Psychic Numbing: The Lesser-known Addiction

Narcotics Anonymous defines a drug as any "mind-altering, mood-altering substance." In addition, the primary criteria of 'addiction' is compulsion - the inability to differentiate between "want" and "gotta," and the aspect of excess. But while most people can recognize these factors when pertaining to substances, there is a lesser-known aspect of addiction which is equally damaging to people's lives.

What is sometimes referred to as addictive behavior has a devastating effect not only on those whose everyday lives are enmeshed in it, but also their friends, families and coworkers who find themselves in a position of attempting to cope with a generally-misunderstood problem, as well as with the addict himself who refuses to acknowledge that a problem even exists, finding it quite easy to call it by other names.

Addictive behavior. First, it is a compulsion over which the individual has no personal means of control. Unfortunately, and making it very difficult for the person to realize that it is a true problem, not only is denial the predominant factor in any addiction, it is even more so in many addictive behaviors where clear patterns of excess and compulsion are brushed off and dismissed as being nothing more than "hobbies;" it is virtually impossible for the addict to see that there is quite a difference, for example, between watching a couple of t.v. shows and watching t.v. "24/7."

Addictive behavior. Second, the entire point and purpose is that compulsive behavior patterns fall into the same category as substance abuse-- the "mind-altering and mood-altering"-- as the behavior patterns alter a person's brain chemistry; and whether the immediate result is an "up" or a "down," the entire point and purpose is to not have to think, and to not have to feel. Many do not realize that when they choose or attempt to put every free moment into something they fully believe is nothing more than a pastime, they are receiving the same type of effect as they would from using substances-- as the brain chemistry is altered, the mood changes, and the normal process of thought and emotion is kept at bay. One may have the compulsion for shopping, watching television, driving; the list of possibilities is endless, but the result is the same. Many people who were previously addicted to drugs acquire these behavior patterns as their "new drug;" it is called psychic numbing, but is rarely taken seriously because individuals rarely acknowledge that such things which they "live to do" are actually in control of them and in control over their lives.

Addictive behavior also involves compulsive thoughts, which cause a person to view everything in an irrational manner. A far-fetched but true example is an individual who refuses to purchase anything whatsoever unless it is purple. Another example of compulsive thought is the drive for acquisition-- the need for more and more of some type of item.

On the further end of addictive behavior are patterns which are obviously self-destructive in nature, but also frequently misunderstood. Youngsters who engage in "cutting," for example, are generally not suicidal, nor are they attempting to gain attention. This form of psychic numbing is an extreme of addictive behavior with the same point and purpose-- in causing oneself physical pain, the individual shifts the focus off his or her process of thoughts and emotions.

Although the media has made a mess of people's understanding of eating disorders by focusing on the popular concept of "models' thinness," the psychodynamics of this subject are almost always the same as with any other addictive behavior pattern. Anorexia, the most frequently talked about and most frequently misunderstood, is rarely about a young girl's wish to be thin; instead, it is usually a case involving two factors: the need for control, and the need for self-identity. Those who feel they have little if any control over anything in their lives, most who suffer from anorexia begin with the belief that even if everything else is beyond their control they can at least control the amount of food they put into their bodies; and it is not long before they lose that control. Some die, some result in permanent health problems, but recovery would be much easier if the problem was more widely understood for the causes behind it.

Bulimia is also an often misunderstood condition, also based in a person's feeble attempt to control what is or is not in one's system. Food is seen as a substitute for what is intrusive and not desired in the person's life, and must be gotten rid of.

Simple bingeing, while not strongly linked to the anorectic's or bulimic's factor of control, is yet another compulsive behavior, its process altering a person's mind and mood.

Whether patterns which are dismissed as "only a hobby," or self-inflicted injury, or disorders in dealing with food, all of these addictive behaviors place the individual in a state where his normal processes of thoughts and feelings are seriously interfered with-- numbed, so that he does not have to deal with or even acknowledge them.