The relative length of your fingers could reveal your relationship with alcohol.
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The relative length of your fingers could reveal your relationship with alcohol.
The personality trait is linked to alcoholism and other types of substance misuse, problem gambling and even shopping addiction.
The personality trait is linked to alcoholism and other types of substance misuse, problem gambling and even shopping addiction.
Neuroticism is the personality trait often linked to addiction — including shopping addiction, research finds.
Shopping can provide a way of escaping the unpleasant thoughts that neurotic people are more likely to experience.
Neuroticism is characterised by negative thinking in a range of areas.
Neuroticism — one of the five major aspects of personality — is a trait that is strongly linked to anxiety, sadness, irritability and self-consciousness.
Many types of addiction have been linked to neuroticism, including alcoholism and other types of substance misuse and problem gambling.
The study on shopping addiction included 23,537 people who were given tests of personality, self-esteem and shopping behaviours.
Dr Cecilie Schou Andreassen, the study’s first author, explained the results:
“Our research indicates that people who score high on extroversion and neuroticism are more at risk of developing shopping addiction.
Extroverts, typically being social and sensation seeking, may be using shopping to express their individuality or enhance their social status and personal attractiveness.
Neurotic people, who typically are anxious, depressive, and self-conscious, may use shopping as a means of reducing their negative feelings.”
Personality is not the only factor linked to shopping addiction though, said Dr Andreassen:
“Addictive shopping clearly occurs more regularly amongst certain demographic groups.
It is more predominant in women, and is typically initiated in late adolescence and emerging adulthood, and it appears to decrease with age.”
In contrast, people at low risk of shopping addiction tend to be more agreeable, conscientious and open to new experiences with higher levels of self-control.
Dr Andreassen said:
“We have also found that shopping addiction is related to symptoms of anxiety, depression, and low self-esteem, and shopping may function as an escape mechanism for, or coping with, unpleasant feelings – although shopping addiction may also lead to such symptoms.”
The symptoms of shopping addiction are closely related to other addictions like alcoholism and substance addictions.
Here are the seven signs of shopping addiction:
‘Agreeing’ or ‘completely agreeing’ with at least four of these seven statements indicates a possible shopping addiction.
The study was published in the journal Frontiers in Psychlogy (Andreassen et al., 2015).
How to balance your internet use and maintain your mental well-being.
Discover the powerful role played by cognitions, motivation, the emotions, and biology in trying to beat addiction.
Discover the powerful role played by cognitions, motivation, the emotions, and biology in trying to beat addiction.
There is little doubt that addiction is very difficult to treat in the long-term.
While people sometimes make progress initially, they frequently relapse.
The reason seems to be a complex interaction between biology, upbringing and genetics: in other words, the same as many other mental health issues.
However, treatments can be moderately successful and some of the key insights are contained in the latest studies on addiction below.
These 8 studies are from the members-only section of PsyBlog: if you are not already, find out how to become a PsyBlog member here.
Motivation is key to even a moderate short-term change — but this can still be beneficial to some people.
The addict’s failure to form an accurate mental model of their behaviour is partly why they find it so hard to quit.
The emotion protected people from problem gambling.
Around 40 percent of people in the study were either self-confessed addicts or addicts-in-denial.
Understanding the reasons for addiction can help empower people.
More Americans now die of opioid overdoses than in car accidents.
People sensitive to the temptations of alcohol could focus on their mission, purpose and values in life.
Deaths from overdoses of opioids, methadone, cocaine and heroine are at all-time highs in the US.
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Contrary to popular belief, workaholics aren’t really happier at work.
Motivation is key to even a moderate short-term change — but this can still be beneficial to some people.
Around 40 percent of people in the study were either self-confessed addicts or addicts-in-denial.
The addict’s failure to form an accurate mental model of their behaviour is partly why they find it so hard to quit.
People sensitive to the temptations of alcohol could focus on their mission, purpose and values in life.
Cheap supplements could help to fight opioid addiction.
Cheap supplements could help to fight opioid addiction.
Vitamin D deficiency may exaggerate the desire for opioids, so increasing the risk of addiction, a study finds.
It suggests that simple and cheap vitamin D supplements could help to fight opioid addiction.
The study found that mice with a vitamin D deficiency more easily became addicted to morphine, a type of opioid.
When the morphine was taken away from them, those with vitamin D deficiency suffered more withdrawal symptoms.
An analysis of health records also showed that humans with a severe vitamin D deficiency are 90 percent more likely to use opioids than those with normal vitamin D levels.
Similarly, those deficient in vitamin D are more likely to be diagnosed with an opioid use disorder.
Dr Lajos V. Kemény, the study’s first author, said:
“Our goal in this study was to understand the relationship between vitamin D signaling in the body and UV-seeking and opioid-seeking behaviors.”
The study was inspired by the question of why human beings seek out sunshine when it is potentially so bad for the skin.
Exposure to the sun is the primary cause of skin cancer and ages the skin prematurely.
One answer is that sunshine is necessary for the production of vitamin D in the body.
Without it, people are at risk of weak bones and a host of other health conditions.
When the sun strikes the skin, not only does it help the body manufacture vitamin D, it also produce endorphins.
Endorphins, which make people feel good, are chemically related to morphine, heroine and other opioids.
All these compounds activate the same receptors in the brain.
So, people seek out the sun not just because the body needs to produce vitamin D, but also because they want the feel-good rush of endorphins.
These ideas led to the current mouse study, which tested the effects of vitamin D deficiency on their addictive behaviours.
Dr Kemény said:
“We found that modulating vitamin D levels changes multiple addictive behaviors to both UV and opioids.”
Professor David E. Fisher, study co-author, said:
“When we corrected vitamin D levels in the deficient mice, their opioid responses reversed and returned to normal.
Our results suggests that we may have an opportunity in the public health arena to influence the opioid epidemic.”
The study was published in the journal Science Advances (Kemény et al., 2021).
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