You may have felt you were addicted to something at one time or another, such as indulging repeatedly in your favorite treat or binging a TV show that you love for hours. But there are people who suffer from real addictions that have a definitive and sometimes lasting impact on their lives. It can be difficult for these individuals to understand when their behaviors are veering on the edge of addiction and toxicity. Here are 10 common types of addiction people are known to suffer:

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1. Love Addiction

Men and women can have a love addiction. Symptoms of love addiction include mistaking sex or romance for genuine love or a feeling of desperation or loneliness when in between relationships. An obsession with searching for the perfect relationship, even while in a relationship, can also be a sign of love addiction. An obsession with trying to make every waking moment sexually or romantically intense with a current partner can also indicate a love addiction.

Love addictions can also come in the form of a savior complex; a psychological term used to describe a situation in which an individual seeks relationships that require “fixing,” often at the detriment of their own health, finances, and overall wellness.

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2. Work Addiction

Although you may not love your job that much, some people do. Workaholism has grown steadily over the past two decades, particularly in America. One study found that 10% of the general United States population may be addicted to work. People who suffer from work addiction often crave validation through their boss’s approval. To gain approval, they devote a lot of extra time and energy to their work. Work addiction can cause problems within marriages and lead to health problems in some cases if high-stress levels and poor health habits are present.

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3. Tobacco Addiction

Tobacco is one of the world’s biggest health crises, killing up to half of its users. Unfortunately, it’s a substance that has been proven to be highly addictive. Tobacco addiction includes behaviors such as chain-smoking, getting up at night to smoke a cigarette, and smoking while eating. People also can be addicted to smokeless tobacco, such as snuff and chewing tobacco.

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4. Drug Addiction

Drug addiction, like tobacco addiction, is no secret. According to the National Center for Health Statistics, there were 70,237 drug-related overdoses in 2017 alone. Some people who are drug addicts are addicted to illegal substances or street drugs. Other people have a severe dependence on prescription drugs, such as painkillers. Drug addiction can lead to a whole host of problems including death by overdose.

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5. Alcohol Addiction

Alcohol, like tobacco and drugs, is also addictive. Like tobacco, it’s easy to obtain and it’s legal to use. Unfortunately, abusing alcohol has some far-reaching effects, including diseases. Also, by driving or doing other activities that require skill, alcoholics risk injury to themselves and others. Plus, children of alcoholics face a greater chance of developing the addiction themselves.

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6. Food Addiction

People become addicted to food for all sorts of unhealthy reasons. If you’ve ever heard the term “stress eating” that means that when someone is stressed out over something they eat. People also tend to eat to attempt to soothe themselves when they are upset or depressed. Food addiction is dangerous because it can lead to eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia.

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7. Gambling Addiction

If you’ve ever played the slots or table games in Las Vegas, you may have experienced the rush of excitement that accompanies a win. If you’ve lost more than you’ve won (which is the case with most people) hopefully, you were able to afford the losses and you realized when it was time to quit gambling. Unfortunately, people who have a gambling addiction are so addicted to the rush they experience when they win that they can’t stop trying to win again — no matter how much they’ve lost. A gambling addiction can lead to insurmountable debt, loss of assets, and marriage issues.

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8. Video Game Addiction

Although you might think that video game addiction is most common among children and teens, there are also plenty of adults who are addicted to playing these games on a game console or online through a PC. When playing video games, the user is typically seated for long periods of time, sometimes for most of a day, which is unhealthy. And depending on the types of games a person is addicted to, it could lead to or exacerbate behavioral or psychological issues.

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9. Risk-Taking Addiction

Trying new things is okay. However, seeking out extremely risky opportunities, such as crossing a railroad track when a train is approaching, just so you can feel “alive” is indicative of a risk-taking addiction. To find people that are addicted to risk, all you have to do is visit YouTube. There you’ll find videos from people who take all kinds of crazy risks. Sadly, you’ll also hear about tragic accidents or deaths related to people who regularly take these types of risks.

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10. Shopping Addiction

Enjoying the occasional shopping trip is one thing, but compulsive shopping is something else. Shopping addiction is characterized by wanting to shop during every waking moment. For instance, you shop online at work when you should be working, and you stay up late shopping online. You head for your favorite stores right after work several times a week. You drive out of town to shop in other locations and make a weekend of it. Not only is a shopping addiction characterized by frequency, but it’s also characterized by buying items that are not needed, such as items that are on sale or items that you already own but they’re just a tiny bit different.

References

Love Addiction. Villa Kali Ma, 23 July 2020, villakalima.com/holistic-healing/love-addiction/.

Benton, Sarah A. “The Savior Complex.” Psychology Today, Sussex Publishers, 6 Feb. 2017, www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-high-functioning-alcoholic/201702/the-savior-complex.

Sussman, Steve, et al. “Prevalence of the Addictions: A Problem of the Majority or the Minority?” Evaluation & the Health Professions, vol. 34, no. 1, 2010, pp. 3–56., doi:10.1177/0163278710380124.

Organization, World Health, editor. “Tobacco.” World Health Organization, 27 May 2020, www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/tobacco.

Hedegaard H, Miniño AM, Warner M. Drug overdose deaths in the United States, 1999–2017. NCHS Data Brief, no 329. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. 2018.

https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db329.htm

Ratini, Melinda. “Video Game Addiction: Symptoms, Treatment, and Prevention.” WebMD, WebMD, 19 Mar. 2019, www.webmd.com/mental-health/addiction/video-game-addiction#1.

Tyler, Mara. “Finding Help for Shopping Addiction.” Healthline, Healthline Media, 7 July 2014, www.healthline.com/health/addiction/shopping.