Compulsive Behaviors and the DSM-5- Should Behavioral Addictions Be Classified as Disorders?

Compulsive Behaviors and the DSM-5- Should Behavioral Addictions Be Classified as Disorders?

Compulsive behaviors like shopping, internet usage, and overeating should be included in the DSM-V criteria. Excessive internet usage, for example, is said to ruin the lives of individuals by causing major neurological complications, social problems, and psychological disturbances (Cash et al., 2012). Whether behavioral or chemical, every addiction has various characteristics in common, such as compulsive use as evidenced by loss of control, salience, distress alleviation, mood modification, withdrawal and tolerance, and continuity regardless of the negative consequences (Cash et al., 2012). Studies by Skinner (2005) show that internet pornography affects the brain’s pleasure centers similarly to substance or alcohol addiction. Individuals who are considered to have an internet addiction report being constantly preoccupied with the internet, constantly utilizing the internet so as to obtain a certain level of satisfaction, and being unable to cut back or stop excessive use. They also experience feelings of depression, mood change, irritability, and restlessness when they strive to stop or cut back on its use. Accordingly, they use the internet to escape certain realities or relieve a dysphoric mood and jeopardize their job, education, and relations due to spending too much time online (Cash et al., 2012).

All these things are similar to other chemical addictions, and therefore it is important to consider behavioral addictions as diseases in the DSM-5. For most individuals, behavioral addictions like sex addiction and pornography addiction can become so problematic that they need professional help since they cannot deal with these problems alone. This is particularly so when these behaviors affect their relations with other people. Professionals who help such individuals have reported similar symptoms to substance-related addictions like salience, tolerance, mood modification, and relapse (Kuss & Lopez-Fernandez, 2016).

 References

Cash, H., D Rae, C., H Steel, A., & Winkler, A. (2012). Internet addiction: A brief summary of research and practice. Current Psychiatry Reviews, 8(4), 292-298.

Kuss, D. J., & Lopez-Fernandez, O. (2016). Internet addiction and problematic Internet use: A systematic review of clinical research. World journal of psychiatry, 6(1), 143.

Skinner, K. (2005). Treating Pornography Addiction, Provo, Utah: Growth Climate Inc.

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 M4D1: Substance or Behavioral Addictions
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Image of a gleeful woman with a large box of chocolatesAs you have seen from the readings, alcohol and substance abuse, as well as gambling addictions, are included in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual as behavioral disorders or diseases. Most of the other behavioral addictions, such as Internet addiction, have yet to be included. More research is needed before these behaviors can be included in the manual. However, many people agree that Internet addiction and other behavioral addictions are similar to alcohol or substance abuse in many ways.

Compulsive Behaviors and the DSM-5- Should Behavioral Addictions Be Classified as Disorders.

After completing the readings and reviewing the Web sites, address these questions:

Alcohol and substance abuse are identified in the DSM-5 as a disease, whereas behavioral addictions (Internet, sex, pornography, shopping, food, etc.) are not.

Do you think compulsive behaviors, such as Internet usage, shopping, and overeating, should be included in the DSM-V criteria? Why or why not?
Support your position with information from research in these areas. Include in-text citations and complete American Psychological Association (APA) style references for at least 2 academic sources besides the required readings.

You may use the optional readings identified in the module reading list or explore other academic resources.