Story by Lizzie Martinez
Senior reporter

Alcohol, gambling, marijuana, shopping, food and exercise: What do all these activities or substances have in common? They are all things a person can become addicted to.
The nature of addiction
Conventional parental wisdom says that you never know whether you will become addicted, and you shouldn’t risk the chance. Yet, most of us shop regularly without nearing addiction. While shopping is different from alcohol, recent research shows that addiction to either alcohol or shopping is the same. In fact, addiction to any activity or substance is all part of the same syndrome, according to Susan Nelson, research associate and instructor of psychiatry at the division on addictions, Cambridge Health Alliance. Last week, Nelson gave a webinar about addiction and the implications for college policy and prevention. The information was viewed by several Linfield faculty and staff.
Nelson’s research on addiction shows that the reason behind addiction is not necessarily the addictive properties of the substance or activity. If the chemicals in alcohol or marijuana or cigarettes were the sole motives for addiction, then everyone using them would suffer from addiction.
Activities such as gambling and shopping behave in the same way that chemical substances do. People addicted to shopping and gambling exhibit similar brain patterns as alcoholics when exposed to those activities.
If the substance itself cannot be blamed for the addiction, why do people become addicted? How can a person who drinks with a friend every Thirsty Thursday become addicted to alcohol when the friend does not? How can one person gamble recreationally for 30 years, while another may become addicted after one weekend at the craps table? The answer is everything.
“We talk about these objects, cigarettes, alcohol, even fast food, as being particularly addictive,” Nelson said in the webinar. “Even some advertising campaigns have really shown specific objects, [such as] Mountain Dew or Starbucks, as being similar to crack cocaine or something addictive.”
Addiction factors
The reality is that it is the combination of biological, social, psychological, experiential and environmental factors that trigger addiction in conjunction with the substance or activity.
“Think of addiction as involving the interaction between a person with a set of underlying vulnerabilities and an object,” Nelson said. “In this new way of looking at addiction, things don’t cause addiction. The development of addiction depends on our bodies with our minds and different exposure to activities.”
Susan Chambers, adjunct professor of health and human performance, said this idea isn’t revolutionary. Rather, it is simply a different way of perceiving addiction.
“We tend to think that the way to prevent addiction is to limit access to the drug,” Nelson said.
For those who do not have a wide range of biological or social risk factors, it is less likely they will develop addictions to any substance. But for those with a high number of risk factors, a greater chance exists that they will become addicted to an activity or substance.
As life continues, the risk factors change. While
biological risk factors such as a family history of alcoholism or substance abuse are static, other factors such as social environment can alter the predisposition to become addicted.
But it isn’t that simple for college students. The college environment puts students at an eminent risk for developing abusive, addictive behaviors.
“Kids on college campuses are at a higher risk because of the culture, the newfound freedom and the accessibility,” Kevin Minor, graduate student intern in the Linfield Counseling Center, said.
“It might become an issue just in the sense of when you go to college, your monitoring by other people such as parents is lessened.”
Spread and treatment
When addiction is viewed as a syndrome, it is no longer isolated. Persons defined as clinical alcoholics are at a higher risk of engaging in other addictive activities unless the underlying causes are treated.
“Often if you treat one addiction, people will jump to a different substance,” Nelson
said. “Seventy percent of people with a gambling problem also have a problem with alcohol abuse.”
Surprisingly, treating a diverse range of addictions relies on the same principles. Nelson said most addictions may be treated by the same program because all addictions are part of the same syndrome of activities.
“This is a very dynamic process. People who have addiction may well treat that addiction, but relapse is extremely common, and addiction hopping is also extremely common,” Nelson said in the webinar. “About 80 percent of addicts relapse.”
As Minor said, there’s always something else driving addictions. He said when an activity reaches the point of addiction, pleasure is no longer the objective.
The college factor
What does this mean for college students? Beyond awareness of the risks of alcohol and drug abuse, students need to realize that it isn’t necessarily the activity alone that
is dangerous, but how, when and where you engage in it and in what state of mind.
“Be aware of what puts you at a higher risk,” Minor said. “If you know you’re at a higher risk, then it might be a good idea not to put yourself in situations where abuse might happen.”
Nelson said most colleges emphasize punitive policies that mete out punishments for
students caught using prohibited substances. Yet, a policy that emphasizes recovery is the key.
Linfield offers many off-campus referrals for students struggling with addiction.
“I think it’s a societal issue,” Minor said. “College is a hotspot for drug and alcohol abuse. We’re in college, so we’re supposed to do it.”
In addition to awareness about the risky nature of engaging in alcohol and drug use, prevention and helping students on the brink of a problem are also important.
At Linfield, when a student is issued his or her first alcohol violation, he or she is required to complete an assessment and evaluation. This is a confidential screening to identify risk factors. A counselor then sits down with the student in a non-judgmental atmosphere to discuss these factors.
“The individualized feedback given [after the evaluation] is an opportunity to make changes if they want to,” Chambers said.
Domination
Yet many students are in denial about their problem, Chambers said. For administrators, it is a hard hurdle to get over because students must want to help themselves before treatment will be effective.
Addiction isn’t about the drug or the activity, it is about the person seeking something. Until the person can make personal changes, the addiction will continue to dominate his or her life.