Essay on Compulsive Behaviors: Understanding Their Significance in Addiction

Description of the Compulsive Behaviors and their significance in the Understanding of Addition

Compulsive behaviors are characterized by urges and actions that are not only harmful but also excessive for an individual and others. The behaviors lead to occupational and social impairment, as well as financial and legal challenges because people spend most of their money and time on repeating senseless activities. The compulsive behaviors affect many people, but are widely ignored or misunderstood by the clinicians, public, and the victim of the disorder.

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According to Gillan et al. (2014), most individuals suffering from the disorder have no control over their behaviors or actions, but they realize that they are unreasonable. The disorder is very significant in the understanding of addiction because the patients do not have power to control or minimize the behaviors. Moreover, they assume that they are normal activities, and struggle with them before seeking professional help. Compulsive behavior diagnosis is performed by a clinical social worker, psychologist, or licensed mental practitioner by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-V). The DSM test requires patients to demonstrate obsessions and compulsions. Recurrent behaviors are clinically significant when associated with anxiety and distress. The DSM-IV recognizes compulsive behaviors, such as gambling, skin picking, checking, washing, compulsive buying, compulsive sexual behavior, pyromania, trichotillomania, and kleptomania (Grant et al., 2011). The primary diagnostic for compulsive behaviors is the difficulty to resist urges to engage in behaviors. Grant et al. 2011 explained the four characteristics of compulsive behaviors and they include (1) compulsive or repetitive involvement in a behavior irrespective of negative outcomes, (2) reduced control over the repetitive behavior, (3) craving before performing the behavior, and (4) a hedonic quality when engaging in the difficult behavior. The following are the compulsive behaviors;

Gambling

According to the American Psychiatric Association (2016), about 0.4-1.6% of people in the US suffered from persistent gambling behavior. The victims of the pathological gambling during adolescence and repeat the behavior for few years before recognizing it is a problem. Young adult below the age of 30 are the most affected by the gambling behavior. Although previous studies revealed that most pathological gamblers are men, a meta-analysis conducted by Grant et al. (2011), revealed that 28% of them were women. The long term consequences of the pathological gambling include reduced life quality, diminished functioning, legal, marital, and financial issues. The gamblers use all their money, and borrow from friends, family members, and other lenders institutions, leading to legal and marital problems. The three types of pathological gambling include obsessive-compulsive are triggered by mental stress or trauma. The addictive gambling occurs when victims gambles consistently using small amount of money. The last type is impulsive and it is associated with taking risk without planning or thinking about the consequences (Grant et al., 2011).

Kleptomania

According to the American Psychiatric Association (2016), the behavior is associated with uncontrolled and repetitive stealing of minor items for personal use. The victims notice that they cannot use the stolen items and either hoard, store, throw or return them. According to Grant et al. (2011), 3.8-24% of the shoplifters experience the symptoms of the compulsive kleptomania. The behavior starts from the age of sixteen to twenty, but has also been reported to occur in younger children at four years and old adult at 77 year. Individuals who suffer this condition experience potential dangers such as anxiety, substance abuse and mood changes. The disorder may be as a result of genetic disorder as study revealed that 13% of people suffering from kleptomania were also found in their relatives (Grant et al., 2011).

Trichotillomania

In United States, 0.5-3.9% people experience repetitive hair-pulling behavior, a condition called trichotillomania (Woods et al., 2006). The compulsive behavior cause visible hair loss, functional impairment, and distress. The condition may begin at the age of 11, and is more dependent in females (93.2%) in females. Woods et al., 2006 conducted a study involving 1697 individuals with hair-pulling behavior, 34.6% of the respondents' experienced severe trichotillomania because reported pulling their hair daily. Likewise 48.7% reported that the activity disrupt their occupational tasks, and often avoid social situations, for instance engaging in group activities (Woods et al., 2006). It was also found that hair was pulled from any part of the body, but scalp and eyebrows were the most affected. Although the condition results to distress, most people do not seek medical help because they also experience other disorders, such as anxiety, substance abuse and obsessive-compulsive. They try their best to hide it from family and friends by covering the affected areas (Woods et al., 2006).

Compulsive checking and cleaning

According to Muller and Roberts (2005), compulsive behaviors patients often report the uncertainty of their actions, and they regularly check to determine whether they performed a task or are mere imagining. The uncertainties result in repetitive behaviors, for example, compulsive checking doors or washing hands. The clinical observation has attracted most researchers to assess the link between memory bias and compulsive checking. According to early research conducted by Sher et al. individuals with checking symptoms had a moderately impaired memory for complex verbal details. The study involved 49 college students taken randomly from a group that reported checking behavior. Results demonstrated that compulsive checking was correlated with scores on the Logical Memory subtest. The task tested the ability of the participants to remember information from short passages a few minutes after listening. The study was repeated by two neuropsychological studies and similar results were found (Muller & Roberts, 2005). They found that people with compulsive behavior of checking and washing experienced verbal memory impairments.

Pathological skin picking

The condition involves repetitive skin picking that cause tissue damage. Skin picking must be associated with skin excoriation, disrupt daily functioning, and cause distress to be rewarded a compulsive behavior. A random study conducted on 2513 citizens of the United States demonstrated that 0.2-1.4% experienced the skin picking behavior, and females were most affected (Grant et al., 2011). Although every part of the body can be picked, most victims concentrated on the face. Addicts of skin picking may also experience other psychiatric condition.

Compulsive buying

Compulsive buying is associated with obsessive buying of unintended or unplanned items. It is also associated shopping for long hours than intended, interfering with occupational and social functioning. In the United States, it is estimated that 5.8 % suffer from the buying behavior (Grant et al., 2011). However, unlike other compulsive behaviors that start during adolescence, obsessive buying occurs during early twenties to late thirties. Women are the most affected group, and they buy cheap products in large quantities, causing financial issues. Most of the purchased products are not used hence they are given away or thrown away. Anxiety and substance abuse disorders are also highly associated with compulsive buying. A study involving 137 compulsive buyers found that 56.9% had other psychiatric disorders, for instance, alcoholism and depression (Grant et al., 2011).

Compulsive sexual behavior

The condition is characterized with persistent and strong sexual desires, behaviors, or urges. It causes significant impairment and distress in functioning characterized with sexual desires. These sexual desires cannot be explained by physiological or medical effect of an exogenous substance. The sexual behaviors may include paraphilic ( for instance fetishes, exhibitionism) and non-paraphilic (for instance, promiscuity, masturbation, and pornography) that cannot be controlled. The victims engage in these behaviors to increase pleasure or reduce anxiety. A study on college students revealed that 3.7% experienced compulsive sexual behaviors symptoms with late adolescence onset (Grant et al., 2011). The condition affect males compared with females and seek medical help because the urge is distressing and unmanageable. Most sexual urges are triggered by mood changes, such as sadness and depression. The study also revealed that the condition is associated with substance abuse and anxiety...