Woman leaning on railings looking sad – Image Courtesy of Pixabay
Compulsion can be a disaster for your life. Some things you should avoid, and others in moderation. But you might need help with unconventional addictions, without being aware.
Video Games Addiction
Video games have never been as popular as they are right now. Gaming technology is far more advanced than back in the day. And you can even play surprisingly realistic VR games with friends in another part of the world. But gaming is addictive because it offers a serotonin reward system for time spent playing. This can be as hazardous for your life as illicit drug addiction like cocaine, for which you would probably require help from professionals like Lake Area Recovery Center. While the figures are low at 1.5%, gaming addiction will ruin your social life.
Cleaning and Hygiene
Cleaning addiction is pretty harmful and is often a sign of OCD. However, it can also manifest as a symptom of previous sexual abuse and severe depression. If you think your home is never as clean as it can be and often clean when it can’t be any cleaner, you might have an addiction. While it might sound harmless compared to mental health conditions, like other addictions, it can take over your life. As a cleaning addict, you might spend most of your day cleaning, recleaning, and cleaning some more, even when there is no dirt present in your home.
Unconventional Addictions Include Exercise
Believe it or not, you can become addicted to exercise. However, this isn’t as surprising as you might think if you know how addiction works. Physical movement generates serotonin, which makes you feel great. It’s how drugs like cocaine work. Over time, you become dependent on the addiction for serotonin in larger doses rather than smaller gratification naturally. Additionally, exercise addiction often accompanies eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia. The intensity and strain placed on your muscles and heart have a detrimental effect if overexerted.
Hoarding Pets
You have probably heard of hoarding. Hoarding is a severe mental disorder with extreme attachment to physical objects to the point where you collect things and then cannot bring yourself to throw them out. Often, the items are useless or hold little monetary value. And they become overwhelming in your home. But you can also hoard animals and pets. This is bad for many reasons. But some of the worst include sanitary issues based on the excrement of the animals. And danger to the animals because there are far too many for one person to care for.
Pulling Your Own Hair
Depression and anxiety have many symptoms. And more often than not, they are incredibly damaging to you physically. Self-harm using sharp objects is a perfect example. However, a lesser-known sign is hair pulling. You may have an overwhelming urge to pull hair from your head, eyebrows, or your pubic hair. There is an obvious physical harm issue with this condition. But you may also find you eat the strands, causing further problems with your digestion. Using fidget toys has proven effective in some cases where people feel they must self-harm.
Summary
Addictions can be caused by many things, and there are many unconventional addictions. These include video games, over-exercising, and pulling out hairs from all over your body.
