Is there a difference between addiction & habit?

[Professor]

What do you think is the difference & why?

[Professor]

引用自 Devsman's Comet：

引用自 Professor：

If addiction is a medical condition, then how can we explain our addiction/habit for FOOD & SLEEP?

Also a medical condition.

Yes it can be, but that is excess or gluttony for food & sleep. A well known saying comes to mind "everything in moderation" And I agree that anything beyond that can be corrected with professional help. However once someone reaches a point of loosing control of any habit or addiction then the urge to correct the balance drives hard to make a change. We either seek external help or find it within ourselves to make a difference.

[Triple G]

引用自 Professor：

That is were we are all free to cross the line into excess or deficiency. The balance between the 2 (habit & addiction) is certainly a line that defines any difference of opinion & that is what really matters.

I think everything is ok, as long as the people are ok with it. If they have problems with their habits, or addictions, it may be a problem. But as long as they enjoy their time, everything is fine. It´s their body, their time, their health. I don´t feel like i have the right to interfere with it.

Here we have our health care, so some people might be against certain things, as it costs money, but in my opinion, if one chooses to go that route, we would need to make it so, that every single person would need to be required to live a 100% healthy life according to the scientific consensus - which is probably not something anyone who likes freedom would want.

引用自 Irene ❤：

Example :
He has a habit to go to work early (Do and Repeat)
He is not addicted to go to work.

So the theory "addiction is an exaggeration from habit." is false.

He is probably dependent to go to work, with fixed working hours. So the theory that "dependency is an exaggeration from habit" is false. And if he just goes early to work for the sake of it, and can´t change that habit - it´s not called addiction in that case, but there´s probably another medical term for it. Something like obsessive-compulsive disorder.

引用自 Irene ❤：

Making thousands every hour, he is addicted to going to work early (Do and want to do)
He does not have the habit to go to work early. Sometimes he wakes up late.

So the theory "Addiction is something you must do" is false.

If it´s about work it´s called workaholism, but it counts as kind of addiction. People who are obsessed with doing work, till they burn out. Success. Success. And Money. Money. And purpose in life, while doing any work is seen as "good" by the majority. Take some drugs, so You don´t need to sleep that often, but instead be more productive. Do sports, so You´re 100% healthy to be more productive. Take any work with is offered to You. Don´t relax. Time is money. Karōshi.

[Professor]

引用自 Eira ❄：

引用自 Professor：

Perhaps you are making a lot more sense than what I am reading. I like your analogy & am in favour of how you are describing it. If you can see that eating is more of an addiction, which is what you said, then surely sleeping is more closely aligned with addiction rather than habit. They are both needed for well-being & survival & the way you define them is very interesting. I am intrigued to know more about your interpretation of the difference between them :)

Hmm well honestly my brain is kinda foggy right now so what I'm gonna say might not make any sense at all whatsoever. But think of it this way- you need certain (amounts of) food and sleep everyday, yes? Now the habit part comes in (for the sleeping and eating aspect at least) in forms that you may prefer to do the said activities in a particular way at particular times. Addiction kicks in when you do it too much, right?

Like, if you drink once glass of wine before bed everyday, that's a habit. But if you're getting straight up smashed on strong booze, that makes it an addiction issue, right? Keeping that in mind, eating n sleeping are both limited to habits if you at least stick to a limit/routine, But it becomes addiction-like if you're doing way too much.

引用自 Professor：

Why is eating more of an addiction & sleeping more of a habit?

And I did say eating Tends to be more of an addiction compared to sleeping because addictions are usually detrimental to our health (physical/mental/emotional/spiritual/financial). I'll say it again, both are caused by some pre-existing mental health issues, but from my experience at least, the eating aspect spirals WAY quicker than the sleeping one.

What you are saying makes a lot of sense & I do agree with you. Limit & routine is the key to striking an even balance as you have said, however when we change the dynamics to suggest that breathing or expelling toxins from the body, do we or can we associate this with habit, addiction as a necessity? What I think you are saying is that moderation is the difference between too much & not enough.

No...dependency is not an aggregation of habit, dependency is something we rely on where habit is simply the things that makes us feel better. The point of contradiction is that of knowing the difference between what is needed over what is wanted. So I come back to the statement of "addiction being an excess to habit" as TRIPLE G said.

It is difficult to distinguish between the two but I can agree that habit & addiction are very closely associated.

[Ruckman_Void]

Addiction will involve some kind of withdrawal symptoms and obsessing about the THING

Also, addiction is where the habit / associated behaviours (like getting the THING) interferes with your life

So I believe

[Professor]

引用自 Ruckman_Void：

Addiction will involve some kind of withdrawal symptoms and obsessing about the THING

Also, addiction is where the habit / associated behaviours (like getting the THING) interferes with your life

So I believe

Sure it can be, but what if we apply any habit or addiction to wants & needs then we are all facing the same thing. Addiction is easily associated with excess, such as work, gym, sport, food or sleep. It is a performance that yields certain result that makes it addictive & easily becomes habit. My suggestion is that there is no difference between habit or addiction, as certain things become a method of survival & feeling good about it.

[Professor]

引用自 Triple G：

So the theory "Addiction is something you must do" is false.

Not necessarily as addiction is certainly only an extension of habit. What is necessary is food & sleep but can we really call it habit?. NO it is simply required for existence & whether that is habit or addiction is consequential to existing. If habit is eating then we must do it regardless of addiction. In some sense addiction is habit & vise versa. The only possible difference is excess or gluteny for survival .

In saying that it would seem to make sense that we have needs & wants & the only measure of survival sits between habit & addiction. Addiction seems to be necessary for survival but habit is something we develop over time that makes addiction a necessary habit.

[Xero_Daxter]

I have a habit of punching my pillow but I’m not addicted to punching my pillow.

[Triple G]

引用自 Professor：

...

Just want to add, that i didn´t say that. Somehow she deleted that post. I don´t know exactly why, as i had seen it as a bad example on purpose. As kind of being funny, while i thought it would be funny to seriously respond to it, because she "attacked" "the theory". While i had to be creative, because it´s sometimes hard to draw a clear line between things and definitions - and it perhaps doesn´t work with everything the same way. But in most cases it´s enough to know the general meaning, so everyone knows what we talk about.

[////]

you organize your habits, addiction organizes you.

[Professor]

引用自 Triple G：

引用自 Professor：

...

Just want to add, that i didn´t say that. Somehow she deleted that post. I don´t know exactly why, as i had seen it as a bad example on purpose. As kind of being funny, while i thought it would be funny to seriously respond to it, because she "attacked" "the theory". While i had to be creative, because it´s sometimes hard to draw a clear line between things and definitions - and it perhaps doesn´t work with everything the same way. But in most cases it´s enough to know the general meaning, so everyone knows what we talk about.

good point & we can not speak or surmise over other peoples actions other than our own. But yes I do agree & can not find any alternative to your original statement "addiction being an excess to habit"

[Ruckman_Void]

引用自 Professor：

引用自 Ruckman_Void：

Addiction will involve some kind of withdrawal symptoms and obsessing about the THING

Also, addiction is where the habit / associated behaviours (like getting the THING) interferes with your life

So I believe

Sure it can be, but what if we apply any habit or addiction to wants & needs then we are all facing the same thing. Addiction is easily associated with excess, such as work, gym, sport, food or sleep. It is a performance that yields certain result that makes it addictive & easily becomes habit. My suggestion is that there is no difference between habit or addiction, as certain things become a method of survival & feeling good about it.

I think I can see where you are coming from. Food feels good in the belly, we need it to survive, we die without it - same with oxygen - but I don't call these things Habits. The feelgood payoff is nature's way of inspiring us to do it. Dopamine.

My food habit is to eat at certain times or certain types of food. Or 2 meals a day plus snacks. These may be habits. I can adjust my habits - eating at a different time, different types etc. Adjusting habits will not lead me into withdrawals or obsession.

Now, Food Addiction, leads to negative consequences that interfere with your life (many effects I am sure we don't need to explore the specifics). Trying to stop will cause withdrawal and obsession. That is not the same thing.

So for now I respectfully reject your suggestion, and stick with the answer I gave, except I would add the following, too:

引用自 Midori：

Habit: Something you do habitually because it feels safe, secure, easy, or rewarding
Addiction: Something that you do because you can't feel normal without it

EDIT - I think the mental obsession is a key element of Addiction, too...

Great topic, OP!

[Professor]

引用自 Ruckman_Void：

Addiction will involve some kind of withdrawal symptoms and obsessing about the THING

Also, addiction is where the habit / associated behaviours (like getting the THING) interferes with your life

So I believe

Just like getting food or sleep, most of us suffer withdrawals when not enough is being consumed. And yes it does interfere with our lives because of its necessity.

Most addicts will tell you that it is absolutely necessary for survival, the fact that it interferes is consequential to survival. I know that people easily associate addiction with unnecessary habits, but on the other hand our survival is dependant on acquiring the things that contribute to our survival. I guess the difference is our own personal view of needs & wants & in this regard we are all different.

[Ruckman_Void]

引用自 Professor：

引用自 Ruckman_Void：

Addiction will involve some kind of withdrawal symptoms and obsessing about the THING

Also, addiction is where the habit / associated behaviours (like getting the THING) interferes with your life

So I believe

Just like getting food or sleep, most of us suffer withdrawals when not enough is being consumed. And yes it does interfere with our lives because of its necessity.

Most addicts will tell you that it is absolutely necessary for survival, the fact that it interferes is consequential to survival. I know that people easily associate addiction with unnecessary habits, but on the other hand our survival is dependant on acquiring the things that contribute to our survival. I guess the difference is our own personal view of needs & wants & in this regard we are all different.

I added to what you quoted, though

[Ruckman_Void]

引用自 Ruckman_Void：

引用自 Professor：

Just like getting food or sleep, most of us suffer withdrawals when not enough is being consumed. And yes it does interfere with our lives because of its necessity.

Most addicts will tell you that it is absolutely necessary for survival, the fact that it interferes is consequential to survival. I know that people easily associate addiction with unnecessary habits, but on the other hand our survival is dependant on acquiring the things that contribute to our survival. I guess the difference is our own personal view of needs & wants & in this regard we are all different.

I added to what you quoted, though

EDIT - exhaustion from lack of sleep is not a withdrawal symptom, in my opinion

Like starvation from lack of food is not a withdrawal symptom

[////]

引用自 Professor：

引用自 Ruckman_Void：

Addiction will involve some kind of withdrawal symptoms and obsessing about the THING

Also, addiction is where the habit / associated behaviours (like getting the THING) interferes with your life

So I believe

Just like getting food or sleep, most of us suffer withdrawals when not enough is being consumed. And yes it does interfere with our lives because of its necessity.

Most addicts will tell you that it is absolutely necessary for survival, the fact that it interferes is consequential to survival. I know that people easily associate addiction with unnecessary habits, but on the other hand our survival is dependant on acquiring the things that contribute to our survival. I guess the difference is our own personal view of needs & wants & in this regard we are all different.

food, water and sleep are parts of you, therefore it's you. removing any of these would be instant damage, just like cutting arm off.

addiction is neurological, it overtakes that with what you feel discomfort when being thirsty, hungry, or unwell in any other way, therefore it's different.