3 ms·

What is the difference between physical and mental addiction?

• noodle 17y ago
  i think wikipedia does a good job of explaining it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Addiction#Varied_forms_of_addiction http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Addiction#Varied_forms_of_addic...
• modoc 17y ago
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Addiction#Varied_forms_of_addiction http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Addiction#Varied_forms_of_addic... Essentially the difference is physical withdrawal symptoms versus mental ones (cravings, irritability, sleep issues, etc..). The line can definitely be fuzzy, and many addictions span both categories. In the case of pot versus physically addictive substances, such as alcohol or heroin, a heavy pot user forced into cold turkey withdrawal would not get the shakes, diarrhea, sweating, nausea, seizures, or death, that can happen with withdrawal of physically addictive substances.
• warfangle 17y ago
  Physical dependence results in withdrawal symptoms that are physical: headaches with caffeine, shakes (and much, much worse) with alcohol. Mental/emotional dependence results in withdrawal symptoms like depression and anxiety. One could argue that mental/emotional withdrawal is just as physical (as it results from imbalances in neurotransmitters) as physical withdrawal. One could also argue that the only serious withdrawal symptoms out there are from alcohol - arguably one of the only drugs whose withdrawal symptoms you can die from.
  • biohacker42 17y ago
    One could also argue that the only serious withdrawal symptoms out there are from alcohol - arguably one of the only drugs whose withdrawal symptoms you can die from. Citation?
    • warfangle 17y ago
      I was a little off - sedative-hyptnotics like benzos and barbiturates can also kill you through withdrawal. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delirium_tremens http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delirium_tremens "Withdrawal from sedative-hypnotics other than alcohol, such as benzodiazepines or barbiturates can also result in seizures, delirium tremens and death if not properly managed. Withdrawal from other drugs which are not sedative-hypnotics such as opiods, marijuana, cocaine etc do not have major medical complications and withdrawal is therefore not life threatening." Galanter, Marc; Kleber, Herbert D. (1 July 2008). The American Psychiatric Publishing Textbook of Substance Abuse Treatment (4th ed.). United States of America: American Psychiatric Publishing Inc. p. 58. ISBN 978-1585622764. http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=6wdJgejlQzYC http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=6wdJgejlQzYC.
    • a-priori 17y ago
      Alcohol withdrawal can produce a condition known as delirium tremens, which can cause seizures that lapse into death. Withdrawal from most drugs, while certainly unpleasant (in the case of heroin, for example), is not directly fatal. But alcohol is not the only drug whose withdrawal syndrome can kill you. Another exception is the benzodiazepines, which are prescribed for anxiety or as sleep aids. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delirium_tremens http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delirium_tremens http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benzodiazepine_withdrawal_syndrome http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benzodiazepine_withdrawal_syndr...
• narag 17y ago
  Physical addction is what science calls simply "addiction". "Mental addiction" or "psycological addiction" is a device to call addiction something that isn't, like "addiction to the Internet", "addiction to work" or "addiction to sex". Then you sell some snake oil to cure it. Edit: OK; downmod as much as you please. Psycological addition will still be bullshit. Instead of looking at Wikipedia, that sometimes has no other choice to reflect some idiotic homeopatetic or obviously biased opinions, check what others are saying right here.