Drug addiction

weakening the effects of drugs when they are repeated. Rapid addiction to drugs (after 2-4 injections) is referred to as "tachyphylaxis".

Drug addiction may be pharmacokinetic and/or pharmacodynamic in nature. The basis of pharmacokinetic mechanisms for the development of addiction is a decrease in the concentration of drugs in the region of receptors sensitive to them due to changes in repeated administration of any parameters of the pharmacokinetics (Pharmacokinetics) of drugs, for example, their absorption, distribution, reduced bioavailability due to increased biotransformation, acceleration of hepatic, renal and other types of clearance. Pharmacokinetic mechanisms are of primary importance in the development of addiction to drugs from the group of barbituric acid derivatives, benzodiazepine tranquilizers and some other drugs. With the pharmacodynamic type of addiction to drugs, their concentration in the region of the corresponding specific receptors does not change, but there is a decrease in the sensitivity of organs and tissues to drugs. The reasons for this kind of adaptive response of the organism to drugs are a decrease in the density of specific receptors, a decrease in their sensitivity to drugs, and a change in the process of conjugation of the function of receptors of their intracellular mediators and effector molecular systems. Pharmacodynamic mechanisms are typical for addiction to narcotic analgesics, adrenomimetics, sympathomimetics, adrenoblocking agents, etc. Quite often, addiction to drugs develops both as a result of changes in their pharmacokinetics and as a result of a decrease in the body's sensitivity to them.

Addiction is accompanied by a weakening of various effects of drugs, including their main (pharmacotherapeutic) and side effects. At the same time, the weakening of individual effects in the process of getting used to the same drug may have different temporal dynamics and unequal severity. Weakening of the therapeutic effect of drugs due to addiction to them (for example, the hypotensive effect of ganglioblockers, sympatholytics and adrenoblockers in arterial hypertension, analgesic action, analgesics in chronic pain syndrome, bronchodilatory effect of agonists in broncho-obstructive syndrome, etc.) is practically undesirable. At the same time, a decrease in the manifestations of the side effects of drugs during addiction (for example, a weakening of the sedative effect of carbamazepine, dyspeptic disorders caused by levodopa, headaches and dizziness caused by nitroglycerin preparations, etc. allows you to achieve the desired therapeutic effect with relatively less pronounced complications of the drug therapy.

Addiction to certain drugs (narcotic analgesics, barbiturates, benzodiazepine tranquilizers, etc.) can be combined with the formation of drug dependence (drug dependence).

One of the main ways to overcome addiction to drugs is to increase their doses as the effectiveness of drugs decreases. In addition, the rate and severity of the development of addiction can be reduced by increasing the intervals between drug administrations, limiting the duration of treatment courses, alternating or simultaneously prescribing addictive drugs with other drugs that are similar in effect, but with different mechanisms of action, or by combined pharmacotherapy, based on various principles of drug interaction (drug interaction). In the case of replacing an addictive drug with another, it is necessary to take into account the possibility of cross-tolerance to drugs that are close to each other in chemical structure.

Bibliographer.: Amatuni V.N. Properties of pharmacological tolerance, Usp. modern biol., v. 100, no. 3 (6), p. 383, 1985; Lepakhin V.K., Belousov Yu.B. and Moiseev V.S. Clinical pharmacology with the international nomenclature of drugs, M., 1988.

Encyclopedic Dictionary of Medical Terms M. SE-1982-84, PMP: BRE-94, MME: ME.91-96

Incredible Facts

Addicts cannot control what they do, take or use.

Everyone knows such types of addiction as drugs and alcohol, which can significantly worsen the quality of life and lead to sad consequences.

However, today, the list of types of addiction has expanded significantly, and anything from chocolate to computer games can be physically and psychologically addictive.

1. Workaholism

Workaholics often earn respect in today's world, where every minute means you can earn more. But excessive devotion to work drains all the energy out of a work-obsessed person. The line between hard work and workaholism is beginning to blur. Workaholics, like other addicts, only come back to reality when something serious happens to their health or relationships.

In Japan, there is a term "karoshi" or "death by workaholism". This phenomenon caused quite a stir in the 1980s, when several Japanese officials passed away without any medical history. Overwork from long hours without a break led to death in the workplace.

2. Love addiction

After breaking up with a spouse, loved one, and the love of your life, you may try to remain friends with your former partners, gradually reducing contact and gradually shedding the last relic of your relationship. However, one thing remains inevitable: you will have to move on. However, for some people, breaking up a relationship is especially hard. While it's natural to mourn the loss of a relationship, some people can go too far.

Psychologists have found that infatuation triggers the release of phenylethylamine, a neurological chemical that makes you feel euphoric when you fall in love. People who experience passionate love experience the same symptoms, such as insomnia and loss of sense of time, as those who abuse cocaine. Some people experience a real withdrawal syndrome, they urgently need a charge of love, on which they begin to depend.

3. TV Addiction

It is known that an average person spends about 3-4 hours a day sitting in front of the TV, which is half of the total time of rest. This means that by the age of 65, a person will spend about 9 years glued to the TV. Some TV lovers can spend up to 8 hours a day watching TV. People who are addicted to TV show clinical symptoms such as helplessness to stop watching TV, using the TV to calm their nerves, and irritability if they have to stop watching TV.

During laboratory experiments, scientists studied people's reactions to TV by monitoring brain waves using an electroencephalogram. The participants who watched TV were in a relaxed and passive state, and the EEG showed less mental stimulation. It turned out that even after stopping watching TV, people remained relaxed and inactive, since watching TV caused numbing effect similar to taking tranquilizers. A person actually disconnects from real life, immersing himself in what is shown on the screen, which in turn leads to obsessive TV viewing.

4. Exercise Addiction

We all know that physical activity is good for health. When we exercise, our body releases endorphins, the feel-good hormones. For some people, a strong sense of pleasure from exercise can turn into an addiction.

Exercise addicts have a variety of motives for their behavior, including a desire to control their weight and figure, or feeling inexplicable fear when they stop exercising. Such people often have a very busy schedule for physical activity. They will exercise even when they are sick or injured, which can lead to even more problems. They may skip work, school, and other obligations just to exercise.

Most often dependence on exercise associated with eating disorders such as bulimia or anorexia.

5. Shopaholism

Shopaholism, or scientifically oniomania, is one of the socially reinforced behavioral types of addiction. We are surrounded by ads that tell us we need to buy new things to be happier, and consumerism has become a measure of our social worth.

Although shopaholism has spread in recent years, it is not really a new disorder, as it considered a psychiatric disorder back in the early 20th century.

Shopaholism or an obsessive desire to buy often coexists with other disorders such as anxiety disorder, substance abuse, eating disorder, impulse control disorder, and others.

With this addiction, symptoms such as excessive spending of money, compulsive shopping, inability to stop shopping, lying about spending money, conflicts with loved ones about purchases are observed.

6. Tanorexia (Sunburn Addiction)

Doctors are concerned about the enthusiasm of many people for solarium. Scientists have found that tanning enthusiasts exhibit behavior similar to that of alcoholics and drug addicts. The study found that when sunburners were exposed to ultraviolet rays, they experienced increased blood flow in certain areas of the brain responsible for addiction to drugs and alcohol. When the researchers stopped exposure to ultraviolet rays without telling the participants, these areas of the brain became less active.

Dependence on tanning, mainly in the solarium, women are more likely to suffer. A 2006 study found that tanning stimulates the release of endorphins, and stopping a tanning regimen can cause withdrawal symptoms, as with other types of addiction.

7. Sex addiction

The thirst for sexual satisfaction is as old as the world. But in the modern world, this desire often turns into obsessive behavior, with access to the Internet adding to the problems.

Sex addiction is often described as a sexual disorder characterized by compulsive acts and thoughts of a sexual nature. As with other types of addiction, it can have a negative effect on a relationship. For some, the addiction doesn't grow any further. compulsive masturbation or excessive use of pornography and phone sex services. For others, this may include illegal activities such as exhibitionism, obscene phone calls, child molestation, and rape. However, people who are sexually addicted will not necessarily be rapists.

Increasing sexual provocation in society has led to an increase in the number of people who engage in unusual or illegal sexual practices such as phone sex, computer pornography, virtual sex, escort services, etc.

8. Internet Addiction

If you are online for many hours without a break and surf aimlessly through the sites, not wanting to turn off your computer, then you may be fine. But if this is repeated day after day, and turning off the computer makes you irritated, then you may be suffering from Internet addiction.

Today, psychiatrists from all over the world are beginning to recognize such forms of Internet addiction as online pornography, computer game addiction, social networking addiction, addiction to virtual dating, etc. In some countries, Internet addiction has become a real social problem. Thus, according to a survey in 2007 in South Korea, 30 percent of people under the age of 18 suffered from Internet addiction.

A person suffering from Internet addiction can spend hours wandering through Internet sites, while not searching for information, but simply absorbing everything that comes across to him on the Internet.

9. Addiction to plastic surgery

Negative body image makes a lot of people go under the knife. A small increase, correction, tightening and similar operations are done for the sake of one thing - to become even closer to the ideal.

In 2006 year British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons warned doctors about patients suffering from body dysmorphic disorder or "imaginary deformity syndrome". For such people, aesthetic surgery is an endless procedure and they will never be satisfied with the results.

Man with dysmorphophobia may have an obsessive idea that he has some kind of physical defect and spend a lot of time hiding this defect with cosmetics, clothing and operations. Often such people have unrealistic expectations of plastic surgery, thinking that it will lead to the desired relationship or high-paying job. Even if they are satisfied with one procedure, they may find another defect in themselves that needs to be corrected.

10. Drug Addiction

Many people take medications for medical reasons because the doctor prescribes them. But about 20 percent of people may use drugs for non-medical purposes. This is called drug abuse and is a serious problem. Most commonly, people begin to abuse drugs such as narcotic painkillers, sedatives, and tranquilizers and stimulants.

Experts do not know why the number of people suffering from drug addiction is on the rise. But a possible reason is the availability of drugs. Also, doctors today prescribe more drugs than ever before, and there are many more drugs available in pharmacies without a prescription.

What are the causes of human addictions?

Causes of human addictions

The word "addiction" means lack of independence, the inability to achieve satisfaction in healthy ways.

Psychologists identify the following causes of human addiction:

incomplete family;

employment of parents, lack of communication with the child;

the absence of other children in the family;

poor relations between parents (misunderstanding, fights, scandals, violation of gender roles);

excessive parental care.

As a result, the child may develop depression and, as a result, the search for affordable pleasures that turn into a vicious addiction. In relation to alcohol dependence, the influence of heredity has also been proven.

Main types of dependencies

Types of human addiction are numerous, their list is expanding with each stage of the development of society. Today the main ones are:

Narcotic. The need to take drugs that cause mental disorders.

Alcoholic. Its danger is that a person drinks first to cheer up, for the company. As a result, he ceases to control the situation and can no longer exist normally without alcohol. Today in our country this is the main dependence of a person.

Smoking. This type of addiction is dangerous because it has both a physical component (nicotine is involved in metabolism) and a mental one (often it is she who does not allow you to give up the habit).

Ludomania. Gambling acquire for man great value. Dependence can lead to the loss of huge sums, debts.

Internet addiction. The painful need to be constantly online.

Medicinal. It occurs as a result of long-term use of medications. Over time, a person takes them all in large doses.

Sexy. Promiscuous sex leads to the fact that sex becomes the basis of existence.

Binge eating. People with bulimia lose control of their food intake. Addiction leads to mental illness, disorders nervous system.

Workaholism. Earning money, career growth become a priority in a person's life.

Each of the unhealthy addictions brings a lot of problems to both the addict and his loved ones. Often it is impossible to solve this problem on your own, but there is a solution.

How to deal with addiction?

A person must show fortitude and determination to end addiction once and for all. In most cases, you have to resort to the help of specialists. The main human addictions are eliminated by traditional methods:

psychotherapy;

• group therapy;

  medical support.

There are no harmless dependencies.

If a person has any addiction, he is deprived of the opportunity to show his own will, so you need to understand that any kind of addiction must be fought.

The path of abandoning addictions is long and difficult, it takes more than one year. However, this is the only way to gain freedom and true happiness, to build harmonious relationships.

Numerous medical organizations define addiction as a chronic disease that affects the reward system, motivation, memory, and other brain structures. The Surgeon General's Report on Alcohol, Drugs, and Health..

Dependence deprives the ability to make choices and control one's actions and replaces it with a constant desire to take one or another substance (alcohol, drugs, medications).

The behavior of dependent people is due to illness, not weakness, selfishness, or lack of willpower. The anger and resentment that addicts often experience disappears when others realize that such a person simply cannot help himself.

Addiction is not a disease, it's a habit

However, now scientists are convinced that the approach to addiction solely as a disease is not justified.

Mark Lewis, a well-known neuroscientist and author of The Biology of Desire, is a proponent of a new look at addiction. He believes that changes in the structure of the brain alone are not proof of his disease.

The brain changes constantly: during the period of maturation of the body, in the process of learning and developing new skills, in the course of natural aging. Also, the structure of the brain changes during recovery after a stroke, and most importantly, when people stop taking drugs. In addition, there is an opinion that it is not the drugs themselves that cause addiction.

People become addicted to gambling, pornography, sex, social media, computer games, and food. Many of these addictions are classified as mental disorders.

The brain changes seen with drug addiction are no different from those that occur with behavioral addictions.

According to the new version, addiction develops and is learned by heart as a habit. This brings addiction closer to other harmful behaviors: racism, religious extremism, sports obsession, and unhealthy relationships.

But if addiction is learned, why is it so much more difficult to get rid of it than other types of learned behavior?

When it comes to learning, we imagine new skills: foreign languages, cycling, playing a musical instrument. But we also acquire habits: we have learned to sit for hours in front of the TV.

Habits are acquired without special intention, and skills are acquired consciously. Addiction is inherently closer to habits.

Habits are formed when we do things over and over again.

From a neuroscience perspective, habits are repetitive patterns of synaptic firing (a synapse is the point of contact between two neurons).

When we think about something over and over or perform the same actions, synapses fire in the same way and form habitual patterns. So any action is memorized and rooted. This principle applies to all natural complex systems, from the organism to society.

Habits take root. They do not depend on genes and are not determined by the environment.

The formation of habits in self-organizing systems is based on such a concept as an "attractor". An attractor is a stable state in a complex (dynamic) system to which it aspires.

Attractors are often depicted as dimples or dimples on a smooth surface. The surface itself symbolizes the set of states that the system can take.

The system (person) can be represented as a ball rolling on the surface. In the end, the ball falls into the hole of the attractor. But getting out of it is not so easy.

Physicists would say that additional energy is needed for this. If we draw an analogy with a person, this is the effort that must be made to give up some behavior or way of thinking.

Addiction is a rut that gets harder to get out of every time

Personal development can also be described using attractors. In this case, an attractor is a quality that characterizes a person in a certain way, which persists for a long time.

Dependence is such an attractor. Then the relationship between the person and the drug is a feedback loop that has reached a degree of self-reinforcement and is connected to other loops. This is what makes it habit-forming.

Such feedback loops drive the system (a person and his brain) into an attractor, which constantly deepens over time.

Addiction is characterized by an irresistible craving for a substance. This substance brings temporary relief. As soon as its action ends, a person is overwhelmed by a sense of loss, disappointment and anxiety. To calm down, the person takes the substance again. Everything repeats over and over again.

Addiction perpetuates the need it was meant to satisfy.

After numerous repetitions, it becomes natural for the addicted person to increase the dose, and this further strengthens the underlying patterns of synaptic firing.

Dependency fixation is also affected by other communicating feedback loops. For example, social isolation, only reinforced by the fact of dependence. As a result, the dependent person has fewer and fewer opportunities to reconnect with people and return to a healthy lifestyle.

Self-development helps to overcome addiction

Addiction has nothing to do with conscious choice, bad temper and dysfunctional childhood (although the latter is still considered a risk factor). It is a habit formed by repeating self-reinforcing feedback loops.

Although addiction does not completely deprive a person of choice, getting rid of it is much more difficult, because it takes root very deeply.

It is impossible to formulate one specific rule that would help to cope with addiction. It takes a combination of perseverance, personality, luck and circumstances.

However, experts agree that growing up and self-development largely contributes to recovery. Over the years, a person's views and his idea of ​​\u200b\u200bhis own future change, addiction becomes less attractive and no longer seems so insurmountable.

The repetition of the same thing eventually leads to boredom and disappointment. Oddly enough, these negative emotions motivate us to continue to act, even if we have already tried to do something a hundred times before, but nothing worked out for us.

The very obsession with addiction and the absurdity of pursuing the same goal day in and day out runs counter to everything creative and optimistic in human nature.

Such people need both prevention and psychological help.

Food Addiction - Psychology

When food enters the body, the level of serotonin rises - the hormone of happiness, mood improves, stress seems to disappear. But replacing the problem is not its solution, and again fear - food - temporary calm - a vicious circle is formed, which is very difficult to get out of. So there is a psychological dependence on food. You can get pleasure from many things - playing sports, listening to music, but we always have no time, because food is quick and easy.

Food addiction - causes

The most common causes of food addiction are:

1. Some come from childhood, remember, for academic success or good behavior, the child has always bought sweets?
2. Dependent people are often notorious, dissatisfied with themselves and their careers.
3. Experiencing deep emotional experiences.
4. A spoiled figure is the result of uncontrolled absorption of food, hence the negative attitude towards appearance, indifference to oneself.
5. Constant guilt. A person understands that he eats too much, blames himself for a weak will, gets nervous, and the vicious scheme turns on again.

You can list for a long time, but there is only one source - dissatisfaction with yourself and your life. There are also social causes of food addiction. These are numerous holidays, family feasts, traditions of “going out into nature” with huge baskets of food. From childhood, we form improper eating behavior, and numerous stresses only increase it.

Food addiction - signs

According to certain signs, you can understand that a person is addicted to food:

1. A deep food addict may “invent” a problem for himself, eagerly anticipating its solution.
2. A person is very concerned about food supplies - is everything in the refrigerator.
3. In food addicts, along with the feeling of hunger, panic and anxiety increase.
4. A sick person, having forgotten to buy a product, is ready to run after it anywhere at any time.
5. Waking up at night to eat.
6. Even realizing that he is sick (obesity, diabetes) - a person cannot stop eating his favorite foods.
7. Reluctance to share food with anyone.

Eating for non-food purposes is the basic concept of food addiction. Deep food addiction leads to the fact that the usual volumes of food do not satisfy, you need to constantly increase portions. Joy brings the process of eating, and what you put in your mouth is all the same. Rare attempts to switch to healthy food or dietary nutrition end in failure, and as a result, another breakdown.

How to beat food addiction?

The first and most important thing to do in order to understand how not to depend on food is to admit it to yourself. Without awareness of the disease, getting rid of food addiction is useless. Realizing that the addiction has led to serious complications, you can try to get rid of the addiction yourself. To be honest, very few people can do it, but why not try. Calculate how much money you could save on food and start saving for a world cruise!

1. Motivate yourself! Come up with a reason why you need to get rid of a bad habit - do you have children? Your example can be infectious for them.
2. Take a break from food. Go in for sports, dance, walk, go to theaters, grow flowers. Anything, just don't eat!
3. Do not stock up on food, keep an apple, carrot or a glass of yogurt ready.
4. Throw out all the irritants from the house - buns, chips, something that you cannot look at calmly.

Psychotherapy for food addiction

Since the causes of food addiction are mainly psychological, psychologists can also help in this difficult struggle, offering effective means of how to overcome food addiction.

1. Keep a "food diary" where you describe all meals and be sure to specify your emotional background. This will help you understand the connection between overeating and mood.
2. Forget grievances, forgive yourself and others, understand that you and they are ordinary people, and people can make mistakes;
3. Raise your self-esteem. It is very difficult. To do this, start a diary of achievements and write down your little “exploits” there.
4. The most important and motivating factor in recovery is your ardent desire to recover, tune in to the positive, and specialists will help you in this difficult matter.

Try to find like-minded people, together it will be easier to solve the problem and you won’t have to “jam” loneliness again. Most importantly, you need to deal with your feelings, learn how to deal with anxiety in other ways, find new ways to have fun. Together with specialists, you can get out of the vicious circle and start living a full life again.

Some people successfully use food addiction coding. Unfortunately, like many others, this problem starts in the head, and the head should be treated. The recipe for how to stop depending on food is the correction of eating behavior, the elimination of psychological problems, so the help of a specialist in this case is necessary, especially when the point of no return is reached.

Pills for food addiction

Together with psychotherapy, dietary supplements and drugs can be used. These funds, as a rule, reduce appetite and speed up metabolism. This may give results, but the risk of such treatment is not small. In addition, after the drug is discontinued, the weight begins to grow again, if the psychological root of the problem is not removed.

Appetite suppressants include:

1. Sibutramine. An anorectic, which is still available in many countries, but is not safe because it has many side effects.
2. fluoxetine. An antidepressant (psychotropic drug) that reduces appetite.
3. Mazindol. Acts on the center of saturation, suppressing hunger. The disadvantage of the drug is a quick addiction.

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Food as a drug or how to deal with food addiction?

For what reasons they struggle with addiction to smoking, the use of alcoholic beverages and drugs is understandable. These substances, getting into the body, destroy it, disrupt its normal functioning, shorten life.

What is food addiction is difficult to understand. There are no food independents. It is impossible to exist without food entering the body. There are units that feed on the energy of sunlight, but even those sometimes bother eating.

Psychological dependence on food - when a person absorbs food not because he is hungry, but with any factor that irritates his nervous system. After eating, he feels happy, relaxes.

With the intake of calories in the body, the level of glucose in the blood rises, and, therefore, serotonin - the hormone of happiness. Then the insulin produced by the pancreas "suppresses" the sugar, the euphoria disappears. The mood falls, and they try to raise it in the usual way.

Comes from childhood

In many cases, parents themselves do not realize that they are instilling in the child a habit that will then be difficult for him to get rid of. First, the baby is shoved at the breast or bottle at the first attempts to voice - the baby does not scream when it is full. Then, when the baby fell down, give him something sweet to calm him down.

The child is older:

• relationships do not develop in the team;
• got a deuce;
• not popular with the opposite sex...

"Eat something sweet, and it will be easier!" – advise caring parents. And indeed, it becomes easier, and now, at the first troubles, a person himself runs to the refrigerator or sweeps sweets from the shelves in stores.

And the result is reflected - at best - on appearance, at worst - on health. Due to obesity, the appearance becomes far from the model - and this again leads to a nervous breakdown, accompanied by continuous absorption of food. There is a metabolic syndrome, problems with the cardiovascular system and the musculoskeletal system - it is very difficult for the body to cope with increased stress.

Constant work on the "wear and tear" of the pancreas causes diabetes.

How to overcome food addiction and break the vicious circle: excitement - food intake - temporary peace - excitement, etc.?

Awareness of the problem

Until a person realizes that he is sick, treatment of food addiction cannot begin. In this case, he repeats, like an alcoholic or drug addict: “I want to, and I won’t eat.”

It takes him a while.

It is not easy to overcome such a state on your own; in most cases, a psychoanalyst or psychotherapist helps to restore psychological health.

Eating addiction is in most cases a sign of dissatisfaction.

Going to see a nutritionist is possible only when the root of the problem is identified and there are already initial prerequisites for refusing to eat in a “difficult situation”.

If you strive to become independent of your own stomach, and it is impossible to contact a specialist for any reason, then the following technique will help solve the problem of how to get rid of the addiction of constant food.

help yourself

First you need to understand, is it really impossible to overcome difficulties without food, or are you just trying to mask the real root of the problem?

Signs of food addiction:

• As soon as it becomes hard on the soul, the mood deteriorates, you want to eat something tasty - to please yourself. At the same time, they prefer to eat alone, the meal lasts a long time, the dishes are chosen with pleasure;
• During the day, thoughts of what to eat constantly visit, I want to quickly be near the food counters or in a restaurant, the dishes that will be ordered are carefully planned;
• Completely lacking self-control. All food that is in sight is eaten, regardless of whether it is full or not. There is no feeling of fullness;
• Even in a full state, passing by a stall or counter with edibles, you buy yourself a chocolate bar or a banana, and immediately eat it;
• After eating, you feel ashamed that you ate a lot, you curse yourself with your last words, you promise that this was the last time, and that from next Monday, be sure ... Is it worth continuing that nothing will change from Monday?

If you observe at least one of the above factors, it's time to start treatment.

It is possible to cope with food addiction on your own:

1. You need to calculate how much food is eaten during the day. To do this, it is worth putting in a notebook all food intake, all snacks and so on. In the future, this will help to gradually get rid of excess food.
2. Gradually organize your meals. First, 3 main meals are prescribed and 2 snacks between them, then the number of snacks is reduced. It is impossible at the first stage of treatment to force the body to suffer from hunger. He will begin to resist intensely, his health will deteriorate sharply.
3. Self-restraint must be rewarded. For example: did not eat for 3 hours, you can use a piece of chocolate. And this chocolate bar will bring more pleasure than a whole bar that was eaten "out of habit".

There should not be any extreme in the treatment of food addiction! Exhausting diets, extreme physical and sports activities - all this will lead to a nervous breakdown, and recovery will be delayed for a long time.

Psychologist's recommendations - help recovering from addiction to food

Know thyself - that sounds too lofty. But you still have to be aware of your problems. To change eating habits, you need to determine whether these unsolvable life difficulties really exist, or, if you look, can you “unload yourself”?

Here's what you can do:

• You need to try to find an activity that will entertain. Boring - you need to go not to the grocery store, but to the cinema, museum, take a walk. Sometimes it is very useful to be in the crowd, it energizes and makes you forget about your own problems. Mass festivities, crowded concerts - all this makes you distract from thoughts about food;
• Change your attitude. Do not constantly criticize yourself, scold for weaknesses. Selfishness spoils life, why drive yourself into depression? Analyze your strengths, note the positive qualities, you should concentrate on them;
• Do not drastically limit yourself, set a strict daily routine. Recovery should be gradual. Yesterday I eat - today I don’t - a sure way to drive the body into a stressful state;
• While eating, you should not be distracted by anything. Food should be chewed thoroughly, enjoying the taste of each piece. Then it will be noticed with surprise that much less has been eaten, and the desired satiety has come;
• During meals, portions should be limited, and the number of dishes should be increased. If you want to try everything, then you can not afford not to enjoy. Those who eat an appetizer, soup, main course, compote and dessert for lunch eat less than those who pour themselves a huge bowl of borscht. You may not believe it, but it is so;
• If you take your free time as much as possible, after work, strive not for the refrigerator, but for a team of like-minded people, then you can distract yourself from food.

Only when thoughts about food cease to be present in the head all the time - it's time to think about unloading and switch to proper rational nutrition. Only at this stage can one realize: we do not live in order to eat, but we eat in order to live.

As soon as this awareness appeared, we can state the fact - the recovery has begun!

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How to overcome psychological dependence on food?

Stress, nervous breakdowns, causeless tears - a list of psychological problems that arise as a result of emotional and physical overload that accompanies us in Everyday life.

And one of the most striking consequences of such overloads can be called psychological dependence on food. This problem often arises against the background of dissatisfaction with one's own life, increased anxiety, and a difficult situation at work.

Why is this happening, and how to get rid of food addiction?

It is no coincidence that experts call this problem "food addiction", thereby equating it to some extent with drug addiction. The mechanism of almost all addictions is the same - the brain of "drug addicts" produces substances that a person is practically unable to refuse an increased dose of.

A person pushed by "breaking", physical or emotional discomfort seeks at all costs to get a portion of a tasty dish, under the influence of which the brain produces a substance that causes a short-term feeling of euphoria and happiness. Due to emotional instability, women are much more prone to food addiction than men.

It is very difficult for people with such problems to deal with overeating, being overweight, since they feel the lack of their favorite food not only as ordinary hunger, but also as a strong emotional shock, and dieting can cause them aggression, apathy, a decrease in interest in life, and deep depression.

Food for food "addicts" is not just a way to replenish energy reserves, but also doping, a kind of cure for "jamming" problems.

Distinguishing the usual love of delicious food from the psychological dependence on food can be quite easy. Food addicts not only love to eat, they are incapable of an open and truthful view of the situation, and they ignore a number of associated and very serious diseases, such as diabetes, obesity, heart disease.

People who are dependent on food are able to absorb huge amounts of food, and at a high speed, they cannot independently catch the moment when physiological saturation occurs, and continue to eat even when the stomach is very full. They are not able to refuse delicious food - food compensates for failures at work, in sex, in personal life, defects in appearance, whatever. Psychological dependence on food, as a rule, serves as a manifestation of a life devoid of positive emotions, interesting events and constructive communication. The more a person eats, the deeper he drives the problem, due to which he experiences stress.

How to get rid of food addiction on your own?

1. Speaking frankly, overcoming food addiction on your own is a long and very difficult process. And it can begin only with a real awareness of the existence of a problem, acceptance of it. The main thing is to realize that the real need of an addicted person is not in food, but in the pleasure that food delivers! And try to have fun in other ways - through communication, movement, sex, travel - there are many other ways that can make a person happy!

2. The second stage of overcoming addiction is attempts to divert your attention from “delicious” thoughts, switch them to more positive ones, to fashion that will become available after losing weight, to men who will begin to show increased attention very soon.

3. The danger that lurks in the second stage is inevitable breakdowns. The habit does not give up its position instantly, a new way of life needs to be formed, worked on, loved. It would be wrong to view a relapse as a failure - look at relapses as temporary difficulties, unpleasant, but surmountable! A feeling of guilt can cause a new round of "jamming", but the conscious acceptance of a breakdown as a small demarche on the way to victory is correct and positive!

But if all attempts to overcome addiction on your own still failed, be sure to seek help from specialists. As a rule, modern weight loss centers conduct consultations with the participation of a psychologist and a nutritionist, which allows you to fully understand internal problems and prescribe an appropriate rehabilitation course and an adequate diet!