Hacker Newsnew | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submitlogin

> with some help from my experience with addiction

Is there a spectrum to addiction? A dopamine response is a dopamine response, at what point would an activity be classified as an addiction outside the hyperbole of "affects your job/relationship/eating/etc"



The old definition of addiction required physical dependency. Alcohol and opioids give this. Other stuff not so much. Stopping alcohol if you have a physical dependence cannbe fatal, so that's one big way it's different to a gambling addiction.

The new definition (preoccupation; seeking; increased "dose"; continuing when you know it's casing harm) is useful because it allows earlier intervention and covers a wider range of things that damage people.




Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: