What is the difference between a physically addictive substance and a psychologically addictive substance?

A substance that is physically addictive will cause the person who tries to stop using it to have physical possibly life threatening withdrawal symptoms. Alcohol and heroin are a good examples of physically addictive substances. A mentally or psychologically addictive substance will cause the user to have withdrawal symptoms that although are uncomfortable are not directly physical in nature.

Marijuana is a good example of a psychologically addictive substance.

A psychological addiction can be a compulsive behavior, like overeating or gambling. You really want to keep doing it, and may even feel like you have to keep doing it, but there are no ill effects when you quit. A physical addiction makes your body dependent on the source of the addiction, so quitting is much, much harder.

I'm including a few links that help explain the difference, especially in terms of marijuana use.

Quote- ... over the difference between psychological addiction and physical addiction. ... One goal of drug dreams apparently is to allow the physically addicted person to sleep .... The distinction between addictive character style, addictive personality . -endquote.

Try smoking or eating it everyday for over a year. Then stop, and you'll know about marijuann withdrawl. For me it means being irritable, not being able to sleep, anxiety and loss of appetite.

Psychological addiction can be every bit as dangerous as physical addiction. If you are psychologically addicted to anything and it is suddenly withdrawn from you, you could go into a psychotic break. Co-dependence is a form of psychological addiction, and the end of a truly obsessive co-dependent relationship can have devastating effects, both physical and mental.

Mental health does affect your physical health. I'm sure you've heard of or seen a person who is addicted to watching television or being online go absolutely berserk when their machine breaks, and they can't have their "fix". I have personally witnessed some pretty frightening meltdowns of people who were addicted to television.

Physically addictive and psychologically addictive things affect different parts of the brain, but they both change the way the mind works. Suicide is the ultimate example of what can happen when someone is psychologically addicted to another human being and loses them. To say there is no harmful effect from withdrawal from a psychological addiction is naive and uninformed.

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