For those that have battled with addiction, they say there are four 'addictive personality traits' out there...they are: - Impulsive behavior (difficulty in delaying gratification, an antisocial personality and a disposition toward sensation seeking). - A high value on nonconformity combined with a weak commitment to the goals for achievement valued by the society. - A sense of social alienation and a general tolerance for deviance. - A sense of heightened stress. Do any or all of these apply to the periods of addiction you experienced?
Oh my word! All of these apply to me and I know they do! I had never realised that I fitted the bill quite so snugly before! I knew I had an addictive personality which is why I steer clear of a lot of things, but this is ridiculous!
I know that I felt a heightened level os stress and I tend to be weak at completing goals. Theses two slone can be stressors for some to lead to an addiction. Substance use makes you feel relaxed under the situations and leads you to use more and more to feel that way.
Well I totally agree with the heightened level of stress component because most people just want to get rid of that feeling as quick as they humanly can. I have never been much of a social deviant, and I do not like breaking the law, so those ones do not fit well with me.
I could relate with social alienation and heightened stress. I just always feel like I'm out of touch with reality, and sometimes I could not bear being in public places and socializing with other people. I also tend to suffer from stress a lot. Maybe due to work and worrying too much about the future.
All but the stress part suggests that I have an addictive personality. Good thing is upon learning and knowing that I have a weakness, my fight against my addiction won't see me try to replace it [the addiction] with a less harmful addiction because I'll end up with another addiction which is something that I don't want and must now avoid since it would be relatively easy for me to get addicted to any substitute — be it food or some other fun activity.
I did experience heightened stress when smoking. Everytime I went for a cig, I knew inside me what I'm doing is wrong and bad for me, and I would still do it, this usually leaving me in stress. I'm glad now I smoke way less and I do consider this an achievement. Now I'm on my way for the big trophy...
Hm, in my perception these statements seem to be somewhat general. I have come across many people, especially in my circle of artistic friends who display one or more of the traits that you mention, and these people don't appear to be having addictive personalities. I would rather call it neurosis. But then, at the end of the day, it's probably just describing the same phenomena with different words.
I wouldn't say I value non-conformity... but I know I don't really fit in and don't have super high goals to just go along being nothing but another drone. I'm not really sure that would count. I do my best not to get addicted, which just means I avoid pretty much any social situations because I'd fall into doing things far too quickly.
Some people just have to feel like they fit in somewhere in society, and they chose the wrong path to follow. It is really sad when this happens. I also think that some people with addictive personalities are compelled to do things they find enjoyable over and over again even if it is not good for them.
My husband is recovering from dual addiction but has recently relapsed on alcohol. Anyway, I know that he has always been a thrill seeker. He loves adrenaline rushes and has always done things that are very risky, such as driving fast, racing four wheelers, spending money we don't really have, and things of that nature. He has never really been withdrawn though. In fact he was quite popular throughout school and was always hanging out with friends. He does like alone time now days though. He will sit in his truck and listen to the radio for hours on end. He has always had anger issues and trouble concentrating. I often wonder if he is perhaps bipolar or if he may have borderline personality disorder. Anyway, I hope it was okay for me to chime in. I just felt this was an interesting topic so I shared my thoughts.
Heightened stress was one of my main reasons for resorting to vices such as smoking. When I was still a smoker I would usually consume more sticks of cigarette whenever I felt stressed or downright low.
I do not have an addictive personality, so I can't say that I can relate to the symptoms above. However, I think almost everyone will be prone to take drugs when they're stressed. Lucky for me, I can take weed and not crave for it when I have finished the whole sachet.
I see all of those traits in myself too - impulsive behaviour has been my downfall almost my entire adult life, and I've never been able to hold down a job or conform to all of those ideals that society expects of us. Learning to tackle them and turn things around has been one long and arduous journey, but it's a great feeling to know that you get a bit closer to being 'normal' everyday.