What are the Differences Between Habit and Addiction?

Habit and addiction are two terms that are rather easy to mistake for one another. This can be problematic when it comes to recognizing the kind of crisis an individual is experiencing. Sometimes people use “drug habit” and “drug addiction” as if they are the same concept – this is not so. In this article, we’ll explore some important distinctions between these two terms.

What is a Drug or Alcohol Habit?

When we talk about bad habits, we are not referring to something impossible to escape from. Habits can be formed, but they can also be broken with enough willpower and determination. When a person develops a habit, they have incorporated something into their life that they know is unhealthy yet rely upon for comfort. Should they find an alternative experience that supplies this need equally well, the habit can be broken.

It’s possible to maintain a bad habit, while still generally functioning. Those who overeat, or drink too much, without damaging their career or family life, fit into this category. If such a person really wants to stop, they generally can, without too much external intervention.

What is Drug or Alcohol Addiction?

However, a habit can become an addiction when the person no longer has control over their drug or alcohol consumption. Psychologist Dr. Rae Mazzei, talking to Web MD, puts it like this: “habit becomes an addiction when you start to experience problems in your mental and/or physical health and daily functioning.”

Addicts often do things they would otherwise find objectionable to support their addiction – lying, stealing, hiding their situation from loved ones, and failing to deliver on important commitments. They do so because they are no longer fully in control of their actions – the addiction has taken over.

At this point, it will probably prove impossible for the addict to recover without external help. There are several key indicators that a habit has developed into an addiction:

  • Diminishing physical health and appearance
  • Impaired work or school performance
  • Severe and/or unpredictable mood swings
  • Problems sleeping or over-sleeping
  • Legal and financial crises
  • Loss of interest in usual enthusiasms
  • Relationship problems

Any combination of the above behaviors may trigger friends and family to recognize that their loved one may have an addiction. When these indicators are present, it may no longer be possible for the addict to control their behavior without external assistance, such as the residential detox programs we offer.

More than a Matter of Degree

The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) defines addiction thus: “addiction is defined as a chronic, relapsing disorder characterized by compulsive drug seeking and use despite adverse consequences. It is considered a brain disorder because it involves functional changes to brain circuits involved in reward, stress, and self-control.”

This distinction makes it clear that addiction becomes hard-wired into the behavior of the addict, therefore it should not be surprising that such people need significant medical and clinical intervention.

The terms “chronic” and “relapsing” are crucial in the above definition. Unlike a bad habit, which can potentially be broken by the individual himself or herself, an addiction resists such self-determined efforts to change. Addicts relapse because they have chemical and physiological responses to battle. Effectively, they have turned their minds into machines that crave certain chemicals and reactions, hence “brain disorder” in the NIDA description.

How Can You Prevent a Bad Habit from Becoming an Addiction?

Firstly, not all bad habits will progress toward addiction. Many problem drinkers do not become addicts (young people who drink to excess often grow out of such behavior in their late 20s or 30s). However, with those individuals who are hardwired to be vulnerable to addiction, it’s important to spot the warning signs listed above as early as possible and seek help.

If you are a loved one of an addicted person, you can help by looking out for such telltale signs and flagging them gently with the subject. Once the individual has recognized and accepted that they may have an addiction, it becomes possible to talk about courses of treatment, such as the residential detoxification and recovery programs we offer.

We have written another article about the five stages of recovery, from pre-contemplation to maintenance. This should give addicts hope that full recovery can be achieved. Find it here.