ABSTRACT
TRUTH OR FICTION?
Many behavioral excesses are extremely similar to drug or alcohol dependence in their capacity to disrupt an individual and her or his family system.
It is necessary to ingest a substance to develop an addiction.
Nonpharmacological addictions usually only appear in the context of a family system.
The present diagnostic systems employed by mental health professionals recognize nonpharmacological addictions as being similar to pharmacological addictions.
Addiction can be described as a condition when a single reward or categories of rewards tends to dominate a person's thinking, feelings, thoughts, and interactions.
It is rare for people with addictions to feel superior to the nonaddict.
Physical dependence is always necessary for addictions.
Nonpharmacological addictions are usually quite rare.
Pharmacological addictions differ from nonpharmacological addictions because the latter are easy to stop.
Families can both foster and limit addictive behavior.
If treatment is to be successful, it is often necessary to address the way the family reorganizes in response to the addicted person's behaviors.
Family therapy is generally not a good opportunity for educating the family about addictions.
It is often important that the family be able to find a meaning for an addictive person's behaviors.
The author is grateful for the contribution of Kimberly Zimmerman, MD.
The role of families in the development of nonpharmacological addictions is important.
In addition to being invaluable for treatment, families are often the most accurate source of information about their members’ nonpharmacological addictions.
