RAYMOND DIXON is lead addiction counsellor at London’s Nightingale Hospital, a facility owned by French mental healthcare providers Groupe Sinoué;
nightingalehospital.co.uk
1Our definition of addiction is changing
So-called ‘modern’ addictions such as sex, gaming and exercise are classed as impulsive control disorders (ICDs), but really they display all the same manifestations as an addiction, they’re just driven by behaviour rather than a substance. The chemical reward process is the same, whether you are shopping, exercising or taking drugs: you’re addicted to the dopamine rush to the brain and find it difficult to resist the thoughts and urges that precede an episode of the behaviour. Recent research by Imperial College London shows that gambling addiction activates the same brain pathways as drug and alcohol cravings. Both substance misuse and compulsive behaviours increase your chances of developing mental health problems such as depression and anxiety.