Alcohol Abuse Advice

Question by Michael Brian: What addictions does the APA recognize as actual addiction disorders?
I know technically anything can be an “addiction” but I’m trying to find a list that the APA has put out that lists the actual addictions someone can be diagnosed with.

Best answer:

Answer by Peachy Perfect
Depends on what you count as an addiction. The DSM-IV (current edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) doesn’t have a definition for the word “addiction” and doesn’t use it.

As far as what *you* might classify as an “addiction”, you can be diagnosed with either Substance Abuse or Substance Dependence, depending on the severity of the addiction. This involves either the dependence on or abuse of substances, like alcohol, heroin, caffeine –yes, I said caffeine–, cocaine, nicotine, etc.

As far as other “addictions” to non-substances go, the ones found under the “Impulse Control Disorders” category include:
– Pathological Gambling (people addicted to gambling)
– Kleptomania (people addicted to stealing)
– Pyromania (people addicted to setting fires)
– Trichotillomania (people addicted to pulling their hair out — yes, I’m serious)

There are lots of other disorders, including but definitely not limited to pedophilia and hypochondriasis, which you might consider addictions (pedophilia being when you are “addicted” to sexual endeavors with children, hypochondriasis being when you are “addicted” to being sick), but I don’t really count those under the “addictions” category, personally.

However, in the DSM-5, which is set to come out in May 2013, they are going to add a ton more disorders involving addictions under the category “Substance Use and Addictive Disorders”. But mostly the only change that will be made is specifying the type of substance that one is abusing, dependent on, and/or suffering withdrawals from. For example, instead of being diagnosed with plain “Substance Abuse” with alcohol listed as a side note, an alcoholic would be diagnosed with “Alcohol Use Disorder”, “Alcohol Intoxication”, and/or “Alcohol Withdrawal”.

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