Addiction

Noun
1. Compulsive physiological and psychological need for a habit-forming substance
2. The condition of being habitually or compulsively occupied with or or involved in something.

Extracted from The American Heritage Dictionary

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Drugs, cigarettes, alcohol, coffee, tv... the list goes on. Endlessly. Lately, one of these addiction is hoggling column centimetres in our local tabloid. Sex. Yes, addiction to the 3 letter word which starts with a big S. An uncommon way to place sex as an addiction but it really exists as one.

Addiction is part of life. Ask any elderly on the streets, 8 out of 10 would be paying money every week to the lottery sellers for a few minutes of excitement and anticipation at the lottery draw. Ask any kids, they'll have a superhero/princess/monster's name on their lips within 2 seconds and they'll be willing to wake up at 8 Sunday mornings to catch the cartoons on tv but continues to toss about in bed 5 minutes before the school bus arrives. Talk to any teenager about their favorite animation/celebrity/hideout, etc, and they can do an acrobatic tranformation from a moody long face to grinning widely to the ears.

Humans can be addicted to just about everything that exists, be it harmful or downright uncommon, the action of doing something or a collection of objects. It all begins with the pleasurable experience of having the first one or the first attempt. The adrenaline rush that they obtained from performing the acts of addiction. The excitement that they get from obtaining a rare piece of collection.

Perhaps humans are powerless to the lures of the heart stimulation, the increased blood pressure, metabolic rate and blood glucose concentration that are brought about by an adrenaline rush. Perhaps they exists on Earth to experience this special emotion.

Once they are pleased on their first attempt, they crave for a more fulfilling experience the second time round. The cycle continues, humans wishing for a better reward each time, to the extent that they spend more and more of their assets on satisfying their craving, in turn becoming hooked. One of the 7 sins depicts Greed. This, is Greed.

For lottery players, they crave for the excitement in winning, so they buy more to increase their chances of striking the lottery. If they won a prize, they would want a bigger prize. For collectors, they crave for a rare item. Once they achieve it, they look for other special editions to spurge their hard-earned money on. For drug abusers, they crave for the extreme nirvana experience, to the point that they sent themselves to God unknowingly.

An end to addiction there would be, but it is not always prominent to the hard-core addicts. Some faced bankruptcy or imprisonment before they wake up to realisation. Some grew out of the addiction. Some had other addictions to overpower their current interests. Others simply went back to their old ways.

Whatever your addiction may be, you must be able to realise the implications behind the addiction and quit when need be.