When do you become addicted to a behaviour or substance? Answers from Dr Selom Zinsou Degboe, Clinical Psychologist, Addiction Specialist at the CHU Campus in Lomé.

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Extract from the article: An addiction is the abusive use of a psychoactive substance (drugs) or behaviour (practices), with unsuccessful attempts to control it despite the negative consequences in the life of the sufferer. Young people are increasingly affected by addictions

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An addiction is the abusive use of a psychoactive substance (drugs) or behaviour (practices), with unsuccessful attempts to control it despite the negative consequences in the life of the sufferer. Young people are increasingly affected by addictions.

The difference between addiction and dependence

Many people make no distinction between the two terms. But terminology has evolved over the years. Some experts, on the other hand, see a difference between addiction, which is the set of physical symptoms that appear after the abrupt cessation of consumption, and dependence, which is the result of abusive consumption of a substance or behaviour, despite awareness of the harmful effects of this consumption on the person's life.

The typical definition of addiction is a brain disease defined by dependence on a substance or activity. The Americans, on the other hand, speak of use disorders. In this way, we are able to detect the severity of an addiction or a substance use disorder in a person. A person suffering from a severe addiction or use disorder is dependent on a psychoactive substance or activity. The WHO defines addiction as ‘a state of periodic or chronic dependence on substances or behaviours’. This convention should lead all researchers and practitioners to use the same language to better help those seeking remission.

Different types of addiction

There are two main types of addiction:addiction to psychoactive substances (drugs), i.e. legal or authorised drugs (alcohol, tobacco and certain medicines) and illegal or unauthorised drugs (cannabis, cocaine, heroin, opioids, LSD, crack cocaine, etc.); and non-substance addictions or behavioural addictions, i.e. gambling, video games, the Internet, sex, work (workalism) and compulsive shopping.

Addictive factors

There are essentially factors linked to the individual. They may be linked to age, sex, genetic factors, personality, or daily life with stress factors.There are also factors linked to the substance itself, i.e. its action on the brain (with its intoxicating, aggressive and addictive potential), its place in society, its availability and access, especially its cost.And finally, factors related to the environment.These include activities, friends, hobbies and interactions with others.

Recognising a behavioural addict

When this behaviour begins to have a negative impact on all aspects of your life, and despite this you continue, you are in an addiction. Addiction has a negative impact on all aspects of a person's life, including health, work, family, social and economic life. In the case of behavioural addictions, apart from the fact that they have fewer physical consequences than substance addictions, they will present the same problems because when you are addicted to a behaviour, all the activities in your life are abandoned in favour of that behaviour.Take sex addiction, for example.The sex addict is capable of going in search of sex during working hours.Even if they are aware that what they are doing is not normal, they continue anyway because they can't live without it.All this will lead her to engage in risky behaviour: not wearing a condom, multiple partners, etc.

How do you get out of it?

The person can follow a proven medico-psycho-social approach by consulting specialists.Talking to someone close to them or a friend is the first step towards enabling people who have a problem with their consumption or activity to begin the process of change that will lead them to remission.However, we are encountering a number of difficulties in the treatment of addictions.There is a shortage of qualified staff and appropriate facilities.We are asking the authorities to step up the action already being taken to tighten control over the supply of drugs, and to equip the country with addiction centres.

Interview by William O.