Addictive personality refers to a meticulous set of personality traits making an individual predisposed to particular addictions. Addictions characteristics include psychological or physical dependency, which negatively affects the life quality of the person (Alan & Katie, 2009). They are regularly connected with abuse of substances, but people suffering addictive personalities are also mainly at a higher risk of becoming addicts to gambling, work, relationships, food, and exercise. People engaging in addictive behavior particularly tend to plan own lives around it and practice many issues regarding the same. Scientists have been equally able to understand better, addictive personalities as many social researchers delve into understanding further the chemistry pertaining to addiction (Daniel, 1990).
The concept of addictive personality further thrives in many other scholars’ descriptions in their researchers and carries an element of explaining drug abuse. (Alan & Katie, 2009) describe Addictive personality disorder as a psychological setback making a person more susceptible particularly to addictions. This includes anything from drug or even alcohol abuse to gambling, videogames, pornography, food work, exercise, and even relations. Daniel (1990) describes the spectrum of individual behaviors predominantly designated as ideally addictive in general terms of interrelated concepts including habits, compulsions, impulse control disorders, patterns, as well as physical addiction.
The main concern lies in drug abuse as a paramount concern and behavior depicted as addictive in nature. Addictive personality as a useful concept for dealing with the problem of drug abuse In reality, the concept of addictive personality is abjectly serious and relevant in dealing with the problem of drug abuse. With the experts’ description, addictive personality includes the spectrum of addictive behaviors in terms of five concepts, which include patterns, compulsions, impulse control disorders, habits, and physical addiction (Daniel, 1990). In understanding this concept this way, it is possible to deal with the problem of drug abuse by looking into each respective concept for instance patterns, compulsions, impulse control disorders, habits, and physical addiction in distinct ways (Alan & Katie, 2009). Additionally, the concept of addictive personality provides us with many resources available in support of addictive personality to break free of various forms of addictions, with drug addiction included. It provides the Enneagram combined with resources to aid in understanding the basic roots of the drug abuse regarding addictive personality (Daniel, 1990).
Addictive personality concept provides us with nine Enneagram personality types having different kinds of addiction. This is ideally, what is of help to assist in dealing with drug abuse problem. The author of the research study, Alan R. Lang, a professor of psychology at Florida State University, espoused that the continuing search particularly for the personality traits playing a part in the addictions development are a great part of the established fight against drug addiction, an opinion commonly shared by others ideally familiar with the field (Cohen, 1995). “If we can identify the addictive personality factors,'' he said, ''they can ideally be of help to us in devising better treatment as well as open up new and workable strategies to break and intervene the patterns of addiction” (Alan & Katie, 2009).
Addictive personality presents the case of respective types of personalities. The Reformer is seen as a type involved in excessive use of diets, cleansing techniques and vitamins, and probably drugs in relieving anxiety (Alan & Katie, 2009). This personality type is best handled with cross checking on the means to handle the anxiety and preventing drug abuse as a means of controlling the anxiety. The Helper, on the other hand, is a type, which abuses over-the-counter mediations and drugs and bingeing, particularly on carbohydrates and sweets (Cohen, 1995).
The concept in this context is committed to help handle the drug abusers who depend on the same for sympathy and finding substitutes to the bingeing practice (Daniel, 1990). The Achiever, on the other hand, is an ideal personality type that addictive personality helps to define. This is over-stressing the individual body for recognition or working out to exhaustion, which at times leads to drug abuse. In this context, it is probable to handle drug abuse through dealing with the workaholic behavior (Alan & Katie, 2009). Addictive personality also describes the Individualist personality, which is evident with over-indulgence in sweets, drugs, or alcohol to at least, alter mood, and for emotional consolation. This is best understood and handled through recommendations of physical activity and works well to control the abuse of drugs and such kind (Cohen, 1995).
Addictive personality disorder definition reveals as a psychological setback making a person even more susceptible to various forms of addictions. This can include particularly anything from alcohol to drug abuse to pornography, food, exercise, gambling, videogames, work and relations (Alan & Katie, 2009). Experts make descriptions of the spectrum of individual behaviors known to be addictive in terms of five concepts that include compulsions, patterns, habits, physical addiction and impulse control disorders. An individual is particularly considered to be at a higher risk of practically developing these addictions when he/she ideally displays signs of individual impulsive behavior, and nonconformity combined particularly with a weak commitment to individual goals for achievement, which are valued by the general society, social alienation, and a heightened stress (Daniel, 1990).
Such an individual may switch from one severe addiction to another or even ideally sustain multiple addictions particularly at different times (Cohen, 1995).Dr. Lang has a belief that the insights, which are provided, by the research and understanding of individualistic personality could lead to more and effective preventive programs effective more than those available today, used before the drug addictions problems reach the grave stage (Cohen, 1995). Supplementing the respective personality factors listed in the report, other scientists who have ideally studied addicts point to other often-found features of individual personality or background including marked anxiety or depression, a lack of self-esteem, sexual or physical abuse in childhood, and conflicting parental expectations (Daniel, 1990).
This way, it is possible to handle the personality influencing conditions that lead to abuse of drugs. Addictive personality concept also provides us with an understanding of the Investigator personality. This personality type abuses drugs and engages in poor sleeping and eating habits because of minimizing needs (Cohen, 1995). Understanding such a personality is ideal to help control drug abuse preferably by recommending physical activity to stop the sleeping disorders and control drug use.
The Loyalist, on the other hand, uses depressants to reduce anxiety therefore, highly susceptible to drug use and gives an excellent understanding of how to deal with such (George, 2000). There are many other personalities as espoused by addictive personality concept. The Enthusiast has a personality type described as Ecstasy or narcotics (Hugh, Kirk & Claire, 2006). It is relevant to understand them before implementing approaches of dealing with them.
Additionally, it describes the Challenger and the Peacemaker relevant to establishing ways of controlling drug abuse (Cohen, 1995). In the same provisions of the concept, an individual is considered at a high risk of developing respective addictions when he/she shows signs of nonconformity, impulsive behavior, weak commitment to individual goals for achievement particularly valued by the general society, social alienation, and heightened stress (Cohen, 1995). Therefore, with such an understanding, it is easy to deal with drug abuse by lookingg into the approaches required to control the addictions by spotting and working on the symptoms (Daniel, 1990). The linkage of addictive personality and drug abuse is quite apparent as it displays addiction as reliance on a behavior or substance that the individual experience and hold little power of to resisting (Marybeth, 2004). Despite the wide and existing gulf between a particular addiction to drugs and any related addiction to gambling, mental health, experts ideally find it of value to view addiction as particularly including all compulsive and self-destructive, behaviors (Hugh, Kirk & Claire, 2006). Some even go as far as including the relatively benign individual activity of compulsive watching of television.
In bringing ideally together, much of the knowledge existing on the personality's role in individual addictions, with greater emphasis on drugs, a study prepared ideally for the National Sciences Academy concludes in the results that there are ideally no single psychological characteristics embracing all forms of addictions. However, the study does see common elements from addiction to addiction (George, 2000). Therefore, this gives the psychologists and other psychiatrists some understanding of the drug, which the individual is addicted to and can manage the drug use and its consequences for the individual. Additive personality concept also provides the signs and symptoms exclusive to drug abusers, therefore, detailing and helping responsible parties to draft means of dealing with these exclusive symptoms and controlling drug abuse (Cohen, 1995). It explains that People with addictive personalities literally are highly sensitive to stress (George, 2000). In reality, that is why they turn to drugs abuse.
They have immense trouble handling situations, which they deem frustrating, even it is for a short duration. Therefore, to avoid the frustrations, they turn to drugs and related substances (Cohen, 1995). These people lack self-esteem and show impulsive behavior for instance excessive caffeine consumption, television watching, and exclusively engage in drug use (Hugh, Kirk & Claire, 2006). Therefore, with an understanding of addictive personality from this concept, it is possible to decipher what measures are appropriate in dealing with drug abuse.From a wider perspective, this concept can be considering useful concept for dealing with the problem of drug abuse. On a conclusive research, based on psychology professors it is believed that the continued search for the individual traits, playing a part in the individual development of addictions is a critical part of the fight heightened against drug addiction (Cohen, 1995).
If we can better identify the personality factors, then they can assist us in devising better treatment as well as can open up better strategies of intervening and breaking the addiction patterns. Moreover, it is believed that the insights on the provision by this kind of social research could lead ideally to much more efficient and effective preventive programs more than those practically available today, to be of use before problems reach the critical stage (Hugh, Kirk & Claire, 2006). Supplementing the individual personality factors as per the academy's report list other scientists who have made studies on addicts point to other often-found types of personality or individual background, marked depression, lack of self-esteem, sexual or physical childhood abuse, and conflicting expectations of parents (George, 2000). However, other scholars including Leslie, Michael & Christopher, (2005) have a contradictory argument that there is no use of the addictive concept in dealing with drug abuse. This they explain as being because the respective addictions of drug abuse are personal behaviors and would be better looked into at a personal level.
They explain the in handling drug abuse the addictive concept tends to fail in analyzing and explaining the level of addiction and clearly stipulating what level is controllable and one requiring treatment, they, therefore, think it is a weak way of handling drug addiction.
