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Do I Have an Addictive Personality?

addictive personality

You may fear that you have an addictive personality but what is an addictive personality, exactly? Is this why you consume too much coffee, love your favorite band too much, or worry that when you drink alcohol, you won’t be able to stop? Learning the signs of an addictive personality can help, as can contacting A Better State online or calling us at 781.412.1488 today to learn about our addiction treatment program and how it may be able to help you recover from an addiction.

What Is an Addictive Personality?

Everyone has interests and passions. But at what points does that passion begin to overtake your life, school, work, and other responsibilities? What are the signs of an addictive personality, and when does it become a problem that needs treatment?

Addiction can take many forms, including:

  • Eating
  • Drinking or drug use
  • Gambling
  • Playing video games
  • Social media
  • Sex
  • Shopping

Although an addictive personality is not a diagnosable disease, there are ways to manage these kinds of addictions.

What Are the Signs of an Addictive Personality?

While it is generally healthy to have a keen interest in or derive intense pleasure from certain activities, both passive and active, key traits can be recognized in people who have a higher risk of becoming addicted to substances or activities. While most people can engage in moderate behavior, people with an addictive personality and a higher addiction risk include those who are:

  • Related to others with an addiction
  • Experiencing mental health conditions like PTSD, depression, or bipolar disorder
  • Adventurous and risk-taking
  • Disconnected, cautious, and anxious
  • Obsessive, compulsive, and impulsive
  • Depressed or apathetic
  • Unable to self-regulate

A person with an addictive personality may not experience all these signs, but will likely experience several and to varying degrees of intensity. Learning to recognize them for what they are is key to finding the right treatment.

Do You Have an Addictive Personality?

Do you recognize any of the signs of addictive personality above? Or, have your friends and family been making comments about the intensity of your interest in activities, hobbies, and passions? Have you ever wondered if there is more to your behavior? You may have an addictive personality. While that in and of itself isn’t necessarily dangerous or a bad thing, addiction is a disease and a serious mental illness that requires professional treatment and strong, caring support to overcome. Knowing what is an addictive personality and being about to identify the signs of an addictive personality in yourself or those close to you may help save a life.

The Dangerous Need for Stimulation

One other sign of an addictive personality is the need for constituent stimulation. People who are generally restless and crave excitement may develop an addictive personality over time. The same is true of those who act impulsively without considering the consequences of their actions or who they will impact. Poor impulse control breeds an insatiable quest for newness, which may lead to potentially risky new habits and behaviors, some of which could become addictive, such as doing drugs to relax, replacing intimacy and love with sex, eating for comfort, needing to drink to be social, and spending money to make yourself feel better in the moment.

Learn More at A Better State

People with addictive personalities are sometimes the last people to see it. The keys to overcoming addiction are acknowledging it, finding and addressing the core problem, and learning how to stop or manage it. A professional addiction treatment program can help on all fronts. Contact us using our secure online form or call us at 781.412.1488 today to see if you show signs of an addictive personality and if you are in danger of that addiction taking over your life.