An incessant need to counter the negative side effects of a substance or a situation by returning to that substance or situation for the initial enhancing effect is called addiction (Arends, 2011). It is pleasure we all seek, and it is this pleasure that turns normal things or activities into an addiction. These addictions come in a moderate form at first and then slowly turn into extremes as the person starts craving more of it and loses all control over his actions. This means that the habit turns into an obligation. An addiction can be detected through various signs depending on the type of addiction the person is suffering from. Addiction can come in many forms – Addiction to substances, Behavioral addictions and Impulse control disorders.
Addiction to substances is a chronic, relapsing brain disease that is characterized by compulsive seeking and use of those addictive substances, despite the harmful after effects (Heyman & Gene, 2009). Some people are at high risk of dependence due to psychological and genetic factors. Psychological factors include a variety of environmental stressors, such as work problems or nuptial problems. All these desires are a result from the need to stifle the low after the high (Winship & Gary, 2012). This type of addiction can come in any form, whether it is in the form of smoking, snorting, oral intake, or injecting it into the body. There is loss of control when a person is drinking or drugging more than they intended to. As the effect of the alcohol or drugs wear off the person may experience symptoms like anxiety, jumpiness or sweating, nausea, insomnia, depression or fatigue, loss of appetite and headaches (Raimo & Eric B. & Schuckit, 1998). The brain releases a neurotransmitter called dopamine which triggers the brain's reward system after the intake of drugs, alcohol or any kind of addictive substance leading some people to constantly seek it.