Addictable

Can a person be addicted to popcorn? What about writing in a blog? What about reading a blog? Or reading period? Are these things addictable? And if not then what makes an addiction, an addiction?

There is some debate on the matter to be sure. Traditionally the term addiction has been applied to those things that involve psychoactive substances, intefering with normal brain functioning. These would be things such as drugs and alcohol. There are those professionals who add psychological dependency to the qualifications of those things which are addictable adding things such as pornography, sex, and gambling to the list of addictable items. Still others put computer games, exercise, and shopping into the mix. Oh, and food is definately in there in one of the categories.

It seems to me, based on my playing with addictioin, that there is a chemical thing going on. Research shows the chemistry of the brain is temporarily altered when subjects view errotic pictures. Runners will speak of the 'natural high' they get from running. And if you've ever watched a teenager playing a video game you've seen some sort of personality change happen infront of your eyes.

So what do we do about this? How do we live with addiction or avoid becoming addicted? Sorry I don't have an answer. My own personal solution has been to change things up often. And so, I've just finished most of a series of books that I found utterly amazing and could only put down to do the most basic of functions. There is one more book left but I don't as yet have it so I'm going to do my best to put it on my Christmas wish list and wait for a month to continue reading it. But now I've started running. And I'm eating popcorn. Considering the posting I did a couple postings ago the popcorn needs to go even if it is becoming lunch rather than a snack. But that is just what I do. Hopefully running will last at least as long as the book series did.

What is your addiction? Can you say? Do you think some people are more disposed to addiction than others? Some researchers say it is so. Are some of us doomed to be chained to an outside pull that, once started, becomes out of our control?

Just a thought.