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rumschlumpel@feddit.org 19 hours agoIf you can moderate, it isn’t really an addiction. At least, not by the strict definition. If you use it more colloquially, sure.
I think that doesn’t really work for physical addictions. Even if you can easily stop using because your mind just works that way, if you used an addictive substance for long enough you’ll get withdrawal symptoms.
southsamurai@sh.itjust.works 16 hours ago
I covered that by stating that there are multiple usages of addiction. I’m aware that addiction, dependence, and the medical issues each brings is a complicated one. There are nuances to all of it, but they were tangential to what OP asked.
Also, depending on who’s talking about it and in what context, physical addiction may or may not be a thing. All addiction comes with changes in the brain and body. Even something as seemingly non physical as gambling has a physical component, and people may experience withdrawal symptoms, no matter how they stop.
One aspect of why that happens is dopamine. Every addiction I know of has some degree of dopamine release as a part of the overall disease process. Though, disorder may be a preferred term to disease. The experience of losing a dopamine trigger is part of what triggers withdrawal. It’s why even non addictive substances like antidepressants can still cause symptoms on cessation. Though I would argue that dependence on a medication that can cause withdrawal symptoms meets the standard to call addictive. I’ve seen people engage in the same behaviors that someone addicted to illegal drugs will engage in, in order to stop those symptoms and gain access to at least a similar drug if not the exact same one.
Like I said, tangential to the OP’ question.