Difference Between Habit and Addiction

Habit vs addiction

There are a lot of people who likes to drink and there are also people who just can’t help [but smoke cigarettes. Is it an addiction or just a bad habit? When a gambler plays poker a lot, does it make him a gambling addict or does he just have a bad habit? Drugs like marijuana and heroine are addictive, but smoking and drinking are not so. There are a lot of things people tend to do in excess, and are often mistaken as addicts in the process. Are they really addicted to something or they just have a bad habit? What is really the difference between addiction and habit?

Drugs are highly addictive. But alcohol is not at the same extent. Only a small percent of the population are addicted to alcohol. Any addicts have violent reactions when deprived of that thing he is addicted from. Drug addicts tend to react violently when they can’t take the drugs they want. This is also true to alcoholics. When they can’t drink they tend to have a reaction that is evidently not normal. These are some forms of addiction.

There are heavy drinkers though that if they can’t drink for a day, they don’t have any reactions. There are also chain smokers who if they stop smoking will not have any reactions even in health aspects. There are also gamblers who, if they can’t play, just get bored and do not have any sort of reaction. This means they just have bad habits, but they are not addicted at all.

Differentiating a habit from an addiction could be very difficult. However, there are guidelines you can follow that just might help you know the difference. First, you must evaluate the outcome of the behavior whether it is positive or negative. You should also know if the effect is balanced or imbalance. Here are some definitions on what a habit and an addiction is.

A habit is something you repeatedly do until it becomes a routine in your life to the point that you do it automatically. It is easily revealed by the person, and because it is repeated over and over it becomes accurate as time goes by. The results of habits are usually positive and balanced.

Addiction on the other hand tends to run away with itself. It is also more of a physical exposure to that something that one is addicted with, then he thinks of or remembers the rewards he get for doing such act. The addicted person also tend to do the act more frequently as time goes by, and soon the accuracy in doing the act decreases. The addicted person finds it hard to create easy and conscious choices. The long term effects of addiction are negative and imbalance.

SUMMARY:

1.

Addiction has a violent reaction to the person when he stops doing the act, unlike the habit.
2.

A habit turns automatic in the long run for repeatedly doing it, while addiction is more of a psychological exposure to the act.
3.

The habit turns accurate in the long run, addiction does not.
4.

Habits has positive and balance effects, while addiction has negative and imbalance effects.

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