Addiction can also occur in an activity that does not require no type of substances. You can be addicted to gaming, the Internet, work, exercise or watching television. This type of addiction is called "behavioral addiction."
Behavioral addiction is a form of addiction that It is not based on drugs or alcohol. It consists of an obligation to participate repeatedly in an activity until it causes serious negative consequences on a physical, mental, social and economic level. A sign that a behavior has become addictive is if it persists despite these consequences.
In any case, This type of addiction also becomes a chronic disease. The brain waits for its reward, its motivation, to the point of overriding our will.
These addictive behaviors become compulsions, repetitive and obsessive behaviors over which we have no control.
There may be biological and psychological factors that contribute to these addictions.
An example: food addiction.
When looking at food addiction, for example, a study published in 2009 in The Scripps Research Institute demonstrated for the first time that the same molecular mechanisms that turn a person into a drug addict are behind the compulsion to overeat, pushing people towards obesity.
Behavioral or behavioral addictions have been proposed as a new class of disorder in the DSM-5, the great book that collects all the disorders of the human being.