Do You Even Lift?

Today I would like to step away from all the basic forms of addiction and focus on one specific, more abstract addiction that the majority of people could very easily overlook, or not even notice in someone else.
This is not a substance related addiction, so you can remove any thoughts of drugs, alcohol or even food.

So you have a membership at the local gym. You find yourself there twice, maybe three times a week, lifting weights and jogging, barely getting your heart rate up high enough to break a sweat. You're probably more satisfied with the idea of going to the gym, and being in that social setting, than you are with the actual activity itself. Then, after a few weeks of going, you notice him. That one guy that is there, working out, at any time no matter what day it is. You even notice that he runs to and from the gym.

Endorphin

"This guy must be dedicated!" you say. That very well may be the case! Chances are, however, that you are looking at an addict. Addicts come in all shapes and sizes, even in bodies pact with muscle holding almost no body fat.
This is someone who has a behavioral addiction to exercising.

Let's get into the science behind this.

When you exert your body physically, you experience extreme fatigue and often cramps. If you continue whatever it is you're doing, even while you're experiencing those painful side effects, you'll enter into what is known as 'Runner's high'. This is where you reach that point in which all of those pains have disappeared and you feel numb, just cruising through your run or workout. The pituitary gland in your brain has secreted endorphins into your blood stream, acting as natural pain killers. Endorphins also help in creating happiness and excitement (known to be released during sex, enhancing the experience.).

Much like someone can be addicted to a painkiller, people can be addicted to exercise to obtain a very similar effect.

Well what's wrong with that? You're bettering your body all the time, while simultaneously experiencing joy and getting "high"! Sounds awesome!
Here's the part you're not seeing. That guy values the feeling of complete exhaustion, more than he values his family, his job or his friends. Comparing this to my previous entry, you could say he's at step four. He has formed a dependency off of this feeling. You may think this sounds like a complete joke, but I assure you it is very real, very serious.

Someone who is addicted to exercise can fall out from all social circles, leaving themselves isolated. Just them, their weights and their endorphins.
 Common signs to look for:

• Exercising alone, for more than two hours repeadetely.
• Exercising when sick or injured.
• Exercising to the point of pain and beyond.

 You're probably asking what the point of this entry was, just talking about one specific addiction. It was to demonstrate that in the case of addiction, people can find themselves in any of the four steps at any given time, and no one would notice. You have to dig deep. Focus on yourself, on your loved ones, and try to pick up on strange, repeated, behavior. Sometimes we like to think that everything is fine, when in reality it isn't.
In the case of addiction, nothing helps more than a friend.

Sources:
http://www.brainphysics.com/exercise-addiction.php
http://www.fitsugar.com/Hormones-Released-After-Working-Out-19252431
   

Jumping In With Both Feet

I see my fascinating finger nail biting story has brought you back for more... You disgust me.
Jokes aside, in this entry I am going to write about where most addictions come from, and why they affect us in the ways that they do. It's pretty important to know how an addiction is formed and how to diagnose one, before you start running around claiming all of your habits to be new found addictions!

I would like to start off by addressing something that occurred to me last night in my never-ending, sleep-preventing, train of thought. In between recapping my exciting day at school and trying to catch some shut eye, it had come to my attention that people may have thought I used the term 'addiction' too lightly in my previous entry. Rest assured, that was not at all my intention! I am fully aware of the severity that comes along with some forms of addiction and I have experienced it through family members of my own. So, please keep that in mind through all of your readings. Thank you!
Moving on to my first discussion...

So how do we form an addiction?

Step one - Would be to introduce yourself to whatever it is that you are now addicted to. How could you be addicted to it without having tried it, of course.

Step two - You had a pleasurable experience ingesting this new substance or partaking in this new activity.

Step three - You now have a craving for this activity, whatever it may be. Let's talk about this one some more, because this is probably the biggest step of them all.

Dependent

Once you have developed a craving for something, because it got you high or gave you a rush,  your brain has now associated this activity to 'feeling good'. At the end of the day, who doesn't want to feel good? Now your brain has stored this craving in your Frontal Cortex, the part of your brain which feelings and emotions are stored, as well as cravings, to be called upon at any given moment when presented with a situation where your brain recalls having felt this way before. Just like a morning smoker can crave a cigarette by the whiff of a fresh pot of coffee.

Step four -  These constant cravings, if you are fulfilling them sufficiently and often enough, can turn into a dependency. Dependencies are most often scene in the case of Substance addiction, specifically drugs and alcohol. This is also, usually, where things turn ugly. People who grow a dependency to a substance can and will go to great lengths to obtain that level of 'feeling good'. Selling their belongings, and sometimes their bodies, to retain acquire their fix, and to put the ravishing cravings to rest.

So I guess you could say, those are the basic four steps to forming an addiction, from its mildest point, to its wildest point. However, don't be alarmed. Not everything reaches step four! It's actually quite uncommon in people who have their priorities straight, and know the consequences of reaching that level. A new encounter could end at step one, if you did not enjoy it. It could end at step two, if you did enjoy it, but don't crave it. More often than not, it ends at step three, where you have acquired a new craving. It could be as simple as a wanting cheeseburger, or as complicated as a therapeutic spa treatment.
Now that you know how an addiction is formed, you can also see that not everything ends in a dependency. I believe it all comes down to who you are and if you, like I've said, have your priorities straight as to what's important in life and to your health. I also believe it is important to form cravings! To have things to look forward to. Especially the little things like that oh so greasy cheeseburger that you just worked your butt off at the gym for an hour in order to deserve. Never be afraid to try new things, and to indulge in what you love. Some places be sure to test the water. Others, go ahead, jump in with both feet. As long as you do not need to make love, to obtain what you "love", you'll be okay.

Sources:
http://www.webmd.com/smoking-cessation/news/20100802/cravings-emotions-use-same-part-brain
 http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/info/addiction/
     

Are You An Addict?

Now why would you be reading a blog about addictions? "I'm not addicted to anything!", is what you're thinking. You go to class, exercise, eat regularly, nor do you smoke or drink. Surely you are not an addict... Or are you?

Substance-related addiction

 "The fact or condition of being addicted to a particular substance, thing, or activity: 'he committed the theft to finance his drug addiction'".  

This is the definition of 'addiction' according to the Oxford dictionary. This definition is not inaccurate in the slightest, but is probably one of the causes for the common misconception of what an addiction really is. Most people associate an addict to someone with a dependency to drugs or alcohol. To be in constant search, no matter the obstacles, for some sort of fulfilling substance. That is what's called a Substance-related addiction. 

Yum

Now what about those of us that have our priorities straight, that haven't, "committed theft to finance our drug addiction"? Are we not perfect? Think, and think hard. Is there anything that you do throughout each and every day? Is there something that seems to be set on repeat in your life? Something that you do daily, that you can't seem to get enough of no matter how many times you do it? 
      Always eating three brownies when you promise yourself to only take two. Taking several naps throughout the day, when you aren't even tired. Theses are most often addictions that we like to undertone by referring to them as, "bad habits". Now think deeper. Think as to why you actually do these things. The answer is often your addiction. You addict, you.

Yummier

Of course, having a bad habit of leaving the toilet seat up, does not mean you are addicted to doing so... I hope.

Perhaps I'll provide you with a personal example. 
I, for as long as I can remember, have had a "bad habit" of biting my finger nails down to a stub. 
I've never thought about it in great detail, but when I did, I've discovered why I actually bite my nails. It has come to my attention that I enjoy, a little too much, that slight pain in the tips of your fingers that you get when you grab on to something, after having bitten (or cut) your nail too short, and the nail digs into your skin. I couldn't explain why I enjoy this if I tried... But it is my addiction.

In this blog, I hope to get you readers to think about the addictions, that make you, you. To inform you on the different kinds of addictions; the good, the bad and the ugly ones. The history between all living things and addiction or even to offer ways to suppress or eliminate an addiction! I believe that when it comes to addiction, it can be a very serious matter, as well as a very comical one.

So there is some food for thought. Maybe I have helped you recognize the addict in you, or should I say, the addict in all of us. We've all got one, what's yours?