Hemal Modi's Diary

On some discussion forumn someone said - Isn't every addiction BAD??
According to the dictionary - Addiction is "Habitual psychological and physiological dependence on a substance or practice beyond one's voluntary control". And isn't the thing beyond one's voluntary control bad for mental health and wealth.

Another person quoted Websters and said Websters defines addiction as:
1. To cause to become physiologically or psychologically dependent on a habit-forming substance
2. To occupy (oneself) with or involve (oneself) in something compulsively
and my views on it are:
the first one: I agree and in that case addiction is certainly one thing that one can be better off with.
the second one: It depends on the thing you get yourself involved into, which again would have views that differ as people have different perceptions. So in this case, one really can not answer if it is good or bad.

That made me think over it... so here are my views on what addiction is.

The first question I pondered on was - If an addiction doesn't cause Light-headedness, mood swings, nausea, loss of appetite, general withdrawal, glazed over appearance, etc... does it still fall under the category of addiction?

Then another guy said:
My view's that addictions in general are good. I use "general" because I wouldn't want someone arguing bout specific addictions such as alcohol, smoking, etc that are termed harmful for health.

I feel that addiction gives rise to a sense of passion for the activity/substance/person, and being passionate about something is a good thing to a large extent. It keeps you from staying dull and impassionate. It's like you are doing something that you enjoy rather than try different things and not have taste/affinity for a few special things in life.

Hope you get what i'm trying to convey...admit it's not all that clear :D

I would say - Probably Passion is an emotion, while Addiction IS used for a habit that is harmful.

On further contemplation I would prefer to say compulsions are habits which one feels that one is compelled to do and repeat, while addictions are really just habits that have gone wrong. One generally denies the harmful effects of the addictive substance, situation, or behavior. Addictions are thus active and perpetual states of denial.

If you wish, lets put it your way: virtues are good addictions and vices as bad addictions. I mean a "positive addiction enhances the values we hold dear ", while a negative addiction "pulls our life apart ". [The good addictions are as much fun as the bad ones, and are much better for me and those around me.]

But to me the word addiction usually brings along a negative sense.

I will leave it at that and go about my compulsive or even obsessive activities of bathing, eating, reading, discussing, orkuting and watching movies. For those of you who go online for other pursuits, here is an article on Addiction.

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So Long And Thanks For All The Chain Letters...