control prefrontal functions are related to symptoms of Internet addiction.

Since there are many theories on internet addiction I recommend you to check out an overview such as:

Effect of social support on depression of internet addicts and the mediating role of loneliness. He F, Zhou Q, Li J, Cao R, Guan H. Int J Ment Health Syst. 2014

Internet addiction in young people. Ong SH, Tan YR. Ann Acad Med Singapore. 2014 Jul;43(7):378-82.

Internet Addiction among Iranian Adolescents: a Nationwide Study. Ahmadi K. Acta Med Iran. 2014 Jun;52(6):467-72.

Comorbidity of psychiatric disorders with Internet addiction in a clinical sample: The effect of personality, defense style and psychopathology. Floros G, Siomos K, Stogiannidou A, Giouzepas I, Garyfallos G. Addict Behav. 2014 Aug 8;39(12):1839-1845

There is no date. You can use it and write n.d. instaed of the year.

Dear Jarmila,

I have only used a German translation of the Scala of Farrington to identify the Stockholm syndrome, to evaluate identifications with the aggressor in case reports.

greetings

Egon

Dear Tobias,

Empirical date demonstrate that controlled relapse is a rare exception. A relapse leads to an increasing craving for alcohol and to an accelerated development of addiction. Alcohol addiction is a chronically relapsing disorder characterized by loss of control over intake and dysregulation of stress-related brain emotional systems.

look at:

1: Hopf FW, Lesscher HM. Rodent models for compulsive alcohol intake. Alcohol.

2014 May;48(3):253-264. doi: 10.1016/j.alcohol.2014.03.001. Epub 2014 Mar 27.

Review. PubMed PMID: 24731992.

2: Zorrilla EP, Logrip ML, Koob GF. Corticotropin releasing factor: a key role in

the neurobiology of addiction. Front Neuroendocrinol. 2014 Apr;35(2):234-44. doi:

10.1016/j.yfrne.2014.01.001. Epub 2014 Jan 20. Review. PubMed PMID: 24456850.

3: Gilpin NW. Corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) and neuropeptide Y (NPY):

effects on inhibitory transmission in central amygdala, and anxiety- &

alcohol-related behaviors. Alcohol. 2012 Jun;46(4):329-37. doi:

10.1016/j.alcohol.2011.11.009. Epub 2012 May 4. Review. PubMed PMID: 22560367;

PubMed Central PMCID: PMC3613993.

4: Logrip ML, Koob GF, Zorrilla EP. Role of corticotropin-releasing factor in

drug addiction: potential for pharmacological intervention. CNS Drugs. 2011

Apr;25(4):271-87. doi: 10.2165/11587790-000000000-00000. Review. PubMed PMID:

21425881; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC3273042.

5: Koob GF. The role of CRF and CRF-related peptides in the dark side of

addiction. Brain Res. 2010 Feb 16;1314:3-14. doi: 10.1016/j.brainres.2009.11.008.

Epub 2009 Nov 11. Review. PubMed PMID: 19912996; PubMed Central PMCID:

PMC2819562.

6: Koob GF. Brain stress systems in the amygdala and addiction. Brain Res. 2009

Oct 13;1293:61-75. doi: 10.1016/j.brainres.2009.03.038. Epub 2009 Mar 28. Review.

PubMed PMID: 19332030; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC2774745.

greetings

Egon

Routines and addictions share a degree of automaticity, but the latter are highly motivated habits that can become compulsive. Thus, brushing your teeth is a routine, but this does not activate neural reward circuitry in the mesolimbic dopaminergic system and orbital frontal cortex (unless your toothpaste has some unusual added ingredients). One major theory ( Robinson & Berridge's 1993 incentivisation model) posits that stimuli present when rewards are evoked acquire motivational properties (ie, become incentives) through classical conditioning. These become salient, grab attention and contribute to cycles of compulsive drug use or gambling. By virtue of repetition this becomes increasingly automatic- as indeed is attentional engagement- and evades cognitive control. Moreover, the reward sensitivity is enduring and contributes to relapse after abstinence.

See also Everitt & Robbins aberrant learning theory for an alternative account of the acquisition of compulsive drug seeking behaviour.

It's hard to add something new to the discussion after all these great comments, but I'd like to say that most of the problems related to internet addiction seem to be consistent with any other abuse or obsesive behaviour, as Tomislav suggested. I'm not a psychologist or a physician, but I feel that most of the problems in internet users are related to previous conditions and are a new expression for an old problem.

Internet is a somehow easy way to "escape" from reality (via forums, social networks, etc., where you can be who you want to be), it allows easy denial from your common life; but that's something that could be done with other media and/or addictions.

I certainly feel that some people is really obsessed with internet (e.g. always connected and mobile-dependant even when socializing with people), but I'm not completely sure if that's just bad-manners or real addiction; maybe a bit of both. It's sad, but I also hope that the "novelty" is making the problem more relevant socially (and in the media) than it really is. Maybe when (and if) people grow tired of this "always online" style of life and the sense of novelty fades, the apparent addiction will be reduced so that it'd easier to detect "real" addiction. I find strange that some people can't understand that I switch off my phone when I want to: as I tell them, I own the phone and not vice versa. Maybe I'm weird, but I choose when I want to be connected, to read an email...

Also, I think that it might be useful to relate this internet addiction to videogames addiction and other abusive behaviours within the entertainment & technology industries: I'm guessing that there will be common patterns within the affected people (maybe strong introversion, depression, etc.) and that these technologies give them some kind of (fake) relief, as other addictions would do.

P.S. Sorry for my English.

Check Dr. Kevin Harrigan' s articles on this topic.

It depends on how you define addiction. If you mean only those things that cause biochemical withdrawal symptoms when they are removed (a narrow but popular definition), then most food products don't fit in that definition. However, if you consider the broader definition of addition - repeatedly doing something even though it may cause harm, then food addition is a valid concept.

Some people have narrowly defined food addition as "binge eating", but that is quite a narrow definition. Assuming you agree with the definition of repeatedly doing something although it may cause harm, then "Food addition" could range from binge eating to constant eating to overeating certain foods to craving and eating only the same narrow set of foods over and over. Each of those can be destructive behaviors but result in different consequences from bulimia to obesity to chronic malnutrition.

The following are some scenarios of "food addition" - people may agree with some and disagree with others.

A obese person who overeats at every meal.

A vegetarian who only eats salads.

A "cookie monster" who just can't stop eating cookies until the whole bag or batch is gone.

A pregnant woman with pica.

A binge eater who then throws up after eating.

I can think of many other scenarios, but what is key here are 2 things we have to remember.

1) These are all disorders that can be dealt with through various means including education or intervention with therapy, drugs, surgery.

2) Each of them represents a unique individual with a unique set of physiological and psychological differences that must be considered in order for the so-called "addiction" to be modified or stopped.

We also have to be careful that we don't label things we don't agree with as "addiction". For example, I frequently hear people talk about how bad a "diet soda addiction" is. This is an example of "I don't LIKE what you are doing so I will give it a negative label". Drinking diet soda is not an addiction, most science shows no harm from drinking low calorie soft drinks. Many people believe overindulgence in diet soft drinks may be harmful, but generally there is no evidence that shows they are in and of themselves harmful. Thus, drinking diet soft drinks does not meet the definition of an addiction.

Impact factor has become a specialized term for rating the professional journals. The question may be re-framed replacing impact factor with some other suitable words.

Vicarious trauma is something which has recently (last 10 years or so) received more attention by researchers. Within the counselling field, it is recognised as a potential occupational hazard by those working with end of life patients or victims of trauma and/or abuse. I don't believe it is fully recognised within research design as the ethical guidelines for psychological research tend to focus on client safety rather than researcher safety, making the assumption that researchers have a duty of care to themselves. Unfortunately, I think it is pretty well impossible to know as you go into research within traumatic areas, how it will affect you, and the working assumption for most people is that they will be fine. It therefore comes as a bit of a shock to discover that things are not fine, and more difficult to determine what to do about it, as the trauma does have an impact. I agree with Robert that ethical committees really should consider this aspect of the research when considering ethical approval.

A useful paper to read is "Compassion Stress and the Qualitative Researcher" by Kathleen B. Rager, Qualitative Health Research, March 2005, 423-430. For a good general description of the different forms of emotional impact, I would recommend "Compassion Fatigue: Are you at risk?" by Nancy Jo Bush, in Oncology Nursing Forum, Vol. 36, No.1, January 2009. Here she differentiates between compassion fatigue, vicarious trauma, secondary traumatic stress and burnout, which can all be aspects generally described by people as vicarious trauma.

In terms of what to do about it, the main thing is simply to talk about it with someone who can listen and help you to explore what it is that has been triggered for you emotionally and physically, and how your view of the world has changed. This could be through supervision or with a counsellor or therapist with experience of dealing with trauma. Whilst journalling can help, there is the danger of being re-traumatised as you simply relive rather than transform the experience.

As well as dealing with whatever incident has triggered the reaction, it is also important to put in place things to prevent it happening again. The standard approach to this is to have a debriefing process either through talking with someone after concluding research interviews or transcriptions or through journalling, so that you can leave the material behind. It is also important to ensure there is plenty going on socially and personally as well as within the research work, so that there is balance in life and not too much focus on work.

Perhaps it is comforting to know that the reason it is often called compassion fatigue is because it can be a result of simply caring so much about the people being researched or supported, that the empathic connection becomes overloaded. Part of being able to work in these areas is creating a system of self-protection that allows the connection without the overload, and part of doing that is through your own reflection on your experience.

I hope this helps and good luck with your research!

Here I share my vision on the subject: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8P89bRGVgz8&feature=plcp

I hope it helps