Addiction Affliction

What causes addiction?

How can it be altered?

Considering addiction to be; repeating an action, despite knowledgeable intention. In other words, a compulsion to take an action, which can not be controlled by conscious aware choice.

So addiction is basically something your mind has learned to crave so much, that you no longer have the ability to overpower the part of your mind which wants to take that action (potentially including, using a substance).

Since it is a part of the mind which counteracts consciously aware choice, it must be subconscious. The act of continuing to take part in the addiction is the effect of subconscious influence, since its without your conscious intention. As long as the addiction has developed through experiences (rather than born with it), it would likely have been caused by subconscious influence as well (unless you were knowingly and intentionally causing the attraction toward the addictive action).

Considering subconscious influence to be; the urge (regardless of awareness) to either repeat or avoid a similar circumstances to a past situation where the mind received either positive or negative reinforcement. This would basically explain how addictions develop. When someone receives significant positive reinforcement to repeat certain circumstances, this would be the cause for addiction. The person may be consciously aware of thee positive reinforcement as it happens, but in the case of addiction, they would likely not be aware of the gradual increase of overpowering influence to repeat the circumstances. Once the reinforcement to repeat, is so strong that is causes the person to repeat the situation, despite conscious awareness that it is more beneficial not to repeat, then it is an addiction.

The positive reinforcement to repeat, is likely instinctual feedback triggers which would be beneficial to the individual in a survival lifestyle with scarce resources. Instinctually, reinforcing someone to repeat eating sugar, makes sense for survival, when sugar and food is scarce. Artificially manufactured drugs, which would not be available in a natural survivalist lifestyle, usually cause a trigger of significant positive reinforcement, by inducing chemicals in the brain, which would regularly be triggered less significantly for alternate positive circumstances. This of course makes drugs a common source for addiction, with a profound positive reinforcement by the brain.

Just as positive reinforcement causes addiction, negative reinforcement causes avoidance. At the opposite end of the spectrum, significant negative reinforcement is basically what we call trauma. Smaller degrees of negative reinforcement usually beneficially cause us to avoid harmful scenarios (though also, mainly for an environment of scarce resources). So if an addiction is causing significant harm, negative reinforcement from harm can counteract the positive drive to repeat. This could cause someone to stop an addiction naturally, but it could also be used to counteract an addiction consciously.

Using conscious conditioning, someone can repeatedly, intentionally focus on negative aspects of an addiction. Focusing on the negative effects, during times of taking action in the addiction or thinking about it, they can cause more significant negative reinforcement associated with the action or substance of addiction. If this is done enough that the negative reinforcement outweighs the positive for that addiction, the person should then subconsciously be influenced to avoid the addiction. Besides focusing on the negative aspects of the addiction, they can also focus on positive aspects of avoiding the addiction. This can cause positive reinforcement toward being successful in avoidance. The person can focus on the benefits to physical health or improved lifestyle, causing positive reinforcement for the situation of making the choice to avoid the addiction, or whatever situation is involved, when the addiction is avoided.

The triggers of addiction may be instinctual, and the development and influence of addiction may be subconscious, but ultimately the most powerful aspect of the mind, can be conscious control.