directly from the addiction experts, who have spent decades in field....
all "addiction is an unresolved childhood/coming-of-age trauma problem."
start by getting an addiction therapist , or talk honestly to someone close to you who has dealt with/suffered from addiction.
connections between childhood trauma and addiction, and studies by the Veterans Administration have led to Addiction · An escape from bad memories: Unwanted thoughts and memories can recur with trauma.
dualdiagnosis.org
regardless if its addiction to booze, weed, blow, food, nicotine. sex, gambling, lying etc etc ... your susceptibility / (but more importantly) your awareness/resistance to addiction is directly related to any unresolved childhood/coming-of-age trauma from your past.
and yes there are also functional addicts, people who can still function (reasonably well) even if they are stoned/drunk day-today.
While the more obvious (and extreme) cases are those whose addictions that get in the way of their work (get fired/demoted, have to take time-off), money management (go broke), strain (or even lose) their personal relationships with their family, friends and/or other loved ones.
the more extreme the unresolved childhood trauma, the more extreme the probability of addition. notice the high correlation that the most extreme stories of addiction on this forum (esp. the popular "fell-in-love-with-escort" threads) the person sharing their addiction story, very-often mentions their childhood trauma as well.
all of the below are true, except i believe there are indeed physical withdrawal symptoms, as it will 100% effect hormones in the body, and as we all know hormones control every single function in the human body.
so it *can* effect mood/sleep/focus etc , although these aren't the obvious + extreme addict withdrawal symptoms we see in the movies such as *shaking/sweats etc etc*
Psychologically I think you can get hooked on anything pleasurable: food, booze, gambling and of course sex.
I don't think it's a physical addiction, though. You're not going to go through withdrawal symptoms if you abstain.
How to tell if you actually have a problem with it: if you are cancelling plans to hang out with friends in order to
look at porn or see SP's, that's a bad sign.
Sex should be a great part of your life, but only a part of it. I think people get in trouble with addiction when they have
nothing else going on in their life, so make sure you make time for friends, family, hobbies, learning new stuff, etc. Have a
well rounded life that includes enjoyable sex.
The definition of an addict is one who gives up the necessities of life ie. Love,food, shelter, family for there addiction. IF your spending money you don't have, totally preoccupied with how to get your next fix, become moody, aggressive hostile when you don't get a fix, then your an addict.
Addiction can occur in the behavioural realm. Compulsive gamblers are another example. Mental and emotional addictions are real.
My test for addiction: if it interferes with your job or your relationships with family and friends then it’s a problem. *edit* turns out that’s one of the questions.