In many ways, breaking routine and leaving our work responsibilities behind is necessary for good mental health. However, this change of scenery also exposes us to certain risks, some of which have to do with addictions. We see what this is relationship between addictive disorders and vacations
During the holidays, people have more free time to dedicate to our hobbies, leisure, visiting friends and family; In short, to activities that we usually leave aside in the frenzy of the rest of the year. Recreation during this period is of utmost importance to rest and recharge, but also to connect with ourselves, reflect on what truly matters to us, and evaluate where we want to go in our lives.
Unfortunately, some dispersal activities are framed in spaces where certain substances harmful to health are more available, such as alcohol, marijuana or tobacco, such as at a party or meeting with friends. Addictions are consumption and/or habits that are harmful to health and, as we will see later, we cannot do without due to both psychological and physiological factors.
The problem is that during vacations, people frequent these spaces more frequently and, if certain conditions are met, there is the possibility that we will fall into potentially addictive behaviors. This doesn’t just come down to substance use. As we have more free time, we could also spend long hours glued to the screens of our mobile phones, hooked on the flow of ephemeral videos on social networks, or spend entire nights without sleep playing video games. Taking this into account, in this article we will delve into why many people tend to resort to this type of behavior, specifically during the holiday season, and what is possible to do about it.
We know that, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), an addiction to a chemical substance involves repeated consumption of the substance to the point that the user becomes periodically intoxicated and finds it very difficult to stop or modify the consumption of the substance. , and experiences impulses to carry out behaviors that are harmful but cannot control. Certain individual conditions must be met—but also others at a social and cultural level—for a subject to be prone to resorting to a substance. In addition, there are different reasons why someone goes to them. For example, while consumption is usually accompanied by obtaining a wide range of short-term pleasurable sensations, from relaxation to ecstasy, some people may use certain substances as an inefficient mechanism to appease very painful emotions.
A mechanism of little use and with many risks
We say inefficient not because it fails to reduce discomfort—in fact, drugs are extremely effective in accomplishing that task—but because the gratification they provide is momentary. What goes up, must come down: after consumption, the person will not only find that the discomfort reappears (after all, the drug does not resolve the internal emotion and/or external situation that one is trying to avoid), but also with which the frequency with which he will carry out that problematic behavior afterwards will increase.
The latter is due to the activation of our brain’s reward systems. The Spanish neuroscientist Lucía Hipólito uses the metaphor of an illuminated sign to explain this in a simple way. When people carry out behaviors that are useful for our survival, such as eating or interacting with others, in a region of our brain called the nucleus accumbens it is as if a light sign is activated that indicates: “This is important for survival.” This will install a tendency to repeat that behavior. The problem with addictions is that they “light up the sign” as if they were necessary to survive since consuming is a behavior that generates intense pleasure, but which, however, is extremely harmful in the long term.
The cost of resorting to drugs over a long period of time is very high, since it negatively affects the physical health of the person, but it also affects their mental health and other vital areas: interpersonal ties, studies, work. … The person may be aware of how detrimental the fact that he or she presents with problematic consumption is to his or her well-being, also to his or her circle of friends and family, but this is usually not enough to eradicate the consumption habit.
How to prevent addictions on vacation
The risk of starting or relapsing into this type of behavior could be more common on vacation than during the rest of the year. Although it is not limited to it, nightlife is an area in which people are more likely to consume drugs. This could be a product of the social pressure that people experience to consume, especially adolescents, who are in a stage of development in which belonging to a group is vital for the development of one’s own identity. Also, consumption could be based on the illusion that only then will they have fun or that this is the only resource available to distract yourself from your personal problems.
Now, it is not about vetoing night outings or meetings with friends by adults towards adolescents if what is desired is to prevent drug use. On the other hand, the main protective factor is to provide spaces for dialogue with them, talk about the topic, expose the long-term negative consequences (even of very normalized practices such as getting drunk to the point of losing consciousness), but allowing the adolescent to express their feelings. own conclusions, share your vision on the matter and express what you observe in your close circle. This will strengthen parent-child ties, which will not only prevent drug use, but will also bring positive consequences to the bond between both in general.
Digital addictions on vacation: the case of video games
So far, we have described the risk of drug use while on vacation, although it remains for us to point out that addiction is not limited to habits that involve the ingestion of chemical substances. Although addressing this issue is highly complex, we said that, broadly speaking, an addiction involves the persistence of problematic behavior that is difficult to abandon For this reason, current diagnostic manuals contemplate that people can suffer an addiction to other types of behaviors, such as gambling – under the argument that gambling behaviors activate reward systems similar to those activated by drugs and produce some symptoms. behavioral effects comparable to those produced by substances—or to online video games.
Regarding the latter, although during vacation it is good to be more flexible with your schedules, maintaining a certain regularity in them is a useful strategy to avoid falling into behaviors that could be problematic. This does not mean that having the holiday habit of staying up late playing video games necessarily represents an addiction, although it does mean that it is a behavior that is detrimental to health and well-being, and that it could entail an ineffective way of coping with difficult emotions and everyday problems. . For this reason, it is always necessary to highlight the importance of consulting with a mental health professional if you detect in yourself the possibility of carrying out addictive behaviors during the holiday season.
